The Rays announced that they have re-signed reliever Joel Peralta to a two-year contract. The deal guarantees the 36-year-old $6MM and includes a series of club options covering the 2015-17 seasons. Agent Mark Gilling represents the right-hander, who will be welcomed back to Tampa Bay.

“We love Joel’s competitiveness and the impact he has on the younger pitchers in our bullpen,” executive VP of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said in a team statement.

Peralta appeared in 76 games for the Rays this past season. He posted a 3.63 ERA with 11.3 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 67 innings, setting career highs in strikeouts (84) and strikeout rate.

Peralta ranked 38th on MLBTR's list of top 50 free agents. At the end of the season he expressed interest in re-signing with Tampa Bay if possible. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times first reported the news, adding that the 2015 option was valued at $2.5MM.