More than Rays' World Series hopes at stake for Freddy Peralta in Game 2

Following a crushing late loss in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, the Tampa Bay Rays turn to their deadline addition, Freddy Peralta, to tie things back up. 

This will be his second postseason start for the Rays, and his third time pitching in an LCS game. They're certainly turning to an arm who has been there before.

However, while World Series aspirations are at stake in this game - which goes without saying - Peralta’s future hinges on it as well.

Freddy Peralta's free agent contract could be at stake in Rays' Game 2

He’s a pending free agent. Much of this season hasn’t gone well for him already. While starting pitchers always hold some type of value, it’s still a huge deal that the Rays went after him, given how his short tenure in Queens went.

Peralta pitched to a 4.99 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP over 22 starts for the Mets. At that point, the Mets, who made an offseason splash for him, essentially did what they could to recoup some assets. 

Whether or not the Rays overpaid would immediately be up for debate. At the start, it looked like they did. He had a hard-to-look-at 7.17 ERA in his first four starts in a Tampa Bay uniform. The angle of hitter-friendly ballparks won’t do much when looking at that number.

After that, he was arguably the team’s best pitcher. In his final six starts of the regular season, he posted a 0.79 ERA. His September was so good that he was named the American League pitcher of the month. 

Ok, so that should do a lot for his stock in free agency. However, there is still a chance that some recency bias could cause some issues. His postseason start against the Yankees was solid to start, but he had to be yanked (no pun intended) quickly after getting into trouble with two outs. 

He already allowed a home run to Ben Rice in the game. No chances needed to be taken.

In the regular season, he probably gets the chance to pitch out of it, but leashes are shorter in the postseason. Every moment counts. In his defense, too, his dominant run was going to hit a snag at some point.

Even if he allowed another run before getting the third out, there’s a good chance the Rays get another good inning or two out of him since he was at 66 pitches. Instead, he's out early.

Teams look at what gets achieved in the postseason when deciding what to offer pitchers. Can he be relied on as a postseason starter? He has a career 4.03 ERA in the postseason as is. What makes him different now?

If he has a strong night against the Guardians, even if it’s a five-and-dive performance, that helps say things are different now. There is a chance this is his last start before he’s set to test the market. 

Could an argument be made that his regular-season numbers did more than enough to influence his next contract? Sure, but any extra boost he can get helps.

A strong night would also mean that there is a better chance that the Rays go deeper into October, giving him more opportunities to boost his value. 

It’s a mutually beneficial situation. The Rays get a win. He may get more money this winter. 

We’ll see how it all pans out. The telecast of Game 2 is set for 8 p.m., with first pitch shortly after the top of the hour. 

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