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According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, “several Rangers officials” stayed in Surprise, Ariz. on Saturday to watch the Brewers’ Wily Peralta face the Royals, and may have interest in acquiring the right-handed starter. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo confirms Texas is still looking at outside starting pitching options.
Peralta, 28 in May, falls into the category of what the Rangers are searching for; he’s young, cheap, and under team control for several more seasons. With righties Andrew Cashner (biceps) and Tyson Ross (shoulder) sidelined and not expected to be ready for Opening Day, the Rangers are toying with the idea of starting the season with a four-man rotation.
Peralta is due $4.275 million in 2017 and is arbitration-eligible in 2018 and 2019. He had a brutal 2015 campaign, pitching 108 2⁄3 innings, going 5-10 with a 4.72 ERA and pitiful 4.97 K/9 mark. He again got off to a rough start last season, posting a 6.68 ERA in his first 13 starts before being sent down to the minors. Peralta rebounded in his return to the big club, posting a 2.92 ERA over his final 61 2⁄3 innings.
The Rangers and Brewers have hooked up on a couple of trades recently, including the big five-player trade that brought Jonathan Lucroy to Texas last summer.