Aaron Judge Has Words for Slumping Yankees Teammate

The problem, as the Yankees have learned firsthand the last three seasons, is that Peraza remains a below-average hitter. Peraza batted just .191 with -0.5 bWAR over 191 plate appearances in 2023, and he spent most of last year at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

It’s been much of the same so far. Peraza enters Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels hitting .167 with two home runs, nine RBI, and five doubles in 72 at-bats. His .560 OPS is well below the league-average .711, and he’s failed to take advantage of more opportunities following Oswaldo Cabrera’s recent ankle injury.

Peraza owns a 20-6 K-BB ratio across 79 plate appearances. It’d be one thing for Peraza to simply be a light-hitting reserve, but the former top-50 prospect lacks the plate discipline often needed to stick around.

“I want to play every day for the New York Yankees,” Peraza nonetheless told The Athletic.

“I can’t control that,” he added. “I practice every day. I want to play every day.”

It is unclear what the Yankees will do with Peraza when All-Star second baseman Jazz Chisholm returns from an oblique injury. Veteran infielder and two-time batting champion DJ LeMahieu could become the starting third baseman; LeMahieu is primarily seeing action at second base amid Chisholm's absence.