New York Yankees Still Pursuing Freddy Peralta After Acquiring Ryan Weathers
After acquiring Starting Pitcher Ryan Weathers from the Miami Marlins yesterday, the New York Yankees are still looking to add more to their starting rotation. Per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, the Weathers addition doesn’t close the door on the Yankees’ pursuit of Freddy Peralta. New York is still very much in the mix and continues to have ongoing dialogue with Milwaukee.
Yankees Looking To Add More
Adding another starter alongside Weathers makes a ton of sense for the Yankees. They need more depth with three starters already out heading into Spring Training. Peralta is the perfect option, being a high-end starter who has pitched over 160 innings in the past three seasons, and has been a very reliable option for the Brewers to turn to in the most significant moments.
New York’s pitching stood no chance in the Divisional series against the Blue Jays, and Freddy Peralta would solve a ton of issues for them.
Peralta was one of the best pitchers in the National League last season, but he would cost the Yankees some of their top prospects. Last season in Milwaukee, he had a 2.70 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He’s in the last year of his contract, meaning it wouldn’t take an absolute haul to acquire him. Luis Gil is one of the candidates to headline a potential deal, which makes a ton of sense.
Gil missed the first four months of the season after suffering a high-grade lat strain in Spring Training. He returned in early August, and while the numbers may not show it, he struggled mightily with command. In just 11 starts, he posted a 3.32 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. The numbers were down significantly compared to his rookie of the year season in 2024. It looked like his mechanics were off all season, but with a complete Spring Training, he will try to get back on track.
What Would a Deal Look Like?
On top of Gil, the New York Yankees would likely have to part with another high-end pitching prospect. Their top prospects are Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodriguez. Lagrange is the Yankees’ second-highest-ranked prospect in their system and has a ton of potential. He has an outstanding frame with a fastball that can go up to 103 miles per hour. Alongside the fastball, he has a wicked slider that keeps batters off balance, and he did a nice job when promoted to Double-A.
Elmer Rodriguez is the third-ranked prospect in their system and is closer to the big leagues than Lagrange. He features a fastball, a curveball, and a fantastic slider. He uses his off-speed pitches most often rather than relying solely on his fastball. He was promoted to Double-A last year and pitched to a 2.64 ERA in just 11 starts. He was called up to Triple-A late in the season and will likely start there in 2026.
The Brewers are known for developing young starters, and the Yankees have two blue-chip prospects they would be interested in. They aren’t going to pay Peralta, so it makes sense to get assets back for him rather than him leaving in free agency for nothing. With the Yankees looking to win now, Peralta fits perfectly in their plans.
Yankees Need To Go All In On Peralta
If it means giving up a lot of young talent, the Yankees need to overpay to land Peralta. Their rotation when healthy would be one of the best in all of baseball, and Peralta would be a key piece in the playoffs that they’ve been missing for a long time. Neither Lagrange nor Rodriguez are Major League-ready. They will not help the Yankees next season as they look to win their first World Series since 2009.
Not to mention, if you bring in Peralta, it could move Weathers to the bullpen, making the back end even more lethal. Being able to put Weathers in the bullpen would be huge, as he could give them multiple innings and high velocity as a left-hander, which is something they haven’t had since Aroldis Chapman.
