The Tampa Bay Rays were active right up to Monday night’s trade deadline, and their most significant addition is set to debut with his new team on Tuesday.
Right-hander Freddy Peralta (5-9, 4.99 ERA), acquired from the New York Mets on Sunday, will be on the mound when Tampa Bay plays the second contest of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies in Denver.
Colorado will send rookie righty Gabriel Hughes (0-3, 3.33) to the mound on Tuesday.
The Rays recorded a 13-9 win in the series opener on Monday night.
Tampa Bay also acquired reliever Tyler Wells and catcher/first baseman Liam Hicks before the trade deadline. The Rays recalled catcher Kenny Piper from Double-A Montgomery after dealing catcher Hunter Feduccia to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Piper made his major league debut Monday night, singling in his final at-bat.
Peralta, who spent his first eight seasons in Milwaukee before being sent to the Mets in the offseason, led the National League in wins in 2025 with 17. He struggled with the Mets and is ready for a new start after going from a last-place team to one with the best record in the American League.
“It’s very special, man. Very special,” Peralta said Monday. “I wish nothing but the best to the Mets organization, they were really good for me. Obviously, I let them down, but I’m here now. It’s different, now I belong here and I’m here doing my best and preparing to support and try to help the team to win.”
Peralta last pitched July 26 against the Dodgers, going four innings and tossing 93 pitches.
He is 5-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 10 career appearances (nine starts) versus Colorado.
The Rockies also shook up their roster, but they bolstered their farm system instead of the big-league lineup. Outfielder Brenton Doyle and pitchers Antonio Senzatela and Victor Vodnik were traded in separate deals.
Colorado held onto catcher Hunter Goodman, who leads the team with 33 home runs, as well as outfielders Jake McCarthy and Mickey Moniak.
“We think we got a lot of good players here,” said Paul DePodesta, president of baseball operations. “We think we have the foundation of something that has a chance to be pretty good, so it was going to take a lot to pry those pieces away.”
One of those pieces is Hughes, who made his major league debut July 3 in three innings of relief against San Francisco. He has started his last four games and is yet to record a win despite pitching well in those outings.
In his last start, a 3-1 loss at San Diego on Wednesday, he grinded through five innings and kept his team in the game.
“We’ve seen so far in his limited time here that he makes adjustments where, if it’s going wrong, he’s able to, midgame, right the ship,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “Not everybody can do that. That’s a very unique skill set, and one that longtime big leaguers have. I’ve learned a lot about Gabe.”
–Field Level Media
