DENVER — The American League-leading Tampa Bay Rays will hand the ball to newly acquired right-hander Freddy Peralta for Tuesday night’s game at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies, one day after trading a trio of well-regarded prospects to the New York Mets for the two-time All-Star.

Peralta, 30, arrived at the ballpark before the series opener and met with manager Kevin Cash, pitching coach Kyle Snyder and his new teammates. He wasted no time expressing enthusiasm for the move.

“I’m very excited to be here and join this group. Obviously, they’re doing great, and I’m just here to help however they need me,” Peralta said. “I’m going to be there competing, and [I’m] very excited so far. I think that I’ve met everybody already, and it’s been amazing.”

Peralta’s tenure with the Mets was a disappointment by any measure. He left New York with a 5-9 record, a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts and a negative Wins Above Replacement total of -0.2 bWAR — a far cry from his outstanding 2025 season with the Milwaukee Brewers, when he finished fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting. Peralta acknowledged he “let them down” with his performance and wished “nothing but the best” for the Mets.

“Now, it’s different,” Peralta said. “Now, I belong here, and I’m here doing my best and preparing to support and try to help the team to win.”

Rival evaluators viewed Peralta’s issues as correctable, noting a drop in his arm angle from 38 degrees in 2025 to 33 degrees this season and the impact that may have had on his delivery and extension. Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander said the right-hander is physically “in a very similar place” as he was at his best and pointed to the potential benefit of a “psychological reset” and a clean slate.

“They get the absolute most out of people,” Neander said of the Rays’ pitching development staff. “Maybe the alignment’s a little bit off, but all the talent, all the physical ingredients look like they’re in place.”

Peralta, who will wear No. 51, joins a rotation that already features Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan — currently on the injured list — Nick Martinez, Griffin Jax and Ian Seymour. Cash called Peralta a “really energetic guy” and said the club would do “everything we can to help him.” Peralta offered his own assessment of where he stands mentally.

“I’m very comfortable … because I know who I really am. I trust myself. I said before that I feel that I am born to be a winner, not a loser,” Peralta said. “I have the confidence in myself. Obviously, sometimes things [don’t] go your way as a player, but I feel good about something, which is that I prepare myself every day to give my best.”

Neander acknowledged the Rays paid a high price but framed the deal as a bet on Peralta’s competitive makeup and physical talent with two months — plus a potential postseason run — remaining before the veteran reaches free agency.

“We made that deal because Freddy’s an elite competitor, because he fits into our group and [we] believe he has the ingredients to do that,” Neander said. “Just to be wherever he is right now to help us win games, compete. Look, if we get that [All-Star] version, great. And as long as we just get his best and work with it, I think we’ll end up in a really good place, no matter what that looks like.”

Peralta is scheduled to take the mound Tuesday night at Coors Field for his Rays debut against the Rockies.