WANDY PERALTA
- Position(s): Left-handed pitcher
- Bats / Throws: Left / Left
- 2026 opening day age: 34
- Height / Weight: 6-foot / 227 pounds
- How acquired: Signed as a free agent in February 2024
- Contract status: Will make $4.45 million in 2026 after exercising a player option; has a $4.45 million player option for 2027.
- fWAR in 2025: 0.5
- Key 2025 stats: 6-1, 3.14 ERA, 0 saves, 4 holds, 63 strikeouts, 30 walks, 1.34 WHIP, .238 opponent average, 71⅔ innings (71 games, 1 start)
STAT TO NOTE
- 59.6 — Peralta’s groundball rate in 2025, ranking in the 97th percentile, more than 6 points ahead of last year’s rate and a career-high. The extreme groundball rate teamed with an average exit velocity (87.6 mph) that ranked in the 87th percentile to pave the way for a better second season in San Diego.
TRENDING
- Up — Acquired to serve as a set-up man in 2024, Peralta finished that year in the shadow of the likes of Robert Suarez, Jason Adam and Tanner Scott and remained in middle relief to start 2025 even before the team acquired Mason Miller to fortify the bullpen. Peralta still found himself in more high-leverage situations than he did a year ago (23, up from 15) largely because he was healthy from start to finish and more on top of his game than he was in his first year in San Diego (see stat to note). In fact, Peralta’s strikeout rate jumped from 5.2 per nine innings to 7.9, his homer rate dropped from 1.4 per nine innings to 0.6 and his FIP dropped from 5.46 to 3.62. Peralta did walk more batters in 2025 (3.8 per nine innings, up from 3.1), but that was more survivable because he kept the ball on the ground at a largely middling exit velocities (again, see stat to note). Peralta was even better against lefties in 2025 (opposing OPS dropped from .762 to .725), although nitpickers would be right to point out that he has a long ways to go to live up to what he did against lefties in 2023 (.483 OPS) and 2022 (.422 OPS). All told, Peralta finished the year with a career-high 71 appearances — including one spot start as an opener at Dodger Stadium — and on the postseason roster for the NL Wild Card Series, where he struck out a batter over 1⅓ scoreless innings across two appearances at Wrigley Field.
2026 OUTLOOK
- While the ship may have sailed on Peralta’s opportunity to work at the back of games, he remains firmly entrenched in a middle-relief role heading into his third year in San Diego. Miller, Adam (when healthy), Adrián Morejón and Jeremiah Estrada figure to be the go-to arms in late-and-close games, with Peralta, LHP Yuki Matsui and the up-and-coming David Morgan likely figuring into those situations as rest dictates off-days for the group.
ROSTER RANKINGS
- 21. LHP Wandy Peralta
- 22. C Luis Campusano
- 23. LHP Yuki Matsui
- 24. INF Sung-Mun Song
- 25. RHP Matt Waldron
- 26. OF Bryce Johnson
- 27. RHP Ron Marinaccio
- 28. RHP Bryan Hoeing
- 29. LHP Kyle Hart
- 30. RHP Jhony Brito
- 31. INF Will Wagner
- 32. OF Tirso Ornelas
- 33. RHP Garrett Hawkins
- 34. RHP Miguel Mendez
- 35. RHP Daison Acosta
- 36. RHP Ty Adcock
- 37. RHP Alek Jacob
- 38. INF Mason McCoy
