In the first month since the Rays acquired starting pitcher Freddy Peralta, catcher Liam Hicks and reliever Tyler Wells in trade-deadline deals for mid-tier prospects, the performance and the reviews have been pretty much what the team expected.

“Worked out pretty well for us,” manager Kevin Cash said. “They’ve all had some pretty big imprints on us winning ballgames. They have fit in incredibly well. It feels like all three of them have been here for all season long.

“Couldn’t be happier with the way it’s gone.”

Peralta needed some time to incorporate adjustments Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder and staff had in mind after he came over from the Mets, where he struggled for most of the season.

And he has looked very much like “Fastball Freddy” from his dominant Brewers days over his last two starts, throwing 12 innings while allowing just one run, five hits, zero walks and striking out 11.

Peralta’s presence is even more important with Shane McClanahan going back on the injured list Friday due to forearm tightness. McClanahan is hoping to return this season but is out for at least two weeks of key September games, quickly resolving the Rays’ dilemma of what to do with six starting pitchers.

Hicks has been very much what the Rays expected in getting him from Miami, a solid, high-contact lefty bat with some power who can slot in behind the “Big Three” of Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero, providing a bridge to the complementary players in the bottom half of the lineup.

In his first 24 Rays games, Hicks hit .307 with three homers, 13 RBIs and an .878 OPS. Of note, he continued his remarkable-in-today’s-game ability to have more walks (10) than strikeouts (9), with a .398 on-base percentage to show for it. And, Cash said, he has adjusted very well behind the plate, handling the game-calling and pitch-receiving duties with aplomb.

A recent Brian Murphy story on mlb.com ranked Hicks as the third most impactful addition of all players traded at the deadline, ahead of Tarik Skubal with the Dodgers.

Wells has stepped up in several key high-leverage situations since coming over from the Orioles. The biggest example was Sept. 4. With the Rays scrambling to hang on to a two-run lead (after losing a comfortable margin earlier) and snap their 10-game losing streak at Texas’ Globe Life Field, All-Star closer Bryan Baker had to leave the game due to illness after walking the first two batters in the ninth inning.

Wells navigated a bunt that moved both runners into scoring position, a sacrifice fly that scored one (which he admitted later he thought was the tying run, as he had lost track of the score while hurrying to warm up) and then got the final out.

“Came in in a big spot, a little bit of a jam, but he took a deep breath,” Cash said. “I think that’s the benefit of when we acquired him at the deadline. He’s pitched in a lot of big innings, and certainly we’ve got some talented guys that can fulfill the back-end workload, and he’s one of them.”

In 11 Rays games, Wells has a win, two saves, a 1.93 ERA and a 13-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 14 innings.

Catcher Hunter Feduccia, the one big-leaguer traded away by the Rays, went back to the Dodgers and hit .255 with a .701 OPS over 22 games, starting 16.

Of the top traded prospects, infielder Brayden Taylor is hitting .159 with a .704 OPS for the Marlins’ Triple-A team, Emilien Pitre .262/.697 for the Mets’ Triple-A squad after a strong start at Double A, and pitcher Michael Forret is 0-2 with a 6.35 ERA for the Orioles’ Triple-A team.

Wander wonder

Rays shortstop Wander Franco will be back in court Sept. 22 for the first hearing in the appeal of his second guilty verdict on charges of sexual abuse of a minor. There has been renewed speculation about when the 2023 All-Star could get back on a baseball field.

The Escogido club in the Dominican winter league, which held Franco’s rights since he played briefly for them in 2021, released him last week. That sparked chatter about potential interest from another Dominican team (such as Licey, given a connection with his uncle, Erick Aybar) and/or from teams in Venezuela, with several reportedly inquiring.

But with Franco on the restricted list, he is limited to playing winter ball in his native country and only with the permission of Major League Baseball in consultation with the Rays, which presumably wouldn’t be granted.