Freddy Peralta
Freddy Peralta, the Dominican right-hander nicknamed "Fastball Freddy", was named ALCS MVP on October 19, 2026, after pitching the Tampa Bay Rays past Cleveland and into a World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the team he pitched for from 2018 to 2025. Traded twice in 2026, he can become a free agent after the Series.
All 13 questions▾
People also ask
Where does Freddy Peralta live?
Freddy Peralta has not made a home address public. During the season his professional base is the Tampa Bay area: the Rays play their home games at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he has pitched since his trade on August 2, 2026. Before that he was based in New York with the Mets (first half of 2026) and in Milwaukee with the Brewers (2018-2025). He was born and raised in Moca, in the Dominican Republic. Sources: MLB.com, Wikipedia.
What is Freddy Peralta's nationality?
Freddy Peralta is Dominican. He was born in Moca, Dominican Republic, to Pedro Peralta and Octavia Diaz, and signed with the Seattle Mariners as an international free agent in 2013 for a $137,000 bonus, before being traded to Milwaukee in December 2015. Sources: MLB.com, Wikipedia.
How old is Freddy Peralta?
Freddy Peralta was born on June 4, 1996, which makes him 30 years old as of October 20, 2026. He made his MLB debut at 21, on May 13, 2018, for the Brewers at Coors Field in Denver. Sources: MLB.com, Wikipedia.
How tall is Freddy Peralta?
MLB.com lists Freddy Peralta at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) and 198 lb (90 kg), and Baseball-Reference also gives 6-0. Some older profiles list him at 5 ft 11 in, but the official MLB listing is 6-0. He bats and throws right-handed. Sources: MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.
Why did Freddy Peralta win ALCS MVP?
Peralta was named ALCS MVP after the Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-2. He went 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA, allowing one run in 12 innings with nine strikeouts. He threw six scoreless innings in a 3-1 win in Game 2, got two big outs in relief in Game 4 (retiring Steven Kwan and Chase DeLauter with the tying run on base), and started the Game 6 clincher, a 7-3 win on October 19 in which he allowed one run on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He appeared in three of Tampa Bay's four ALCS wins. Sources: MLB.com, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports.
What are Freddy Peralta's 2026 stats?
In the 2026 regular season Peralta went 10-11 with a 4.42 ERA over 32 starts, with 156 strikeouts in 169 innings. The season split in two: 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts for the Mets, then 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts for the Rays. He was AL Pitcher of the Month for September (4-0, 0.96 ERA in five starts). In the 2026 postseason he is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA in 16 2/3 innings. Sources: MLB.com, ESPN.
Why was Freddy Peralta traded to the Rays?
The Mets traded Peralta to Tampa Bay on August 2, 2026, after a disappointing half season in New York (4.99 ERA in 22 starts) with the club out of the playoff picture and Peralta headed for free agency. In return the Mets received three prospects: outfielder Aidan Smith, infielder Emilien Pitre and right-hander Gary Gill Hill. With the Rays he pitched more from the stretch, threw more changeups and raised his arm angle, and his results turned around. Sources: ESPN, MLB.com, CBS Sports.
Why did the Brewers trade Freddy Peralta to the Mets?
On January 21, 2026, Milwaukee sent Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers to the Mets for two of its top prospects, pitcher Brandon Sproat and infielder Jett Williams. Peralta was one year from free agency and coming off the best season of his career (17-6, 2.70 ERA, 204 strikeouts in 2025), so the Brewers cashed in on his value. Sources: AP, FOX Sports, Wikipedia.
Is Freddy Peralta pitching against the Brewers in the World Series?
The Rays face the Milwaukee Brewers, Peralta's team from 2018 to 2025, in the 2026 World Series starting Friday, October 23, at American Family Field. As of October 20, reports said he would likely start Game 2 on Saturday, October 24, in Milwaukee, but the Rays had not officially announced it. On facing his old club, he said: "Milwaukee is the team and the city that gave me the opportunity to make my dream." Sources: Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, MLB.
What is Freddy Peralta's salary in 2026?
Peralta earns $8 million in 2026, a club option year attached to the five-year, $15.5 million extension he signed with the Brewers on February 28, 2020. It is the final year of that contract. The Mets and then the Rays took on that salary in the trades. Sources: AP, Wikipedia.
Is Freddy Peralta a free agent after 2026?
Yes. Peralta is eligible for free agency after the 2026 World Series, since his contract ends with this season. No new deal or extension with Tampa Bay had been reported as of October 20, 2026. Sources: CBS Sports, ESPN.
What pitches does Freddy Peralta throw?
Peralta relies on a four-seam fastball that averaged about 94 mph in 2026, backed by a changeup (about 87 mph), a curveball (about 79-80 mph), a slower curve and a slider. In the ALCS he threw the hardest pitch of his career, 99.4 mph in Game 2, and set career highs for pitches at 97 mph or more in both of his starts, which is why he is known as "Fastball Freddy". Sources: MLB.com, Baseball Savant, Screwball.
How did Freddy Peralta do with the Brewers?
In eight seasons in Milwaukee (2018-2025), Peralta became the ace of the rotation. He made the All-Star team in 2021 and 2025, led the National League with 17 wins in 2025 (17-6, 2.70 ERA) and finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting. His 1,153 strikeouts rank third in Brewers history, behind Ben Sheets and Yovani Gallardo. His debut in 2018 was memorable: 13 strikeouts in 5 2/3 scoreless innings at Coors Field, a Brewers record for a first start. Sources: Yahoo Sports, Wikipedia.
Freddy Peralta is a right-handed starting pitcher from Moca, in the Dominican Republic, and the man of the moment in baseball. Born on June 4, 1996, and listed at 6-0 by MLB.com, he signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2013, was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015 for Adam Lind, and debuted in 2018 with 13 strikeouts in his first big league start. Over eight seasons in Milwaukee he became the ace of the staff, a two-time All-Star (2021, 2025) and a fifth-place finisher in the 2025 NL Cy Young vote after going 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA.
His 2026 season took two sharp turns. The Brewers traded him to the New York Mets on January 21 for prospects Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams, and the move did not work: a 4.99 ERA and a 5-9 record in 22 starts. On August 2 the Mets sent him to the Tampa Bay Rays for three prospects (Aidan Smith, Emilien Pitre and Gary Gill Hill). In St. Petersburg he changed his delivery and pitch mix, went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA and was named AL Pitcher of the Month for September.
The turnaround carried into October. After a start in the ALDS sweep of the Yankees, he threw six scoreless innings in Game 2 of the ALCS, closed out a key inning in relief in Game 4, then started the clincher on October 19, a 7-3 win over Cleveland. With a 0.75 ERA over 12 innings in the series, he was named ALCS MVP. The full October bracket is on our MLB playoffs 2026 page.
He is trending because the story writes itself: the World Series 2026 pits the Rays against the Brewers, the team that developed him, starting October 23 in Milwaukee, and reports expect him to start Game 2 there, which had not been officially confirmed as of October 20. Neither franchise has ever won a World Series. It is also his last stretch under contract ($8 million in 2026): he can become a free agent once the Series ends. Sources: MLB.com, ESPN, CBS Sports, Yahoo Sports, AP, Wikipedia.
