Oswald Peraza Trade Keeps Paying Off for the Yankees in the Long Run

Some trades just take more time than others to age well.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman is likely happy with how the Oswald Peraza trade has worked out in his team's favor. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

When Angels third baseman Oswald Peraza went off on the Yankees early in the year, it seemed like general manager Brian Cashman had lost that trade. The once top prospect had been dealt to the West Coast rather unceremoniously at last year's MLB trade deadline and returned to the Bronx in April, crushing his old team to the tune of two homers, a double, two stolen bases, and four RBIs across 10 at-bats. Peraza left the Bronx sporting a 148 wRC+.

Things are a little different now. Peraza's season has since cratered.

Oswald Peraza hurt the Yankees in April; however, his performance has since regressed. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In 277 plate appearances, the infielder has an 82 wRC+. Peraza's performance has only worsened with each passing month, as he's slashing a putrid .079/.100/.079 with two RBIs, two stolen bases and a 52.6% strikeout rate in his last 14 games (38 ABs) since June 21.

If the Yankees felt like they lost the trade then, they probably don't have much remorse over the move now. On top of that being a reason Cashman & Co. should be happy, the player they acquired in the trade is off to a strong start this season.

Wilberson De Pena's stock is rising as a prospect

Nineteen-year-old Wilberson De Peña was only three years old the last time the Yankees won a World Series title. When the Yankees acquired him, he wasn't even a top-30 prospect in the Angels' system, according to MLB Pipeline. That is going to change soon.

De Peña showed flashes of power, owning a .493 slugging percentage in the minors last year, but he just hadn't made consistent contact enough. He was hitting .227 with a .306 on base at the time of the deal. This season, De Peña's power is on full display, and he could be on a meteoric rise through the Yankee system.

In 51 games in the Complex League, De Peña is hitting .345/.401/.684 with 16 home runs and 61 RBI. He is two homers shy of passing Joey Gallo's Florida Complex League record of 18 home runs. Gallo set that in 2012.

🚨Wilberson De Peña’s 16th HRs in yesterday’s game!

105.6 MPH EV#RepBx #Yankees pic.twitter.com/OvgrYb5hMu

— YankeesFarm (@YankeesFarm) July 15, 2026

While De Peña has only an 86.2 mph average exit velocity, he has reached as high as 111.1 mph this year. He also has an extravagant 16.7% barrel rate, according to Prospect Savant.

The tools are there for him to start climbing up the prospect ranks, and he has plenty of time to improve on his exit velocity and make more contact on pitches in the zone. He is just below league average in the FCL in that category. He has a 45th-percentile zone contact rate of 78.3%.

With the way that De Peña has hit, he has joined the top 30 Yankee prospects in Baseball America's ranking system. He is currently rated 12th in the system and is pegged as a 50-grade prospect. They believe even more power will come once he fills out his frame a bit more.

At this point, the Yankees shouldn't feel all that bad about shipping Peraza to the Angels. They may have a diamond in the rough with De Peña.