Peralta signed with the Oakland Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1996. He was originally an outfielder and played in the Dominican Summer League for the Athletics. He hit .247 in 52 games for them in 1997 but missed the 1998 season with an injury and was released on June 4.\n', '

Peralta signed with the Anaheim Angels as a minor league free agent on February 25, 1999. The Angels converted him to a pitcher and he was 2-3 with 12 saves and a 2.50 ERA for the Angels affiliate in the DSL. He moved to the U.S. in 2000 to play for the Butte Copper Kings in the Pioneer Baseball League and the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League. Between the two leaguees he was in 14 games and was 2-1 with a 6.59 ERA in 14 games. In 2001, he pitched in 41 games for the Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Midwest League with a 2.13 ERA and 23 saves, which ranked second in the Midwest League. He was promoted to the AA Arkansas Travelers of the Texas League where he had a 6.30 ERA in nine games with 2 saves. His 2002 season was also split between Cedar Rapids & Arkansas, appearing in 53 games with a 5-0 record, 2.49 ERA and 21 saves combined between the two leagues.\n', '

Peralta spent the 2003 season with Arkansas and was 5-4 with a 2.24 ERA in 47 games with 20 saves. He also made his AAA debut, walking the one batter he faced on August 2 for the Salt Lake Stingers of the Pacific Coast League. He spent all of 2004 with Salt Lake and was 4-2 with a 4.98 ERA in 39 games with 21 saves. He started 2005 back in Salt Lake and was 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 18 games with 10 saves.\n', '

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