Right-hander Freddy Peralta was widely assumed to be a Cubs trade target last summer while he was with the Mets.
He’d had several good seasons pitching for Craig Counsell in Milwaukee, likely enough to recommend him.
But Peralta was pretty bad in 22 starts with the Mets: 4.99 ERA, 1.478 WHIP, 17 home runs allowed in 113.1 innings. That included losing twice to the Cubs. So the Cubs instead traded for two other members of the Mets rotation and Peralta went to the Rays, where he pitched in the World
Series — and was also very good in the 10 regular-season starts he made in Tampa Bay, posting a 3.25 ERA and 1.012 WHIP, more in line with his Milwaukee numbers
The reason this happened is simple. The Rays figured out how to fix him:
[Jorge] Moncada, the Rays’ bullpen coach since 2023 after a lengthy stint in their system as a pitching coach and coordinator, dug into video of Peralta when he was at his best for Milwaukee last September and when he was at his worst in his final starts as a Met in July. Soon enough, Moncada noticed something: Last season, Peralta exclusively pitched out of the stretch. This season, he was going through an elaborate windup, hands over his head, with the bases empty. So he posed a question to his newest pupil as the meeting drew to a close: Which is more comfortable?
“He said, ‘I always feel comfortable pitching out of the stretch,'” Moncada said. “So we were like, ‘Go with what makes you most comfortable,’ and he went back.”
From there, the Rays instituted further modifications. They had Peralta move to the third-base side of the rubber and widen his stance. They told him to speed up his delivery. They gave him a drill package to incorporate into his preparation to generate more strength from his legs. In one of the drills, Peralta straps a 3D belt around his waist and Moncada pulls it so he feels the weight in his backside.
The modified routine, Moncada explained, set the foundation for Peralta to create better momentum toward the plate. His arm angle was raised slightly. His average arm extension rose a fraction.
I quoted quite a bit there — and there’s more, go to the link — mainly to give a prime example of how other teams’ pitching infrastructure is so far superior to the Cubs’. I wonder, had the Cubs actually been able to trade for Peralta, whether they would have been able to figure these things out and implement them the way they were in Tampa Bay. I’ll continue to maintain that Jed Hoyer ought to fire pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, VP of pitching strategy Tyler Zombro, and the rest of the pitcher coaches and start over. How much worse could it be?
Nevertheless, it does appear that Peralta is back to the way he pitched in Milwaukee, and that should be something that should attract the Cubs to signing him, especially with his long history with Counsell.
Peralta is 30 and will turn 31 in June. MLBTR says he’s worth a five-year, $110 million deal, which would be for his ages 31-35 seasons. I think such a deal would be well worth it. Presuming he’s healthy, Peralta should be a solid 3 or 4 WAR pitcher for the next five seasons.
Would you do it?
