Wily Peralta is a starting pitcher at heart.
He is confident and comfortable wherever the Detroit Tigers need him, whether that’s in the rotation or out of the bullpen, but the 32-year-old right-hander started 18 of his 19 games for the Tigers last season and loves pitching deep into games.
Right now, Peralta is a reliever.
“If the opportunity comes, and that’s the way that I’m going to help the team win, I’m going to be able to do it,” Peralta said Saturday. “Mentally, I’m prepared. And physically, too. If they want me to start, and that’s the way I’m going to help the team win, I don’t have no problem with that.”
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Peralta, a 10-year MLB veteran, is likely to stay in the bullpen.
“I think it depends on the overall health of the rotation,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Saturday. “I don’t want him to go back and forth. We’d have to have a pretty substantial runway for him to be a starter to want to that. I think he knows that. We know that.
“Physically, that’s just not good for a starter to go back and forth to the bullpen. He’s articulated it to us. We’ve said it to him. Obviously you never know how it’s going to play out, but we don’t want to ramp him back up to only ramp him down when Matt and Casey come up here.”
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The Tigers placed left-hander Tyler Alexander on the 15-day injured list Monday, retroactive to Saturday, with a left elbow sprain. Detroit currently has four starters: Eduardo Rodriguez, Tarik Skubal, Michael Pineda and Beau Brieske.
Casey Mize (right elbow sprain) and Matt Manning (right shoulder inflammation) started throwing programs in Lakeland, Florida. They aren’t expected throw bullpens until later this week, so the Tigers haven’t determined a timetable for rehab assignments.
The Tigers need another starting pitcher.
Peralta is one of a few options.
“I think I could give 50 pitches, then in my next outing, 65 to 70,” Peralta said. “I’m strong and feel like I could do that.”
In 2021, Peralta posted a 3.07 ERA with 38 walks and 58 strikeouts in 93⅓ innings. He joined the Tigers as a reliever June 15, then as a starter June 19 to fill in for the injured Matthew Boyd. He was on the 10-day injured list. Three months later, Boyd decided to undergo surgery.
Peralta stayed the starting rotation for the remainder of the season.
He has made five relief appearances this season, joining the Tigers on April 16. For the second year in a row, his work visa application delayed his arrival to spring training.
Peralta has not allowed an earned run with just three walks and eight strikeouts in 6⅓ innings.
“I think he kind of likes the bullpen role, the availability almost every day,” Hinch said. “The velocity increase has been nice to see, and then his stuff always comes with it. His split comes with it, his slider comes with it. He’s got the personality to withhold the emotions of the game whenever he comes in.
“I see him as part of a winning bullpen,” Hinch said. “I think he can pitch with the lead.”
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Coming out of the bullpen, Peralta has a 95 mph fastball, averaging 1.3 mph faster than last year’s fastball. His slider is solid so far; opponents have yet to get a hit against it. This pitch he has used 35 times, including 30 to right-handed hitters.
“That’s a pitch that’s going to help me out a lot, especially with right-handed hitters,” Peralta said. “I don’t have to just go fastball-split. That’s a pitch (slider) I can throw first pitch for a strike to right handers and make them think a little bit because I have a third pitch in my back pocket. So far, it’s been good.”
The bread-and-butter pitch is his split-finger changeup, coming out of his hand 19 times to righties and 21 to left-handers. Opponents are hitting .333 (3-for-9) with four strikeouts. He also throws a sinker and four-seam fastball.
Peralta posts a 45% swing and miss rate with his splitter and a 33.3% mark with his slider. His splitter was one of the best in baseball last season, second to right-hander Kevin Gausman.
“I think that’s the pitch that makes the difference,” Peralta said.
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The Tigers’ bullpen is the best in baseball with a 1.97 ERA, thanks to several pitchers. Peralta is one of nine relievers, alongside Gregory Soto, Michael Fulmer, Andrew Chafin, Alex Lange Joe Jiménez, Jacob Barnes, Will Vest and Drew Hutchison.
Regardless of his role, Peralta wants to positively contribute to his team.
So far, so good.
“We pick each other up,” Peralta said of his fellow relievers. “We just prepare every single day. We’re ready to go. Every time we get the opportunity, we go out there and do our job. We’re doing a great job. Everyone is focused and ready to compete when the phone rings.”
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.