Not too long ago, Oswald Peraza was one of the New York Yankees’ top prospects. During his brief time on the MLB top 100 prospects list, Peraza peaked at No. 52 in 2023. After a promising MLB debut in 2022, Peraza’s career would quickly be delayed by injury. His second MLB season in 2023 ended poorly with low numbers and a pair of injuries. Unfortunately, the same storyline followed him into 2024. That season, Peraza would only play four games.
With Anthony Volpe holding down shortstop, Peraza had gradually lost relevance. However, over the winter, Peraza’s relevance made a stunning resurgence. With an opening at third base, Peraza was given a chance to prove himself ready for himself ready for a full-time field position at the major-league level. It would be Peraza’s last chance since he has no remaining minor-league options. And with DJ LeMahieu injured, the position battle came down to him and Oswaldo Cabrera; a battle which Peraza lost.
In 50 at-bats during spring training, Peraza collected only eight hits (.160 batting average) with one double, his only extra-base hit. If it weren’t for LeMahieu’s injury, Peraza wouldn’t have made the roster as a backup infielder. Now that he’s on the roster, Peraza is proving what we failed to prove in spring training. Unfortunately, it may be too late.
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Oswald Peraza is off to a promising start, but it might not matter
As a replacement infielder, Peraza has only seen action in four games collecting just six plate appearances. However, in this short time, Peraza is 3-for-6 with a home run and double. For Peraza, this hot start (albeit only a sample size) after so many struggles should be a relief, but it appears the inevitable end result hasn’t changed.
Eventually, LeMahieu will return. At that point, Peraza’s job will be usurped and he will, in all likelihood, be DFA’d. Unless he sees more opportunities in which he continues to thrive, the more versatile Cabrera will be awarded his bench role (barring the chance Aaron Boone decides to bench LeMahieu instead; not an optimal solution for a $90 million infielder). The only good news here is that Peraza might be boosting his trade value.