How Rays fixed Freddy Peralta after disaster stint with Mets

1 week ago 15

At the 2026 MLB trade deadline, the Tampa Bay Rays made a couple of notable moves. While the Liam Hicks trade was interesting, the one that drew the most attention was their deal for Freddy Peralta.

He struggled with the Mets, posting a near 5.00 ERA in 22 starts for the team in a disastrous stint. But the Rays decided to take a chance on Peralta in hopes they could help him turn his season around. Well, that's exactly what happened.

Peralta has returned to ace form with the Rays and is playing a key role in their postseason run. So, how did they do it? As ESPN's Jorge Castillo revealed, the Rays made a few key changes and have borne the fruit of his second-half turnaround.

How Rays fixed Freddy Peralta after awful Mets stint

There are a few big changes that the Rays made with Peralta; the first, and simplest of the bunch, was having Peralta pitch out of the stretch full-time. Jorge Moncada, the Rays bullpen coach, shared some insight into how this change was made.

"He said, 'I always feel comfortable pitching out of the stretch,'" Moncada said of Peralta. "So we were like, 'Go with what makes you most comfortable,' and he went back."

This simple change for Peralta has clearly helped, as he's turned the corner for the Rays since making this change. But that's not all that the Rays did to fix Peralta.

"From there, the Rays instituted further modifications," Castillo writes. "They had Peralta move to the third base side of the rubber and widen his stance. They told him to speed up his delivery. They gave him a drill package to incorporate into his preparation to generate more strength from his legs."

All of those changes, from the adjustments on the mound to his changes when he's off of it, have culminated in quite the mid-season turnaround from Peralta.

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In 22 games with the Mets, Peralta had a 4.99 ERA. In 10 regular-season starts with the Rays, Peralta had a 3.25 ERA. He's even better in the postseason, posting a 0.79 ERA in three games across 11.1 innings pitched.

Thanks to multiple key changes, including to which side of the rubber he pitches from, and pitching exclusively from the stretch, Peralta's managed to turn his 2026 season around.

Now, he's on the cusp of leading the Rays to the World Series, where he would face his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers.

After a horrible stint with the Mets, Peralta's turned his season around thanks to changes the Rays helped him make following his trade to Tampa Bay at the deadline. The Rays fixed Peralta and are reaping the rewards this October.