Padres Said To Be Actively Discussing Peralta Trade
· Yahoo Sports
The San Diego Padres are rumored to be “actively discussing” a trade involving Wandy Peralta, according to a report from Steve Adams of MLBTradeRumors.com that referenced Jon Heyman of the New York Post. There are no reports that a deal is close, but this is one of the first reports of an active deal on a team that’s been rapidly veering toward being sellers at the deadline.
It makes sense given Peralta’s age, which is 35. He’s a second-tier reliever in a bullpen that’s been showing signs of being seriously cooked, and it makes sense to start selling smaller pieces who don’t have value. Peralta is playing out the third season of a four-year, $16.5 million contract, and until he appeared tonight he had a 2.32 ERA in 50-1/3 innings of relief.
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Peralta doesn’t have a high strikeout rate at 15.5 percent, and his rate of getting swings and misses is down as well. His walk rate is just under ten percent, and hitters are macKng contact against him at a slightly above average rate. Peralta also has a hight strand rate that’s actually the highest of his career so far.
The left-hander is also excellent at avoiding hard contact, and his ground ball is higher than it’s been in teh past as well. He’s hit 96 occasionally on both his four-seamer and sinker, so there’s still something left in the tank.
Peralta is owed just $1.57 million for the rest of this year, but he does hold a player option for next year, which makes him a little harder to trade. He profiles as a classic rental if he opts out or gets hurt, and he could wind up picking up that option, which would be undesirable if he struggles down the stretch.
The Padres haven’t signaled that they’re sellers yet, but they might be one of those teams that operates in a dual role this year. Peralta has been effective as a low-leverage option, so any team picking him up will doubtless be aware of that. San Diego’s bullpen is still strong, but the Padres also need at least one starter to stay in contention for the wild card.
There’s a financial unknown in this particular equation. The sale of the Padres isn’t finalized yet, and that’s not expected to happen until after the trade deadline. We don’t know who GM A.J. Preller is authorized to trade, nor do we know what kind of payroll budget he’ll be working with.