Aaron Boone begrudgingly admits hard Oswald Peraza truth after Yankees blowout

The New York Yankees-Los Angeles Angels series that concluded on Thursday contained plenty of riveting narratives. Chief among those storylines was an elusive revenge plot between the Yankees and their ex-prospect, Oswald Peraza — one that underwent a 180-degree switch-up not once, but twice, with Peraza ultimately having the last laugh.

Part one of the revenge saga: Peraza went 3-for-3 with a homer in the second game of the series, a 7-1 win for the Angels. Peraza's solo shot off of Ryan Weathers in the fourth came after Weathers had already allowed back-to-back-to-back dingers to Los Angeles in the top of the first. Given Peraza's history as an ex-Yankee, his home run — and overall performance on the day — was the definition of an "adding insult to injury" moment for the Yanks in the loss.

Part two: The tables quickly turned against Peraza in the following game of the series, which the Yanks stole in dramatic, ninth-inning fashion, thanks in large part to an embarrassing botched infield pop-up by Peraza.

Oswald Peraza lived up to top prospect pedigree at Yankees' expense

Part three: Peraza regained control of the revenge story in the series' final game on Thursday, going 2-for-4 with a two-run shot off Max Fried in the first inning. His RBI double also forced Fried out of the game in the sixth. The Angels wound up blowing out the Yanks, 11-4, and following the loss Yankees manager Aaron Boone admitted that New York was "absolutely hurt" in the four-game set by Peraza, who went 5-for-10 with the two homers, a double, and four RBI in the series.

While admitting bitter defeat at the hands of Peraza and the Angels, Boone inadvertently provided a succinct summary of Peraza's career up to this point. Peraza was initially a promising prospect bursting with talent in the Yankees' system, was then awful for at least two seasons (injuries played a part), was traded by New York for nothing, and is now raking with the Angels.

Boone didn't use those words, of course, but the picture he provided of Peraza's career equated to the same sentiment: The Yankees always saw all of the talent in Peraza that he is just beginning to wield now ... in a different uniform.

What really hurts about Peraza's revenge tour of Yankee Stadium is that he's still just 25, whereas the Yankees are currently employing a 31-year-old third baseman who cannot hit but costs $16 million this year.

Yankees shouldn't feel any real regret about trading Oswald Peraza quite yet

But let's not get too carried away here with the Peraza "regret." Despite a much-improved .250/.321/.479 line so far in 2026, it's a small sample size, and Peraza is still a career .195 hitter in the big leagues. He was downright terrible against MLB pitching in a Yankees uniform, and no fan thought twice when he was dealt (though they did question why he was aggressively tossed aside for Anthony Volpe).

Do the Yankees suffer from a recurring problem of letting guys walk and watching them excel everywhere else but New York? Yes, but there are myriad better examples than this Peraza situation to illustrate that issue. Good for the kid to get his sweet revenge at the scene of his abandonment, but Peraza still has a long way to go towards proving any real, sustained value as an MLB player. He's off to a good start, though, sticking it to the team that got his career started.

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