Wandy Peralta

Wandy Luis Peralta

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 210 lb.

• Debut September 4, 2016

• Born July 27, 1991 in San Francisco de Macoris, Duarte, D.R.

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Biographical Information

Wandy Peralta first reached the majors late in the 2016 season pitching for the Cincinnati Reds who had signed him as an international amateur free agent on August 17, 2009. He was 25 at the time of his debut and put up an ERA of 8.59 in 10 relief appearances. As a rookie in 2017 he was a regular member of the Reds' bullpen, going 3-4, 3.76 in 69 games. However, he fell back in 2018, his ERA rising to 5.36 in 59 games and was claimed on waivers by the San Francisco Giants halfway through the 2019 season after 1-1, 6.09 in his first 39 games. He did better with the Giants, with a 3.18 ERA in 8 September games.

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he made 25 appearances and went 1-1, 3.29 with 25 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings. He started the 2021 season with the Giants, going 2-1, 5.40 in 10 games before being traded on April 27th to the New York Yankees in return for OF Mike Tauchman (another player, Connor Cannon, was later sent to the Yankees as a player to be named later to complete the trade). He went on to have his best season thus far pitching in the back of the Yankees' bullpen, with an ERA of 2.95 in 46 games, with a 3-3 record and 3 saves. he pitched 42 2/3 innings and also made his first career start, acting as an opener against the Seattle Mariners on August 6th in what was his first appearance in a month after going on the injured list with a lower back strain. He only went 1 2/3 innings, not giving up a run, before leaving the game. He was not used in the Yankees' loss to the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Game.

He had another good season in 2022, making 56 appearances while going 3-4, 2.72 with 4 saves. Due to injuries to a number of the team's top relievers, he was used in more stressful situations but did well in the assignments. He was again on the injured list that September but was reactivated in time for the postseason, when he was used extensively. He appeared in all five of the games in the Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, giving up two runs in six innings. He picked up the save in Game 4 on October 16th by pitching the 9th inning of a 4-2 win in relief of Gerrit Cole and Clay Holmes. He pitched twice more in the ALCS against the Houston Astros, giving up one un in 2 2/3 innings as the Yankees were swept in four games. He made the news on March 2, 2023 when he became a poster boy for the positive effects of the newly-introduced pitch count: in a Grapefruit League game that day, he struck out Tucupita Marcano of the Pittsburgh Pirates on three pitches and needed just 20 seconds to do so! He was already known as a fast worker, so the new rules just emphasized this. He had another good season for the Yankees that year, going 4-2, 2.83 in 63 games with another 4 saves. However, the Yankees missed the postseason.

On January 31, 2024, he signed a four-year free agent contract with the San Diego Padres.

Further Reading

• AJ Cassavell: "Padres reach 4-year contract with lefty reliever Peralta", mlb.com, January 31, 2024. [1]

Related Sites

• Wandy Peralta on mlb.com