The Padres enter 2024 in a curious position. San Diego has re-aligned their roster this winter to cut payroll and stay competitive in the NL West. To do that, the Padres moved Juan Soto to the Yankees for pitching help and looked towards Korea and Japan for bullpen help. On January 31, the Padres continued their overhaul with the addition of ex-Yankee Wandy Peralta.
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A Look at Peralta
The Yankees acquired Wandy Peralta from the Giants back in 2021 in exchange for outfielder Mike Tauchman. The trade turned out pretty well for the Yankees, as Peralta gave the Yankees high-quality work in the late innings of games from 2021-23.
Last season, Peralta notched four saves and struck out 51 over 54.2 IP with an above-average Whiff%. And, the new Padre posted a GB% rate in the 94th percentile and a Hard Hit% in the 80th percentile per Statcast.
It’s not a shock that Peralta’s been able to generate a ton of weak contact, as the 32-year-old can pound left-handed hitters in with a power sinker that sits in the mid-90s and can just run in on batters from the same side.
The veteran lefty can also work righties with an above-average change that plays well off the sinker and netted him a 36.8% Whiff% last season.
He won’t strike out a ton of batters thanks to his reliance on the sinker but Peralta’s consistently been adept at getting weak contact. And that helped Peralta rank ninth among left-handed relievers (min. 90% GP as a reliever & 60 IP) in ERA+ (142) from 2021-23.
Peralta did have his walk troubles at times in 2023 but aside from last year, the lefty’s been fine when it comes to limiting them.
Per ESPN, Wandy Peralta is now headed to the Padres on a four-year, $16.5MM deal with three player opt-outs.
Analysis
Peralta was part of a dominant Yankees bullpen, as the lefty was a go-to man in the later innings and a setup man to closer Clay Holmes. Now, he’s set to join a Padres bullpen that’ll look different for 2024.
Relievers Josh Hader, Nick Martinez, and Tim Hill all won’t return in 2024, the latter of whom was non-tendered by San Diego. But since November, San Diego — a team that sought to cut payroll this winter — has made some cost-effective pickups and added Korean righty Woo Suk Go, former Rakuten Golden Eagle Yuki Matsui, and now Peralta to that bullpen.
Peralta could be looked upon as an upgrade to Tim Hill. The 32-year-old has a more formidable arsenal and has gotten more whiffs in recent years than the new White Sox.
And, the acquisition gives new manager Mike Shildt another option in the late innings.