Yankees option Oswald Peraza to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

BALTIMORE — Unless the Yankees trade Oswald Peraza — which can’t be ruled out, as rival clubs have inquired about the touted shortstop prospect’s availability the last few years — his time as an everyday player still has not arrived.

Needing to make a roster move to free up a spot for Aaron Judge, who returned from the injured list Friday, the Yankees optioned Peraza to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“Continue to handle this whole season like he has, which is really well,” Aaron Boone said of his conversation with  Peraza, 23, who was beaten out in spring training by Anthony Volpe for the starting job at shortstop. “Just proud of the way  he’s not been discouraged by anything and gone out and had another really strong season. He’s played well, and that’s not an easy thing to do [after] we made the decision coming out of spring training that we made. It hasn’t altered him from an attitude standpoint, from a focus standpoint or from a performance standpoint. 

“Really, that message of, hey, keep getting after it, you’re an important part of this,” Boone said. “There’s a chance he’s back at some point.”

Peraza, a natural shortstop who also has seen time at third and second, hit .173 with a .520 OPS in 19 games spread across two stints in the big leagues. In 45 games with Scranton, Peraza had a .261/.352/.495 slash line with 12 homers, 28 RBIs, 34 runs, 20 walks and 12 stolen bases.

A significant part of the reason for demoting Peraza was the uncertainty of how often the just-activated Aaron Judge, who started at DH Friday night, will be able to play the outfield, at least at the start.

“All the outfielders have a pretty good role on this team and have done a good job and a lot of those guys are out of options too,” Boone said, referencing Jake Bauers and Billy McKinney. “Want to keep those guys in the mix.”

Cortes closing in

Nestor Cortes, on the injured list since June 5 with a left rotator cuff strain, pitched four scoreless innings in h is second rehab game Friday night with Double-A Somerset. He allowed two hits, a walk and struck out five.

Boone said he probably will need one more rehab start before being declared ready. When he is, the Yankees have no plans to go with a six-man rotation, meaning Clarke Schmidt, Domingo German or Luis Severino  likely will be headed to the bullpen.

Calhoun designated for assignment

Outfielder Willie Calhoun, out since June 22 with a left quadriceps strain, was reinstated from the IL Friday and promptly designated for assignment.

“He did a nice job with us,” Boone said. “Really enjoyed the person, too. He was a guy that was a lot of fun to be around while also taking advantage of some opportunities, doing a really nice job. Those are the hard decisions that sometimes unfortunately come up during the course of the season.”

Calhoun, whom the Yankees could get something back for via trade, hit .239 with five homers and a .712 OPS in 44 games.