Oswald Peraza homers in first 2024 game with Yankees

DETROIT — Oswald Peraza knows his stint in the Major Leagues could very well be limited. And so, after one at-bat to get out the jitters during his season debut on Friday, Peraza torched the first pitch he saw during the second, parking it in the left-field bleachers at Comerica Park.

Peraza’s home run was the fourth of his career and first since Sept. 25, 2023, and it boosted New York’s offense in the fifth inning of the Yankees’ 3-0 win against the Tigers in the series opener. More than that, though, it gave opposing teams one more reason to fear the Yankees as postseason talk ramps up and division battles intensify.

“I’m very happy to be able to contribute here,” Peraza said through interpreter Marlon Abreu. “I’ve been working very hard in Triple-A to get my confidence back. To come up here and be able to help, especially in a win, get results and help to win a game, it’s very happy.”

There doesn’t seem to be any slowing Aaron Judge, who on Wednesday reached the 300-homer plateau faster than any player in MLB history and on Friday went deep again to bring his season total to an MLB-best 44 round-trippers. Juan Soto is no slouch, either, with six home runs in his past five games. Along with those two, Giancarlo Stanton and Alex Verdugo also have 50-plus RBIs this season.

Fair or not, those kinds of numbers are kind of expected of the core. So maybe the Yankees’ secret strength this season lies in what guys like Peraza can do when opportunity knocks.

“He plays great defense, great at-bats, and we saw the power [Friday],” Judge said. “But he’s another guy that can hit the ball all around the field. It hasn’t been the year he’s probably wanted, but coming up in a moment like that and giving us an extra run is huge.”

New York entered play Saturday with a one-game lead over the O’s for first place in the American League East. On Friday, Peraza, not Oswaldo Cabrera, started at third base and hit out of the nine-hole.

Cabrera, you’ll remember, had just played the hero alongside Judge on Wednesday when he scored from second base on a sacrifice fly. The Yankees overwhelmed the White Sox, 10-2, but it was Cabrera’s hustle that tied the game in the seventh inning and set New York off on a nine-run tear.

Cabrera will no doubt see a spike in playing time back at third base, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. on the injured list with a sprained left shoulder, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone wanted to stack the lineup with righty bats in the opener given the Tigers’ bullpen day, so Peraza got the nod.

Peraza had been recalled on Wednesday in a corresponding move with Chisholm’s injury. Chisholm, who’s slashing .316/.361/.702 with seven homers and 11 RBIs in 14 games since he joined the Yankees in a trade with the Marlins on July 27, was confident Friday that his sprained UCL would require the minimum IL stint, but he has still left some pretty big shoes to fill at the hot corner in the interim.

Cabrera’s biggest appeal might be his versatility. The 25-year-old has appeared in 70 games at third this season, 10 at second, five at first, four in the outfield and three at short. He even made his big league pitching debut on June 9 against the Dodgers. That he’s hitting .295 (13-for-44) with three homers and eight RBIs over his past 15 games certainly doesn’t hurt, either.

The 24-year-old Peraza is a bit more limited where he can play — he has logged 37 games at third, 18 at short, 14 at second and one as the designated hitter — but his reflexes and arm strength make him a threat wherever he is in the infield. He was considered a favorite to land a bench role out of Spring Training this year before a right shoulder strain cost him more than two months.

Peraza was assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre upon his return, and he slashed .316/.407/.658 with six doubles, seven homers, 20 RBIs and eight steals in the past 21 games before his callup.

“He’s earned this opportunity in what’s been a tough year in a lot of ways,” Boone said. “… I thought he looked smooth over at third, that easy pop; he’s capable of doing that. Just excited that he’s in a good place, because he’s a guy that can really contribute.”