The New York Mets acquired All-Star right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.

The Brewers will receive infielder Jett Williams and right-handed pitcher Brandon Sproat in return, per the report. Both were rated by MLB as top-five prospects in the Mets’ system. The trade marks the third significant acquisition for the Mets in the past week.

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Mets loading up after losing big names in free agency

On Friday, the Mets agreed to a $126 million free-agent deal with All-Star shortstop Bo Bichette, formerly of the Blue Jays. On Tuesday, they acquired high-upside former All-Star center fielder Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox in a trade. And on Wednesday, they added a 29-year-old starting pitcher in his prime who made his second All-Star team last season.

The Mets have suffered their share of losses in free agency, including All-Star slugger Pete Alonso departing to the Orioles and All-Star closer Edwin Díaz joining the Dodgers. But they’re making moves late in the offseason to set themselves up to compete for the NL East crown and beyond.

What Peralta brings to New York

Peralta is an eight-year MLB veteran who has played his entire career with the Brewers. The ace of the Brewers’ pitching staff, Peralta was integral to Milwaukee’s run to the 2025 NL Central title and the NLCS, in which the Brewers were swept by the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.

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Last season, Peralta posted a career-best 2.70 ERA alongside a 1.075 WHIP with 204 strikeouts and 66 walks in 176 2/3 innings pitched. He led the NL with 17 wins as the Brewers raced to baseball’s best record at 97-65.

Peralta immediately provides the Mets with a starting pitcher for the top of their rotation. For the Brewers, consequently, his exit creates a significant hole in the pitching staff for a team with aspirations of building on last season’s success.

Why did the Brewers make this deal?

Yahoo Sports’ Russell Dorsey reported in November that a trade of Peralta was “likely,” despite last season’s success.

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Meanwhile, Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said this about Peralta at the general manager meetings in November.

“Clearly, there’s a lot of interest in Freddy,” Arnold said. “He means a lot to our group, but certainly a ton of interest there. And I’ve said before, we can never shut the door on anything with anybody in our market.

“We’ve had to make some very tough decisions over the years. … I mean, we want to try to compete next year, and I think he could be a really big part of that, like he has for a long time.”

It turns out that the interest in Peralta was too strong to turn down.

Peralta is due only $8 million in 2026, per a club option on the final year of his contract. Barring him signing an extension, he’ll become a free agent next winter. So rather than risk losing him in free agency for nothing, the small-market Brewers got two top prospects in return for one year of Peralta’s services.

Williams, 22, is a former first-round draft pick and was New York’s No. 3-rated prospect and the No. 30 overall in baseball, according to MLB. He has speed, patience at the plate and home-run pop, recording a .263/.425/.451 slash line, 13 home runs, 104 walks and 45 steals in New York’s minor-league system last year, and he can play multiple positions.

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Sproat, 25, was New York’s No. 5-rated prospect. He’s not rated among MLB’s top 100 prospects from 2025. A 6-foot-3 right-hander, Sproat throws a fastball up to 98 mph and also has a curveball, slider and changeup in his arsenal. He could join the Brewers’ rotation next season.