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Bedard designated; Peralta back from DL

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays designated left-hander Erik Bedard for assignment on Monday to make room for right-hander Joel Peralta to return from the disabled list.

Peralta went on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday, retroactive to July 13, because of the Chikungunya virus. It was Peralta's first DL stint in a decade, when he was with Triple-A Salt Lake (Angels affiliate) in 2004.

Peralta said he's almost back to full strength at "about 90 percent" and "ready to go."

"I need to pitch," he said.

Peralta, who became the franchise's career leader in appearances on July 4 (the record now stands at 270), is 2-3 with a 4.15 ERA in 43 games this season.

"It's great to have him back, he's so versatile, I'm telling you, man, a little bit of rest right now could really energize him for the season," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Maddon noted that Peralta's return, along with a return to form by Grant Balfour, bodes well for the team. Lately Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger have pitched most of the high-leveraged moments and the Rays' manager pointed out the team needs contributions from all of the team's relievers.

"You saw Grant [Saturday] night, that looked really good," Maddon said. "Joel's going to look really good. Boxy and Jake and now [Jeff] Beliveau, he looks pertinent, and [Cesar] Ramos, not afraid of Cesar either. So up and down, I think we have a lot of pertinent relief pitchers. Again, we need to spread it out. We can't rely on one or two guys."

Bedard, 35, went 4-6 with a 4.76 ERA in 17 appearances (15 starts) for Tampa Bay this season. Maddon talked to the veteran after Sunday afternoon's 3-2 loss to the Red Sox.

"He was great," Maddon said. "He gets it. Absolutely gets it."

Maddon explained that pitching Bedard out of the bullpen was not "really beneficial to him or us."

"He's a starter, great guy, did some great work for us," Maddon said. "Personally, loved this guy. Great conversation, good relationship, we wish him nothing but the best. But for right now it did not seem to fit properly."

Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com.
Read More: Tampa Bay Rays, Joel Peralta, Erik Bedard