Freddy Peralta Finally Puts It Together for Rays To Beat Tigers
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The Tampa Bay Rays needed an upgrade for their starting rotation ahead of the MLB trade deadline and landed on Freddy Peralta.
Acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Aidan Smith, infielder Emilien Pitre and right-handed pitcher Gary Gill Hill, some models thought the Rays may have overpaid for the veteran right-handed pitcher.
It was tough to argue against that, with Peralta producing a 4.99 ERA and -0.5 bWAR with the Mets. And with how his tenure with Tampa Bay began, calling that deal a slight overpay was a vast understatement. Through four starts, he had a 7.17 ERA across 21.1 innings, giving up five home runs.
However, the talent everyone knows Peralta possesses was on full display against the Detroit Tigers. Looking to take the series on the road at Comerica Park, the veteran righty put together a dominant performance.
Freddy Peralta has best start of Rays tenure against Tigers
He threw six shutout innings, allowing only two hits without walking a single batter, to go along with four strikeouts. It was a much-needed breakthrough performance for Peralta, who was pitching himself out of a spot in the team’s playoff rotation.
Only 81 pitches were needed to get through his six frames of work, and 50 of them went for strikes. Kevin Kelly came out of the bullpen for two innings of relief, and Tyler Wells closed things down in the ninth inning to complete the 3-0 shutout.
Some fans likely wanted to see Peralta work deeper into the game, after his start against the Baltimore Orioles on Aug. 16 turned disastrous when he was lifted early after only 4.2 innings. But there is nothing wrong with having him end things on such a high note, given how much he has struggled to this point with the Rays.
There is certainly a caveat with some of his shortcomings thus far. His first two outings after the trade deadline came against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field and the Athletics at Sutter Health Park, two hitter havens.
Freddy fanned 'em pic.twitter.com/5pgl9MnGu2
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) August 26, 2026
He has been working diligently with the coaching staff on a few adjustments, and everything clicked in Detroit. Six shutout innings are an unrealistic expectation each time he takes the mound, but Peralta certainly has front-end stuff; he didn’t lead the National League with 17 victories and produce a 5.5 bWAR last year by accident.
Hopefully, a corner has been permanently turned by Peralta, and this is the start of a strong finish to the regular season.
If he can get close to the level he was at last year, the Rays will have as formidable a rotation as any with Peralta behind Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martinez and Shane McClanahan.
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Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. Previously, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.