Wandy Peralta leaves Yankees for 4-year deal with Padres, source confirms
Yankees relief pitcher Wandy Peralta reacts after striking out Angels DH Shohei Ohtani to end the top of the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium on April 19, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Cross another bullpen arm off the Yankees’ wish list for 2024.
Lefthander Wandy Peralta, a stalwart reliever for the Yankees the last three seasons, agreed to four-year, $16.5 million free-agent deal with the Padres on Wednesday, a source confirmed.
The Yankees had an interest in bringing back Peralta, among the most popular players in the clubhouse because of his combination of bulldog competitiveness and sense of humor, but only if they could get him at a significant discount.
That was always a long shot proposition on the free-agent market given Peralta’s last three seasons in which he posted a 2.82 ERA in 165 games.
Righty Hector Neris, another free-agent reliever in whom the Yankees had an interest, signed with the Cubs over the weekend for one year and $9 million.
Though the Yankees have kept in touch with two of the bigger names left on the relief market — righties Ryan Brasier and Phil Maton — general manager Brian Cashman indicated last month not to expect any more big moves this winter.
“If we can run into some opportunities that make enough sense, it’s a possibility,” Cashman said Jan. 18 . “But otherwise, we do like what we have.”
The Yankees, whose 2024 payroll will eclipse $300 million, entered the winter with improving their offense as priority No. 1 and subsequently made deals for outfielders Juan Soto, Trent Grisham and Alex Verdugo. After losing out to the Dodgers on their top pitching target, Japanese righthander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Yankees signed Marcus Stroman to a two-year, $37 million deal with a vesting player’s option for a third year.
As for the bullpen, the Yankees have added depth, though not with any headline names. The club generally has done well in recent years when it comes to turning pitchers with not much on their career resumes into effective relievers (Peralta and closer Clay Holmes are two examples).
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
