Freddy Peralta and Brewers Agree to Five-Year Contract Extension
By Jerry Trotta
MLB teams are looking to lock up pre-arbitration players with contract extensions in order to keep them off the open market a bit longer. Well, after southpaw reliever Aaron Bummer inked a five-year deal with the White Sox, another emerging pitching talent is set to receive an extension of his own.
According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Milwaukee Brewers are finalizing a long-term contract extension with right-hander Freddy Peralta.
Freddy Peralta deal with #Brewers, per source: Five years, $15.5M plus two club options that could bring value to $30M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 26, 2020
Rosenthal confirms that Peralta's contract is a five-year deal worth $15.5 million, and includes two club options that could bump its overall value to $30 million.
The Brewers clearly think highly of Peralta, who has shown flashes of excellence on the bump in his previous 55 appearances (22 starts) for the club. The 23-year-old, who has also endured periods of wavering command, impressing in his first outing of Cactus League play on Tuesday, spinning two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts.
RHP Freddy Peralta finalizing long-term extension with #Brewers, source tells The Athletic. Terms expected to be similar to deal that LH reliever Aaron Bummer recently signed twith #WhiteSox - five years, $16M, with two club options that could increase total value to $30.75M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 26, 2020
Reports out of Milwaukee indicate that Peralta has worked tirelessly to add a slider to his arsenal of pitches this offseason. Renowned as a fastball pitcher, his lack of variety on the rubber has plagued him in the past, and he's looked to address that over the winter.
Peralta finished 7-3, alongside a 5.29 ERA and 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 85 frames of work for the Brewers in 2019. He'll look to reward the organization's faith with an imposing 2020 campaign.