The Yankees have traded infielder Oswald Peraza to the Angels in exchange for outfield prospect Wilberson De Pena, as well as international bonus pool money. Both teams have announced the deal. To make room for Peraza, the Angels have designated Kevin Newman for assignment.
Peraza, now 25, signed with the Yankees as an international free agent in 2016, and as he rose through the ranks of their minor league system, he also rose up organizational prospect rankings. Entering the 2022 season, when he made his big league debut, he was a consensus top-100 prospect. He impressed during a cup of coffee that September, hitting .306 with a 145 wRC+, and was once again a top-100 prospect entering 2023. Since then, however, his stock has fallen fast. He has slashed .190/.262/.285 in 429 plate appearances from 2022-25, with seven home runs and nine stolen bases in 145 games. Spending time at second base, third base, and shortstop, he has graded out as an average-to-slightly-above-average defender, but her versatile glove has not been nearly enough to make up for his ineffective bat. His offensive numbers at Triple-A over the past few years have also been less than impressive.
After the Yankees traded for infielders Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario last week, the clock began to tick on Peraza’s tenure with the club. Their deal to acquire José Caballero today was surely the final nail in the coffin, even though the Peraza trade was technically reported shortly before the Caballero agreement. The Yankees have revamped their infield and bench as part of their efforts to take down the Blue Jays to defend their AL East crown. A floundering former top prospect no longer fit into the picture.
Peraza is a textbook change-of-scenery candidate. The Angels acquire him with four years of team control remaining after 2025, although he is out of options. For now, he will offer them depth off the bench and a potential alternative to the slumping Luis Rengifo. If he impresses, he should be in the mix for the second or third base job next season, with Rengifo and Yoán Moncada set to hit free agency at the end of the year. On the other hand, if he continues to hit as poorly as he did with the Yankees, he’ll soon be staring down the barrel of a DFA.
Meanwhile, De Pena is a textbook example of a lottery-ticket prospect. The 18-year-old has not has not yet had much of a chance to make an impression in his professional career. He signed with the Angels as an international free agent last January and has spent the past two seasons as a corner outfielder in the Dominican Summer League. He has hit .211 with four home runs and five doubles in 31 games this year.
Newman signed with the Angels in the offseason on a one-year, $2.75MM guarantee. While he has never been known for his bat, he hit just well enough to offer some value as a utility infielder for the Pirates, Reds, and Diamondbacks from 2022-24. In 2025, however, he has hit just .202 with only four extra-base hits in 57 games. He has a .481 OPS and -0.7 FanGraphs WAR. Given his poor performance and the not-insignificant amount of money remaining on his contract, he is almost certain to pass through waivers, after which he is likely to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.
Peraza to the Angels was first reported by Jack Curry of the YES Network. Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that the Yankees would receive De Pena and international bonus pool money in return.