The New York Mets have their ace for this season, and they have already named Freddy Peralta their opening day starter for March 26 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Things could look very different this time next year as Peralta is only under team control through the end of the season. Both sides have expressed they want to agree on an extension, but the odds of it actually happening seem a lot less likely.
Peralta’s demands for a new deal and David Stearns’ lack of long-term commitment to pitchers are on two different ends of the spectrum.
“Peralta has said he would like to sign for seven or eight years,” Tim Britton wrote for The Athletic on Wednesday. “No pitcher has ever signed an eight-year extension (as far as I can tell). … Most franchises would shy away from that length of commitment, to say nothing of the Mets’ relatively conservative approach to starting pitching under Stearns: The three-year deals for Sean Manaea and Clay Holmes are as long as Stearns has gone for a starter in free agency.”
Britton added: “All to say, if Peralta really wants a deal of that length, he’ll probably have to wait for free agency and other bidders.”
Players often have high demands for contracts in the beginning before they meet in the middle with teams, but it doesn’t seem likely (at least for now) that these two sides will be able to do that. Meeting in the middle would be a five-year extension, which may be acceptable for Peralta, but it would be a first for Stearns.
The Mets have a difficult decision to make before the season ends, and Stearns may have to get uncomfortable if he wants to keep his ace around for the future.
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