<table> </table> SURPRISE, Ariz. | Joel Peralta knew he had to do something last year as Christmas drew near. Not only was he coming off a dreadful season in the Royals&#8217; bullpen, but now he was getting hammered in Dominican Winter League.</p><p>So Peralta, 32, was prepared to listen when his old friend and mentor, Fausto Mejia, suggested some individualized attention.</p><p>It was Mejia, after all, who years ago helped turn Peralta from a failed outfield prospect into a big-league reliever.</p><p>&#8220;He said we had to work on some stuff,&#8221; said Peralta, who had allowed 10 runs and 20 hits in just 11 innings for Gigantes. &#8220;So I took about a week off.&#8221;</p><p>Mejia saw Peralta was bringing the ball up when breaking from his glove instead of pulling it down in more of a windmill motion.</p><p>The correction provided immediate improvement.</p><p>&#8220;I started by just working on my mechanics without the ball,&#8221; Peralta said. &#8220;Then as soon as I threw a bullpen (workout), I saw the difference in the angle of the ball and everything else. I knew right away that it was going to be better.&#8221;</p><p>Fast forward to spring training.</p><p>Peralta has recorded his last eight outs on strikeouts and is making a strong bid to hold on to his job in a deeply competitive field for the final spot or two in the bullpen.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s got a little more of an arm swing,&#8221; said pitching coach Bob McClure, alluding to the Mejia fix. &#8220;The other thing is Joel is not relying so much on his split. He&#8217;s using all three of his pitches, especially his fastball.</p><p>&#8220;Before, it seemed like he couldn&#8217;t wait to get to the split. Then next thing you knew, it was 2-0 and he couldn&#8217;t use it.&#8221;</p><p>The result was a 5.98 ERA in 40 appearances that included 15 homers surrendered in just 52 2/3 innings. No pitcher who worked at least 50 innings last season allowed more homers per nine innings.</p><p>&#8220;I think I was showing the ball way too early,&#8221; Peralta said. &#8220;As soon as the ball came out of my glove, they were able to see it. That&#8217;s one thing I fixed, and that&#8217;s what I think is making me pitch better.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m getting a better downward (plane) on my pitches now, too. That&#8217;s creating more movement on my breaking stuff.&#8221;</p><p>Peralta yielded a homer to Texas slugger Josh Hamilton in his first spring appearance but has allowed only three hits in his last four outings.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s keeping the ball down,&#8221; manager Trey Hillman said, &#8220;especially with his secondary pitches. He&#8217;s locating the fastball to be able to set the secondary pitches up.&#8221;</p><p>The numbers this spring still work against Peralta.</p><p>The Royals, depending on John Bale&#8217;s recovery from thyroid surgery, appear to have just one or two openings in their seven-man bullpen.</p><p>The competition includes Robinson Tejeda, Doug Waechter, Jamey Wright, Brandon Duckworth, Devon Lowery and Carlos Rosa.</p><p>Tejeda and Waechter are on big-league contracts with no options remaining.</p><p>Peralta is also out of options. So he&#8217;s pitching to attract attention elsewhere if he fails to stick with the Royals.</p><p>&#8220;This is what I go through every year,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I always have to pitch for a job. This is nothing new. Whatever happens, I have no control over it. So we&#8217;ll see. I just have to keep pitching well, and we&#8217;ll see.&#8221;