Kansas City Royals agree to one-year deal with Wily Peralta

The next reclamation project is officially here. The Kansas City Royals have announced the signing of right-handed pitcher Wily Peralta to a one-year deal.

The pitching market seems to be taking shape following the acquisition of Mike Minor by the Texas Rangers. On Tuesday, the Kansas City Royals made their first move at bolstering their staff, inking Wily Peralta to a one-year deal with a team option for 2019.

The 28 year-old right-hander has spent his entire major-league career, thus far, in Milwaukee as a member of the Brewers. His six-year stint was certainly a tale of two halves. He was signed at the age of 16 out of the Dominican Republic and made his big league debut with the club in 2012.

Over his first three seasons, Peralta started 69 games and posted a 3.83 ERA and an ERA+ of 100, which is right on par with the league average. There was a lot of hype surrounding Peralta after 2014, in which he used his lively fastball to his advantage, as he notched 17 wins.

In the following three seasons, Peralta worked to overcome injuries and his performance suffered. From 2015 to 2017, he posted a 5.39 ERA while averaging under 100 innings pitched per season. He was eventually DFA’d in July of this past season and elected free agency.

Why sign Peralta?

The acquisition of Peralta by the Kansas City Royals shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise to anyone. Dayton Moore has been known to take a shot on players coming off a bad stretch. Sometimes this avenue doesn’t work out (think Kris Medlen or Miguel Tejada). But it has been proven to be a possibly successful way to round out your team (think Kendrys Morales or Jason Vargas).

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According to the Kansas City Star‘s Rustin Dodd, who first reported the news, the Kansas City Royals will give Peralta a base salary of $1.525 million in 2018, with a $3 million team option looming for 2019. Peralta will be able to earn performance incentives up to $1.25 million per season, as well, although those haven’t yet been named.

He may compete with guys like Nate Karns and Jakob Junis for a spot in the back-end of the rotation. But he will also be a viable option as a long reliever. While the signing might not jump off the page, this is a great low-risk, high-reward option for the Kansas City Royals, especially if they initiate a re-tooling phase.

Next: Top Royals pitching seasons ever

What are your thoughts on the signing of Wily Peralta? Who should the Kansas City Royals sign next? Let us know.