Brother of former Brewers ace still stuck in NL Central after Cardinals let him go

After a blockbuster offseason trade between the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets, 2x All-Star Freddy Peralta is no longer a member of the National League Central. However, another member of the Peralta family is joining his second NL Central club of the week.

Luis Peralta, the younger brother of Freddy, broke into the major leagues with the Colorado Rockies back in 2024. An excellent 2024 campaign during which Peralta posted a 0.73 ERA in 15 appearances out of the Rockies' bullpen was followed by a shaky 2025 season. The 24-year-old southpaw allowed 20 earned runs in 19.1 innings pitched last year, resulting in a 9.47 ERA that put Peralta in the hot seat entering the 2026 season.

A slow start to the 2026 campaign while pitching with the Rockies' Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Isotopes, which involved Peralta surrendering 14 earned runs in 7.1 innings, resulted in Colorado designating the young left-hander for assignment on April 21. Just six days later, Peralta was claimed by the St. Louis Cardinals, but before he could make his first appearance with the Brewers' NL Central rivals, he was designated for assignment once again.

Now, Peralta has officially joined a new NL Central club, as the Chicago Cubs claimed the southpaw off waivers on Sunday afternoon. All in all, Peralta spent just four days in the Cardinals' organization and now joins a Cubs' roster that has been decimated by injuries to their major league pitching staff.

Cubs' string of bullpen injuries leads them to claim Luis Peralta, brother of former Brewers' ace Freddy Peralta, off waivers

Much like the Brewers, Milwaukee's arch-rivals on the North Side of Chicago have been decimated by injuries this year. Already, the Cubs have lost 2025 NL Rookie of the Year candidate Cade Horton to a season-ending elbow injury, and former ace Justin Steele just recently suffered a setback during his rehab process from elbow surgery that will push his timeline back several months.

However, where the Cubs have been most impacted when it comes to early-season injuries is in their relief corps. Chicago currently has six relievers -- Hunter Harvey, Porter Hodge, Riley Martin, Ethan Roberts, Caleb Thielbar, and Jordan Wicks -- on the injured list, in addition to Shleby Miller, who was already expected to miss the entirety of the 2026 season. Both Daniel Palencia and Phil Maton have also missed time due to injuries in the first month of the campaign.

As a result, the Cubs have been forced to get creative with their bullpen group, and the latest example is taking a flier on Peralta, who joins their Triple-A roster but occupies a spot on the 40-man roster. It's unlikely that Peralta is up with the big-league club anytime soon, but if injuries continue to plague the Cubs, don't be surprised if the Brewers are facing Freddy Peralta's brother in an important divisional matchup before the end of the 2026 season.

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