Jhonny Peralta was the Opening Day third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, but that job will likely be off limits when he returns from the disabled list.

Jedd Gyorko stepped in for Peralta and has emerged as one of the Cards' best hitters with a .333/.390/.620 slash line and seven home runs.

With Gyorko entrenched at the hot corner, what do the Cardinals do with Peralta, who landed on the DL with an upper respiratory infection and is on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Memphis?

Derrick Gold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Peralta "is aware he will return to the team in a different role from whence he left," adding the Cardinals could try to work out a trade for the 34-year-old who is in the final season of a four-year contract that pays him $10 million in 2017.

A three-time All-Star, Peralta owns a .267/.329/.424 slash line over 15 major league seasons.

-- Doug Mittler