43 Wily Peralta SP

Peralta altered his contract with the Royals to make $3.25 million next season, to go along with a mutual option of $7 million for the 2020 campaign, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports.

Peralta reinvented himself as a reliable closer for Kansas City in the second half of the 2018 season, logging 3.67 ERA and 1.49 WHIP with 14 saves in 14 chances. His 4.77 FIP, 35:23 K:BB and career low .280 BABIP suggest that he was extremely lucky to finish the year without any blown saves, but the right-hander did just enough to warrant a reworked deal. Look for the 29-year-old to remain in a high-leverage relief role, if not the ninth-inning spot, when the upcoming season arrives.

Peralta got the one-out save Tuesday against the White Sox, allowing no runs and no hits while walking two batters.

Peralta came into the ninth with two on and two out and the Royals leading 6-2 and proceeded to walk the bases loaded before issuing another walk to bring in a run. He was then able to get Yolmer Sanchez to pop out to end the game and earn his 10th save of the year. Peralta is 10-for-10 in save chances this season and sports a 3.76 ERA and a .209 batting average against with an inflated 1.44 WHIP due to the 19 walks (against 27 strikeouts) he's allowed in 26.1 innings.

Peralta worked a scoreless ninth inning Saturday to record his ninth save of the season in a 4-1 win over the Twins.

He did allow an inherited runner to score on a sac fly, but Peralta still picked up his first save since Aug. 18. The veteran right-hander had given up runs in each of his previous three appearances, and his 3.96 ERA and 25:17 K:BB in 25 innings for the Royals this season aren't exactly elite numbers, but he should remain the team's primary closing option down the stretch.

Peralta threw a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout against the White Sox on Saturday en route to his eighth save of the season.

He has a couple three-run hiccups on his ledger this season, but Peralta has been (surprisingly) effective for Kansas City on the whole. The right-hander has been scored upon in just two of his last 12 appearances and he still hasn't been charged with a blown save since inheriting the closer job.

Peralta worked around a walk with one strikeout in a scoreless inning of work to earn his seventh save of the season Monday against the Blue Jays.

Staked to a two-run lead, Peralta walked the leadoff hitter to bring the tying run to the plate. He then struck out Randal Grichuk and got Kendrys Morales to ground into a double-play to end the game. It was Peralta's first save in roughly two weeks and was a nice way to bounce back after he was touched up for three runs in his previous outing. He appears set to see the save chances that do come the Royals' way, but his lackluster ratios and poor team context put a cap on his fantasy value.