THAT FREDDY PERALTA PREDICTION GAINING TRACTION

You wouldn’t hear the Yankees media name-dropped in every starting pitcher rumor under the sun if the Yankees actually treated starting pitching like a necessity and not a casual suggestion. 

Yes, they went out and got Max Fried—and credit where it’s due, he’s been excellent. But the man’s not a Marvel superhero. He can’t throw every game, cook postgame spreads, and heal the bullpen’s collective ERA with a wave of his glove.

Carlos Rodón? He's shown signs of life lately—flashes of the guy they thought they were getting last year, not the ghost of injured lefties past. But let’s be real: Gerrit Cole’s injury in 2024 should have been a bright, blinking neon sign that said, “Hey, maybe we should plan for more than hope.” Did they sign a second top-tier insurance policy? Nope. Once again, the Yankees front office did their best impression of a shrug emoji.

And here we are, clinging to first place by a fingernail while trending toward .500 baseball. That’s not how you “Bronx Bomb” your way into October, brother.

Now comes the latest buzz: the Yankees might make a move for a Brewers starter—specifically Freddy Peralta. Yes, that Freddy Peralta. The one with a 2.18 ERA over eight starts, one of which was against the Yankees themselves. During that game, former Yankee and current crystal ball enthusiast Cameron Maybin predicted—back in March—that New York would try to land Peralta by the deadline. The man might need a hotline to Brian Cashman.

Maybin’s prediction is getting more attention now, and rightfully so. Peralta has been shoving in the NL, and the Yankees? Well, they’ve got problems. Gerrit Cole is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Luis Gil is MIA until at least late June, and Marcus Stroman is on the IL with mysterious knee “stuff”—whatever that means. It sounds like something out of a Scooby-Doo episode.

And again, Rodón’s been solid recently, but that’s a small sample. Will Warren has a win and a 5.65 ERA in seven starts—not awful if this were spring training, but the Yankees aren’t playing the Syracuse Orange.

Oh, and in case you missed it, they designated Carlos Carrasco for assignment. So as of now, there isn’t a true fifth starter. Just vibes.

And so the question is, would the Yankees get a guy like Freddy Peralta? Only Cameron Maybin knows, I guess.  We shall wait and see.