The perfect player should be right-hander Freddy Peralta, who has been pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays since the trade deadline and has bounced back after a puzzling first half with the New York Mets.

Since August 26, Peralta has made 10 starts—including his postseason work—and has a 7-0 record with a 0.89 ERA, 39 strikeouts, 16 walks and a 0.91 WHIP.

No Major League pitcher has had a better ERA during that stretch, and that includes Cam Schlittler (1.17 ERA) and Drew Rasmussen (1.37 ERA), two others who have been among the toughest pitchers to beat.

So, the dominance he just displayed on the mound, going 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two starts in the ALCS against the Cleveland Guardians, made Peralta the Rays’ MVP, just the third in ALCS history, joining Randy Arozarena (2020) and Matt Garza (2008).

In four outings this postseason, Peralta has a 2-0 record with a 1.08 ERA in 16 ⅔ innings, with 12 strikeouts, seven walks—the only vulnerable point so far—and just one home run allowed against the 69 batters he has faced.

He also has a relief appearance in which he recorded a hold, and in his four appearances, Tamba Bay has a 4-0 record. Peralta will be a free agent at the end of the season and will be a highly sought-after piece on the market.

The Astros Should Go All-In on Peralta, But…

Once Peralta reaches the market, he will be the sixth starting pitcher with the highest combined fWAR over the past two seasons, at 5.5, behind Tarik Skubal (11.9), Rasmussen (7.5), Trevor Rogers (7.3), Kevin Gausman (7.2) and Sonny Gray (7.0).

However, I believe his value could be much more impactful for two key reasons right now.

First, how Peralta has shown his recovery after a start to the season that was well below his ability to dominate with the Mets. Before reaching the postseason, Peralta was already making a significant turnaround when he lowered his opponents’ on-base percentage from .334 with the Mets to .294 since joining the Rays, along with their OPS from .765 to .675. In September, he posted a 0.96 ERA and left the league at just a .459 OPS.

Second, his quality is proven, and he knows how to handle the pressure of being a rotation-leading pitcher since his years with the Milwaukee Brewers, which would fit perfectly into a Houston Astros starting rotation full of uncertainty, one that depended too much on the bullpen and just finished with the worst quality-start record in its history.

However, I would not rule out the possibility that Peralta receives an offer to stay in Tampa Bay, looking to raise his market value again and continue with the adjustments that have allowed him to regain his dominance.

If that happens, the Astros could still have a Plan B, because if the Rays invest in Peralta, it is almost certain that 36-year-old right-hander Nick Martinez (who has a club option) will be the one who ends up out of the rotation for 2027.

If that happens, Martinez would not be a bad option for the Astros to consider, although they would have to wait to see how the starting-pitcher free-agent market unfolds.

Martinez just pitched in his age-35 season and had a great year, going 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA in 180 innings, bouncing back from a 2025 full of questions with the Cincinnati Reds.

He really is not the best solution for Houston, which needs a high-profile pitcher if it truly wants to invest in offering greater value to its pitching rotation beyond Hunter Brown and Peter Lambert, but he could be much more attainable.