Winkler’s Peters makes MLB debut vs. Mariners

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This article was published 08/08/2025 (350 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Tristan Peters is finally, officially, a big-league ballplayer.

The 25-year-old from Winkler made his MLB debut Friday night in Seattle, just hours after receiving the long-awaited call from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Promoted from the Durham Bulls of the Triple-A International League after impressing with stellar defence and career-best numbers at the plate, Peters wasted no time stepping onto baseball’s biggest stage.

Inserted straight into the Rays’ starting lineup — centre-field, batting fifth — Peters took a deep breath under the bright lights of T-Mobile Park as he walked to the plate for the first time. An “MLB debut” patch was stiched on his jersey.

Leading off the top of the second inning, the left-handed hitter stared down veteran Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo. He fouled off the first pitch he saw, worked the count full, and then watched a borderline strike three clip the edge of the zone. Not the fairytale start, perhaps, but a milestone moment all the same.

Plenty of eyes in Manitoba were watching as Peters became the first local product to reach the majors since Anola’s Corey Koskie, who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1994, debuted in 1998 and played 989 career games before a concussion forced his retirement in 2006.

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A former Manitoba Junior Baseball League standout with the Pembina Valley Orioles, Peters was selected in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants a year later, but since joining the Rays organization in 2023, he’s taken his game to another level.

This season in Durham, Peters was hitting .282 with 11 home runs, 24 doubles, three triples and 58 RBI. He also showcased sharp plate discipline (50 walks), speed on the basepaths (11 stolen bases) and a steady stream of highlight-reel plays in the outfield.

Tampa Bay continues its three-game series in Seattle today and Sunday.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.