Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta has suffered a torn ligament in his left hand, general manager John Mozeliak told reporters on Monday (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Peralta is seeking a second opinion, but if this diagnosis holds, he could be facing an absence of two to three months.

Peralta, 33, was an All-Star last season, hitting .275/.334/.411 (102 OPS+) with 26 doubles, 17 home runs and 71 RBI.

The Cardinals did acquire Jedd Gyorko for Jon Jay from San Diego last December and Gyorko played a touch over 220 innings at short last season.