Yankees 2024 Roster Report Cards: Oswald Peraza
12/02/2024 01:00 PM
The former top prospect's stock continues to fall following another lost season.
Oswald Peraza was supposed to be the next big infield prospect coming down the Yankees pipeline. His bat-to-ball skills drew comparisons to now-former teammate Gleyber Torres with his defensive prowess on the infield dirt expected to far exceed that of Torres and fellow top prospect Anthony Volpe. It has now been nearly three years since his debut and Peraza is no closer to breaking into the MLB squad than he was at the time of his call-up in 2022. Another lost season in 2024 leaves the former top prospect in a precarious position and potentially having played his last game for the Yankees organization.
Grade: I
2024 Statistics: 4 games, 11 PA, .200/.273/.500, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 115 wRC+, 0 OAA, 0.1 fWAR
2025 Contract Status: Not yet eligible for arbitration — under team control through 2029 but out of minor league options.
Peraza drew rave reviews as recently as 2023, placing as the Yankees' No. 3 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He was seen as a smooth operator at short with his excellent range, impressive footwork, and strong arm leading many to expect him to bump Volpe to second should they both carve out roles as major league regulars. Volpe has since gone on to establish himself as the franchise shortstop, beating him out in 2023 spring training, winning the Gold Glove as a rookie, and then finishing as a finalist there in 2024. Peraza meanwhile has played just 74 games at the major-league level in three seasons, injury and inconsistency halting his development in its tracks.
Peraza offered so much promise when he slashed .306/.404/.429 with a 145 wRC+ in an 18-game MLB debut cameo in 2022 to earn a spot on the ALCS roster. But things turned south the following season, Peraza getting a 52-game runout with the big league club to cover Josh Donaldson's injury absence. Perhaps being played out of position at third interfered with his performance at the plate, because he managed a paltry .191/.267/.272 triple slash line and 51 wRC+ in 191 plate appearances. This made his demotion upon Donaldson's return an easy decision, and he effectively treaded water to the tune of 108 wRC+ in 63 games at Triple-A.
If 2023 represented a step back for Peraza, then 2024 was an absolute nightmare. He started the season on the injured list with a subscapularis strain in his right shoulder and missed the first six weeks of the season. With the delayed start, his season never really took off, Peraza finishing the year slashing .246/.341/.394 with 13 home runs, 60 RBIs, and a 94 wRC+ in 92 Triple-A games. There was some hope after a midseason swing change, but despite some improved results in Scranton, the Yankees were seemingly unconvinced.
Peraza appeared in just four games at the MLB level, filling in for Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the hot corner as the third baseman recovered from a left elbow sprain in mid-August. The lone highlight came in an August 16th game against the Tigers, Peraza crushing a fifth-inning solo shot to double the Yankees' lead in an eventual 3-0 victory.
However, four games can only result in a grade of Incomplete on the season, and you could reasonably say that grade applies to his entire tenure in the organization. The last three years have been a series of stops and starts for the shortstop, and his development appears to have plateaued if not dipped from his initial years with the club. As Smith detailed in his final minor-league review of the season, Peraza went from the favorite to win the MLB shortstop competition held in spring 2023 to a player who may have played his last game in the organization. Not only was he injured to start the year, but he reportedly showed up to camp out of shape.
This year in particular, he appeared to suffer from the same lapses in concentration in the field and on the base paths that bedeviled Torres, and now that he is out of minor league options, the Yankees would have to designate him for assignment and pass him through outright waivers to make him re-eligible for assignment to a minor league affiliate. It's certainly not the outcome the Yankees would have hoped for from a player who placed among their top-four prospects for four consecutive years from 2020 through 2023.
