ST. PETERSBURG -- Go back to the beginning of the 2026 season and tell Freddy Peralta that by Oct. 19, he’d be the American League Championship Series MVP and preparing to pitch in the World Series for the first time. What would the 30-year-old right-hander have said?
“That you are crazy,” a smiling Peralta said on TBS on Monday night.
There would have been a lot of questions as well. After all, Peralta was traded from the Brewers to the Mets back in January, so he was in the National League. Also, New York was a struggling squad by mid-summer, and Peralta was having a tough season, so it seemed unlikely he would be pitching (much less starting) games in the postseason.
Unless he was traded. Unless he turned his season around.
And that’s exactly what happened. Dealt to the Rays on Aug. 2, Peralta got a chance to pitch in meaningful games down the stretch, pitched better and is now becoming a playoff hero for his new team. The righty tossed 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball in Tampa Bay’s 7-3 ALCS Game 6 victory over Cleveland on Monday night at Tropicana Field, securing the series’ MVP Award.
Peralta couldn’t be more thrilled with how these unexpected developments transpired.
“It's unbelievable. I think I have to see [the ALCS MVP trophy] when I go home tonight and start thinking about it, because I still am in shock because I don't believe it's here,” Peralta said. “Even in the moment, it surprised me, because I thought it was going to be somebody else because there's a lot of talent, a lot of players that did a great job. And I think it could be anybody.”
But it went to “Fastball Freddy,” who electrified three times during the ALCS -- first when he pitched six scoreless innings in the Rays’ 3-1 Game 2 win, then again when he recorded two outs of heroic relief in a 7-3 Game 4 victory and finally with his Game 6 performance.
Across Peralta’s three ALCS appearances, he recorded a 0.75 ERA with nine strikeouts in 12 innings. His increased fastball velocity was key to both of his starts, as he set new career highs (regular season or postseason) for pitches of 97-plus mph in each of those showings -- 29 in Game 2, then 33 in Game 6.
“His velocity was so high out of the gate, you were wondering how much he was going to be able to maintain it,” manager Kevin Cash said. “But couldn't be more impressed with the way he continued to take deep breaths and just make pitch after pitch for us.”
Peralta joined right-hander Matt Garza (2008) and outfielder Randy Arozarena (‘20) as Tampa Bay players to have won ALCS MVP. Arozarena, who now plays for Seattle, was in the crowd at The Trop on Monday to cheer on his former team and old friends.
After getting traded to Tampa Bay, Peralta completely turned around his season. The righty had a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts for New York, then posted a 3.25 ERA over his final 10 outings of the regular season for Tampa Bay. Peralta also had a solid showing in Game 2 of the AL Division Series vs. the Yankees, tossing 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball.
“We thought physically he was in a good spot, and we believed in the competitor, we believed in the human, and we felt like if we could afford some patience to him -- which, with five healthy starters at the time we felt we could -- that he was the option at the [Trade] Deadline that presented the most ceiling,” president of baseball operations Erik Neander said. “He busted through it and just deserves a tremendous amount of credit.”
Now, Peralta’s postseason run heads to a familiar site -- American Family Field, where he’s made 118 appearances (89 starts) between regular-season and playoff outings during his nine-year MLB career. It’s possible he’ll start Game 2 of the World Series vs. the Brewers on Saturday, which would be only his second outing as a visitor in the Milwaukee ballpark.
If Peralta is going to win a championship for the first time, he’ll need to go through his old team in order to do it.
“Milwaukee is the team and the city that gave me the opportunity to make my dreams [come true], and also, Milwaukee is going to be always in my heart,” Peralta said. “But it’s time now to compete. I’m grateful to be here, and excited to go.”