The St. Louis Cardinals are looking at different options to temporarily replace injured shortstop Jhonny Peralta. The 33-year-old is set to miss two to three months due to a ligament tear on his left thumb.

The injury reportedly occurred while he was fielding a foul ball during the Cardinals' 9-4 win over the New York Mets. An MRI revealed the tear as general manager John Mozeliak announced the injury to the team and media on Monday.

"Obviously, we hate losing Jhonny for that long of time. He's a great person. He's a great teammate to everybody in here. We're going to miss him, but he's going to come back strong," Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright said.

Peralta is in his third year in St. Louis, signing a four-year contract with the team in 2014 after four years with the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals has to replace his two-year batting average of .269 that also resulted in 38 total home runs and 146 RBIs. St. Louis has several options in-house as well as the trade market.

In-House Options

Three names pop out in the Cardinals Spring Training roster that could fill in for Peralta until he returns in May or June. The first option is utility infielder Jedd Gyorko, who was acquired in the Jon Jay trade with the San Diego Padres this offseason.

The next are two minor league players, Aledmys Díaz and Greg Garcia. Out of the two, Diaz has the most potential while Garcia is expected to compete with Gyorko for the utility role in the 25-man Opening Day roster.

"I definitely think Mr. Gyorko gives you more flexibility, especially from an offensive standpoint. And in terms of what we look like, there are always opportunities to get better," Mozeliak said. "Right now we just have to take this information, absorb it, and that will determine what our next steps are over the next week or two."

Trade Options

If the three in-house options don't work, the Cardinals may be interested in trading for the Atlanta Braves' veteran shortstop Erick Aybar. One MLB executive noted that if the Cardinals look at the trade market, Aybar will be at the top of their list.

The Braves are in rebuilding mode with Freddie Freeman as the only untouchable player on the roster. Other players that could peak the Cardinals interest are the Mets' Wilmer Flores and Rubén Tejada as well as the Arizona Diamondbacks' Nick Ahmed and Chris Owings.

As for free agents, Everth Cabrera is still on the market while former Cardinal infielder Pete Kozma may become available as he only has a minor league deal with the New York Yankees.