The Cardinals have claimed left-hander Luis Peralta off waivers from the Rockies, according to announcements from both clubs. Colorado designated him for assignment last week. The Cards had an open 40-man spot and have optioned Peralta to Triple-A Memphis, so no corresponding moves are necessary.
Peralta, 25, is the younger brother of Freddy Peralta. The younger sibling was a starter earlier in his career but got moved to a relief role when he was a minor leaguer with the Pirates. He showed tremendous promise in that role in 2024, the year he was traded to the Rockies in a one-for-one swap for Jalen Beeks.
Between the two clubs, he tossed 47 2/3 minor league innings that year, allowing only 0.94 earned runs per nine. He did give out walks at a high rate of 11.2% but his 40.1% strikeout rate was massive and his 48.8% ground ball rate above average as well. He also got to make his big league debut and put up a 0.73 ERA in 12 1/3 innings.
Things have been going downhill since then, however. He had a 9.47 ERA in the majors last year and a 9.09 ERA at the Triple-A level. For Albuquerque, his 28% strikeout rate was still pretty good but his 15.4% walk rate way too high. In the majors, things were even worse, as his ghastly 17.8% walk rate was higher than his 15.8% strikeout rate. He began 2026 back at Triple-A but but allowed 14 earned runs in 7 1/3 innings while walking 13 opponents.
His velocity is down a bit as well. His four-seamer averaged 95 miles per hour in 2024 but dropped about half a tick last year and is now down to 93.5 miles per hour so far in 2026. His curveball and changeup have had similar drops.
The Rockies eventually gave up. Perhaps that’s because the new front office is less enamored of Peralta but it’s hard to fault them when looking at Peralta’s recent numbers. For the Cards, despite a 14-13 record at the moment, they have long planned for 2026 to be an evaluation year. They are less focused on immediate contention and more worried about long-term development.
They’ve had an open roster spot since Jared Shuster was designated for assignment two weeks ago. They are using that today to grab Peralta. Obviously, Peralta’s stock is down at the moment, but the Cards will see if there’s a path to getting him back to that 2024 form. Peralta can be optioned for the remainder of this year and one additional season as well. If things click, he has less than a year of service time, meaning he could be affordably controlled for years into the future.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
Y?
Two words: Ryne Stanek
Peralta is a lefty, so those two words should actually be: Justin Bruihl.
Who cares if he’s a lefty? Have you seen Stanek’s numbers? WAY worse than Bruihl.
Not “way worse,” as they’ve both been similarly terrible. If you’re going to add a new lefty to the team, it would more likely be to replace the horrible lefty rather than the horrible righty.
Needs to replace Ryne Stanek!!
Stanek persistently gives up his control for a fraction more velocity!!! That just doesn’t make sense.
Too early to eat Stanek’s $3.5M.
If you are a southpaw you will always get another chance.
Especially since the Cardinals only have one competent lefty reliever on their entire 40-man roster.
9 ERA pitcher. Who wants season tickets?
Definitely only look at this year’s stats. You don’t want to look at last year’s stats to see what he is capable of.
I like this move. I think he just needs a little delivery adjustment. Great talent.
I wish the Baltimore Orioles could get rid of Mike Elias and his whole group. He has been the reason this team sucks again.
Bloom can evaluate talent, they need another lhp in the pen. It’s a safe cheap signing. If it doesn’t work out he can be cut. No harm, no foul.
Dumpster diving again, but they do need another lefty, and it actually worked when they first picked up O’Brien during the 2023-24 offseason.
Many clubs do it including the Yankees and Mets LA
Yeah, but most teams don’t build half their bullpen from the dumpster.
Absolutely tearing up AAA this year!
Have the Cardinals given up on Grounds Keeper Willie ( Dustin May)?
He’s spinning yet another gem tonight. 🙄
He’s had a few blowups this year, but if that guy is healthy I never bet against him.
He had 2 bad starts to begin the season, but he’s been great since then, including last night.
Leahy is the current starter to be most worried about.
You have to wonder about picking up castaway pitchers from the Rockies.
Rockies are bad at player development. Cards think they can do better
Potential is there apparently, so this move makes loads of sense with an open roster spot to play with. If he continues to struggle there is always the possibility he can pass through waivers and be stored as a nonroster piece in triple A.