SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres have signed left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta (WAHN-dee) to a four-year contract through the 2027 season, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller announced today. The agreement includes three player options, allowing Peralta to either opt-out or extend the contract after each of the 2024, 2025, and 2026 seasons.
In 63 relief appearances for the New York Yankees last season, Peralta held opposing hitters to a career-best .190 average (36-for-189) and went 4-2 with four saves, a 2.83 ERA (17 ER, 54.0 IP), and a 1.22 WHIP. The southpaw held left-handed hitters to a .138 (11-for-80) opponent average, ranking 3rd-lowest in the American League (minimum 50 batters faced), and righties hit .229 (25-for-109) against him. His 51 strikeouts and 63 appearances were both his 2nd-most in a single campaign, shy of his 57 punchouts and 69 appearances in his first full Major League season in 2017. His 6.00 hits allowed per 9.0 innings pitched led the Yankees’ staff and ranked 6th-best in the AL among those with as many appearances, and he also held the opposition to a .159 (7-for-44) average while pitching with runners in scoring position, tying for the 8th-lowest opponent clip with RISP in the AL (min. 53 batters faced). Peralta was scoreless in 52 of his 63 overall appearances, including 30 of his final 36 outings before he landed on the 15-Day Injured List on September 22 with a left triceps strain, missing the final 12 games of the season.
In parts of eight Major League seasons between the Cincinnati Reds (2016-19), San Francisco Giants (2019-21), and Yankees (2021-23), Peralta owns a 19-18 record and 3.88 ERA (149 ER, 345.2 IP) in 385 career appearances (one start) with 13 saves, 82 games finished, 291 strikeouts, 8.1 hits allowed per 9.0 IP, and a .241 (311-for-1,293) batting average against. The 6-foot, 227-pound reliever eclipsed 50 appearances in a season on five occasions (2017-18, 2021-23), and after working 56.1 innings with a 2.72 ERA in 2022 with New York, he has both posted a sub-3.00 ERA and surpassed the 50.0-inning threshold in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career. In that time since 2022, the 32-year-old had the 11th-best opponent batting average (.199) and opponent OPS (.587) of all pitchers who made at least 119 appearances. Peralta made seven Postseason appearances for the Yankees in 2022, owning a 3.12 ERA (3 ER, 8.2 IP) with eight strikeouts against one walk. The native of San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic was originally signed by the Reds as an international free agent on August 17, 2009.
