The St. Louis Cardinals have officially lost young reliever Luis Peralta to a division rival, as the Chicago Cubs claimed the 25-year-old pitcher off waivers just days after St. Louis added him to its roster.
Peralta’s time with the Cardinals turned out to be extremely brief. The organization had only recently claimed the left-handed reliever from the Colorado Rockies after Colorado designated him for assignment. However, after just four days in the Cardinals organization, St. Louis chose to designate Peralta for assignment as well in order to create room on the roster for pitcher Jared Shuster.
Rather than clearing waivers and remaining in the Cardinals system, Peralta quickly found a new landing spot. The Cubs stepped in and claimed him, later assigning him to Triple-A Iowa. The move keeps Peralta within the National League Central, meaning there is a chance he could face his former team later this season if Chicago eventually promotes him to the major league roster.
Although Peralta never made an appearance for the Cardinals at the big league level, his departure is noteworthy because of the upside he brings. The young left-hander showed flashes of real promise during his time with the Rockies in 2024. After earning his first extended major league opportunity, Peralta appeared in 15 games out of Colorado’s bullpen and delivered excellent results, posting a 0.73 ERA across 12.1 innings. He also recorded 14 strikeouts while issuing just five walks, showing the type of swing-and-miss ability that often intrigues teams searching for bullpen depth.
One of Peralta’s most attractive tools is his fastball, which sits in the mid-90s and gives him the raw stuff teams look for in a late-inning relief arm. His youth, velocity, and 2024 success made him an appealing developmental piece despite his inconsistent overall résumé.
Still, there are reasons the Cardinals felt comfortable moving on. While Peralta shined in 2024, he struggled significantly during the 2025 season, posting a 9.47 ERA in 22 appearances for Colorado. His command and consistency regressed, and he has yet to pitch in the majors during the 2026 campaign. That uneven track record likely made St. Louis view him as expendable when roster pressure mounted.
Even so, the Cardinals are parting with a potentially valuable lottery-ticket arm at a time when their bullpen remains one of the team’s most glaring weaknesses. Relief pitching has been a persistent issue for St. Louis throughout the 2026 season, and while Peralta was no sure fix, he at least represented another young arm with upside who could have been developed internally.
Instead, Chicago now gets the opportunity to work with him in Triple-A and see if he can regain the form he showed during his breakout 2024 campaign.
For the Cardinals, Peralta’s departure may not have an immediate impact unless he resurfaces with the Cubs later this season, but it does underscore the club’s continuing need for bullpen reinforcements. St. Louis still lacks dependable depth in relief and may need to explore outside options to address the issue.
One potential solution could be free-agent reliever Michael Kopech, a hard-throwing veteran who has proven major league experience. Kopech owns a career 4.14 ERA across 184 MLB appearances and was highly effective last season, posting a 2.45 ERA in limited action.
While Peralta was an intriguing project, the Cardinals appear focused on more immediate help—and with bullpen concerns lingering, further moves may be necessary soon.
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