Cubs' David Peralta wasn't fully healthy for Opening Day, but he's competing for a spot on the team in April

MESA, Ariz. – Outfielder David Peralta has quickly made an impression on this Cubs team, even though he will begin the season in the minor leagues continuing to build up his throwing program after offseason forearm surgery.

“He's been in tougher spots than most of these guys have as players,” manager Craig Counsell said of Peralta, who saved his career by converting from pitcher to outfielder in independent ball. “So it's a great story of perseverance and not giving up on your dreams.”

Peralta, now an MLB veteran, said he’s targeting April 8 to finish his throwing program. He’s scheduled to throw to bases from the outfield on Thursday, before eventually joining Triple-A Iowa. Peralta served as the Cubs designated hitter in six games this spring, going 8-for-18 with three extra-base hits.

“We’re ahead of schedule, which is good,” Peralta said in a conversation with the Sun-Times. “We’re not trying to rush anything. … I feel great. I feel strong. Every day I’m getting better and better."

After signing a non-roster invite deal this offseason, he remained with the team through his spring training opt-out date. If Peralta isn’t added to the roster in April, he has another contract opt-out date on May 1, per sources.

“We have such a great group of guys here,” Peralta said. “They're hungry to win. They were pretty close last year, and I think this year is the year for the Cubs. So that was one of the main reasons that I signed with this team, because I want to be part of that winning culture. And especially, we have a great coaching staff, great manager. So all this together is making this team special.”

Peralta shared the winding tale of his career with his teammates as part of a series of clubhouse Q&A sessions the Cubs held this spring.

“I knew a little bit of his story,” veteran pitcher Kyle Hendricks told the Sun-Times. “But just all the details and the passion that he talks about it with, the love for baseball. That guy just loves baseball, he'll be in this as long as he can be. It brings more passion to yourself — motivation.”

Cardinals 7, Cubs 2

Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga made the last start of his first spring training on Tuesday. He gave up eight hits and three earned runs in three-plus innings, but his final line was affected by shaky fly ball defense behind him. Two or three hits may have been outs in the regular season, but there was no sense in risking injury to go all out on the last day of spring training. Though Imanga wasn’t happy with the results of his start, he’d been focused on his slider since his last outing and saw improvement. “I learned the importance of training and recovery, especially at the same time, and it's good to take that into the season,” Imanga said through interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “As well as the power and the speed difference of the MLB hitters.”

• Ian Happ, leading off and serving as the designated hitter, led the team with two hits. Outfielder Mike Tauchman and minor-leaguer Christian Franklin both homered. It was Tauchman’s third home run of spring training.
• Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki got the day off on Tuesday, finishing the spring with a 1.593 OPS. “We kind of treated it like, ‘Do you want an at-bat today? Do you not? What do you need to finish your prep?’” manager Craig Counsell said. “A couple guys were good.”
• On deck: The Cubs (12-13-5) have an off day Tuesday before opening the season against the Rangers at Globe Life Field.