4 Yankees players who won't survive the trade deadline

Wandy Peralta

Last summer, Jordan Montgomery was the Yankees' shocking exodus. How could they possibly deal out of their current rotation during a playoff push?! The answer was, "Harrison Bader and an additional starter in López." Unfortunately, the second part backfired and the Yankees were left thin all August, but ... still, defensible trade, ultimately.

This summer, if the Yankees do employ a hybrid model, the surprising sale could be Peralta. If there's one thing the Yankees do well, it's create viable bullpen arms from shocking canvases. Peralta was an objective steal in 2021, but his free agency is fast approaching this winter.

While his numbers, on the surface, appear to be the same as they ever were this season (2.62 ERA after a 2.72 ERA last year), the underlying metrics indicate a second-half regression could be coming. Combine that with his mere two months of control, and Peralta might be headed for a new team this deadline, especially if the Yankees are confident in Jonathan Loaisiga's return (and believe Clarke Schmidt could be a bullpen piece down the stretch, too).

The Yankees will add a reliever at this year's deadline. They also might try to sell relatively high on Peralta, before his expected ERA (4.94) becomes reality. His walk rate has been bottom-of-the-barrel this season, ranking in the third percentile. He's kept the ball off the barrel, but he's clogged the bases far too often, leading to low-percentage xwOBA/xERA numbers.

All winter, fans worried about the beloved Nestor Cortes Jr. being the team's "baseball is a business" sell high candidate. Turns out, they might've been focused on the wrong quirky lefty.

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