The New York Mets, just hours after introducing Bo Bichette in a press conference Wednesday afternoon in New York, pounced again and traded for Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.
The Brewers, who let teams know all winter that Peralta was available, but only at a steep price, finally got a team to meet their demand when the Mets sent prized pitching prospect Brandon Sproat and infield prospect Jett Williams to Milwaukee. The Mets also receive pitcher Tobias Myers.
Peralta, who’s eligible for free agency after the 2026 season, is coming off a career year in which he went an NL-leading 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA, helping lead the Brewers to an MLB-best 97 victories. Peralta, who finished fifth in the Cy Young balloting, also is one of the best bargains in baseball, earning just $8 million.
Just like that, in a winter in which they were chastised and ridiculed by their fan base for letting favorites Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz leave in free agency, while trading away outfielder Brandon Nimmo, the Mets have rebounded with a flourish.
The Mets, who were left at the alter five days ago when outfielder Kyle Tucker rejected their four-year, $120 million offer and joined the Los Angeles Dodgers, have since signed Bichette to a three-year, $126 million contract, traded for Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert, and now landed Peralta and Myers.
And just like that, the Chicago Cubs’ winter got a whole lot better, too, knowing that the Brewers’ ace is out of the NL Central.
The Brewers, who have previously traded away pitchers like Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes and relievers Josh Hader and Devin Williams before they hit free agency, now take another immediate hit, although it could be quite beneficial for the future.
While Peralta was a bargain at $8 million, this simply was a deal the Brewers thought too good to pass up. Williams is ranked as MLB’s 71st-best prospect, according to Baseball America, while Sproat is ranked 81st.
The Mets now believe they have the team again to compete for the NL East title after last year’s epic collapse left them sitting home all October.
They have dramatically changed the face of the organization with newcomers Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, Williams, Bichette, Robert and now Peralta and Myers.
“I’m not going to compare but what I’ll say is I really like how our group sets up right now on both sides of the ball,’’ David Stearns, Mets president of baseball operations, told reporters Wednesday at the Bichette press conference. ‘I think we’re going to score plenty of runs, and I also think we’ve probably gotten better defensively, especially up the middle.”
The starting rotation now has been fortified with Peralta, who is 70-42 with a 3.59 ERA the last eight seasons. He has made at least 30 starts with 200 strikeouts in each of the past three seasons. He leads a talented rotation that includes Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, Kodai Senga and Jonah Tong.
The acquisition of Peralta most likely now takes the Mets out of the running for another front-line starter such as Framber Valdez and Zac Gallen, who are both on the free-agent market. The Baltimore Orioles are expected to land one of them, perhaps at a cheaper price than they envisioned.
That’s for the Orioles to worry about.
The Mets have a division title to win.
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