Cubs Claim LHP Luis Peralta off Waivers from Cardinals

In their unending quest for emergency pitching depth, the Cubs have claimed left-handed reliever Luis Peralta — the younger brother of former Brewers ace Freddy Peralta — off waivers from the Cardinals. St. Louis had designated Peralta for assignment on Friday, and he has now been optioned to Triple-A Iowa. There was an open spot on the Cubs’ 40-man after Yacksel Ríos was DFA’d earlier in the day.

The 25-year-old Peralta is now with his fifth different organization since 2024 and his third since April. He was originally signed by the Pirates as an international free agent in 2018, then was traded to the Rockies for lefty Jalen Beeks at the deadline in ’24. The Rox DFA’d him on April 21, then the Cards did the same, so now he’s with the Cubs.

Peralta made his MLB debut in ’24, pitching 12.1 innings over 15 appearances and posting a 0.73 ERRA with 14 strikeouts. He was not quite as successful last season, with a 9.47 ERA and 16 strikeouts with 18 walks over 19 innings in 22 appearances. Control has been an issue for him, which isn’t great for a guy who throws his 94-95 mph fastball over 70% of the time. That usage is down to around 59% at Triple-A this season, but he’s walked 13 batters in 7.1 innings.

He’s also struck out 14, though that’s not nearly enough to make up for 14 earned runs on 10 hits. I am not sure this ends in anything other than another DFA at some point this summer, but we’ll see.