At 27-35 and in last place in the National League East, the New York Mets have playoff aspirations. They believe a postseason run is attainable. Which means that the team is not close to selling, David Stearns told reporters this week.
“We have not had a good year so far, there’s no question about that,” Stearns said. “We’re not where we thought we would be. We’ve dug ourselves a hole.”
If the Mets do sell, Freddy Peralta will be among the most popular names on the entire trade market. At 30, he’s among the most dependable right-handers in baseball. He’s widely regarded as one of the best clubhouse personalities and leaders. In nine career seasons, he has a 3.59 ERA, and this season he has a 3.63 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 13 starts.
What league executives think the Mets could get for Freddy Peralta
Peralta is in the final year of his contract and is earning an extremely affordable $8 million this season, something that rival executives have all noted will further bolster his trade value. There’s no guarantee that he’s moved at all this summer. But if he is traded, what could the Mets get in a trade? I posed that question to a couple rival executives.
Executive 1: “Either 1. A backend top-100 and a throw in or 2. Two top-10 org prospects. Would think of this similar to the returns of Luis Castillo, Marcus Stroman and Jordan Montgomery. Could also see a return like Corbin Burnes, but that was in the offseason, so he had a bit more control.
“I’d probably put Peralta ahead of those deals (because of his salary), but that’s the general construct.”
Executive 2: “First off, I’d say he’s going to have more suitors than Tarik Skubal because of his prorated $8 million salary compared to Skubal at $32 million. So you’re going to have every contender in play.
“I think at least one top-50 prospect and more or likely two top-100s. I think a team like the Rays are a perfect fit with multiple guys in the 50-100 range. Don’t see them giving up Theo Gillen, but the rest of Caden Bodine, Nathan Flewelling, Taitn Gray and Brody Hopkins could make sense. A trade back to the Brewers could make sense with Stearns' knowledge of their system, the $ and prospect depth.
“I will also say this: The unknown of the offseason qualifying offers and timeline I feel increases the chances he could be dealt. In a normal offseason, I might think Stearns holds on because of the qualifying offer and draft picks. Also, the Mets could get a higher prospect because money is no concern to them, they could even pay the majority of the salary for a top tier prospect.”
Which teams make the most sense for Peralta?
The list of teams that have been linked to Skubal include the Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Rays and Brewers. And they will all surely be linked to Peralta as well. It’s difficult to see the Mets and Phillies linking up on a trade for obvious reasons. There’s little precedent of a team trading a star player only to reacquire him months later, so it’s unclear how realistic a Brewers reunion could be. But if there’s ever a time for Milwaukee to be aggressive at the deadline, it’s now, and the organizational love for Peralta is deep. And it shouldn’t preclude them from adding a much-needed bat to the lineup as well.
There will be plenty of other teams involved in the Peralta market. Almost every contending team will call Stearns about the right-hander. There’s still no guarantee he’s moved. But as long as the Mets are under .500 and 14.5 games out of the division, rivals will be hopeful to pry him out of Queens.
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