At long last, Oswald Peraza is here.
The New York Yankees are calling up their exciting shortstop prospect, according to the Post’s Joel Sherman.
SS Oswaldo Peraza is being promoted by the Yankees with rosters expanding.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) September 1, 2022
Peraza is the Yankees’ No. 3 prospect and has been at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre all year. The 22-year-old Venezuelan had a career year in the minors, batting .259 with 19 home runs and 50 RBI. Peraza also stole 33 bases and saw time and second and third base as well as shortstop.
This is a big deal for the Yankees since Oswald Peraza is more than just a random September call-up. New York chose not to sign Carlos Correa nor Trevor Story in free agency because of how much Brian Cashman believes in Peraza. Not to mention, No. 1 prospect Anthony Volpe is also near his own debut.
In this case, the Yankees need Oswald Peraza to spark them the same way Peraza’s minors teammate Oswaldo Cabrera has. Isiah Kiner-Falefa cost the Yankees a series win against the Angels Wednesday and is a liability at the plate. Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu have also been slumping.
The door is thus open for Peraza to make an impact on the Yankees for the last five weeks of the season. He doesn’t need to be Shane Spencer or smack home runs left and right. All he needs to do is be the same hitter as Cabrera, except with more consistent results.
This is also the time for Cashman to see just how Oswald Peraza fits into the Yankees’ future. He was mentioned in trade rumors at the deadline last month, but New York kept him. Now he has a chance to be an impact player on his struggling team during an important weekend series with the Rays.
Thankfully, Peraza should see time at shortstop or second base straightaway. Anthony Rizzo’s back is acting up again, so this likely shifts LeMahieu to first base. That opens up either middle infield spot for Peraza depending on who of Kiner-Falefa or Torres gets a day off.
The Yankees have just over a month to turn things around after an awful August. Let’s see if Oswald Peraza is the one to spark the fire.
