{"id":613775,"date":"2026-03-08T20:07:29","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T20:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/613775\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T20:07:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T20:07:29","slug":"if-mets-want-to-keep-freddy-peralta-david-stearns-has-to-change-his-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/613775\/","title":{"rendered":"If Mets want to keep Freddy Peralta, David Stearns has to change his ways"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"Freddy\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Feb 27, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) looks on against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Most pro athletes opt not to delve into what they want their next contract to look like, but Freddy Peralta apparently is not like most pro athletes.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

The new Mets ace made it known to Jon Heyman of the New York Post that he wants a seven or eight-year contract, and he wants it to come from president of baseball operations, David Stearns.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really comfortable here,\u201d Peralta said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to lie, I\u2019d love to be here, and I\u2019d love to stay a long time\u2026 Everything has been amazing. Talking from the bottom to the top, the people in the front office, everyone. They\u2019ve been very easy for me, easy to work with, and I\u2019m just happy because I feel they have my back.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a significant admission from a player who has yet to throw a regular-season pitch with his new club, but the veteran right-hander\u2019s desire to lay his routes in Queens is a testament to the culture that the Mets have built under Steve Cohen and Stearns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Peralta stands to strike it big on the free-agent market next winter, when his current contract expires. He is coming off his best year as a pro with the Milwaukee Brewers, in which he went 17-6<\/a> with a 2.90 ERA, a 1.075 WHIP, and 204 strikeouts in 176.2 innings pitched.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In New York, he is taking on the mantle of staff ace after a disastrous 2025 season saw the majority of the Mets\u2019 rotation, outside Nolan McLean, crash and burn in the second half. Should he fulfill those expectations, he becomes as invaluable as ever to a team that needs to bolster the top of its rotation for the foreseeable future.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But that would mean Stearns goes against his philosophy regarding free-agent starting pitchers, which all but forbids him from doling out big-money contracts.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

It is a precautionary mindset given the volatility at the position. A staggering number of pitchers encounter significant injury issues, including 39.1% of all MLB pitchers<\/a> having undergone Tommy John surgery at least once in their career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For at least the last three seasons, the 29-year-old Peralta has been dependable, pitching at least 165 innings every year of that stretch, and another healthy, strong campaign in 2026 will only strengthen his chances of getting that long-term, big-money contract from somewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Mets\u2019 appetite to fulfill that wish, though, is murky at best. Not only does Stearns not pay up for pitching, but Jonah Tong is brewing in the minors and projects to be a front-line starter upon his full introduction to the majors.<\/p>\n

That is a 1-2 punch that fits Stearns\u2019 roster-construction style far better than a seven-year contract.\n<\/p>\n

To play devil\u2019s advocate, though: Why not have Peralta in that mix, too?\n<\/p>\n

For more on Freddy Peralta and the Mets, visit AMNY.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feb 27, 2026; Jupiter, Florida, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) looks on against the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[5,753,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-613775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-mets","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-freddy-peralta","10":"tag-mets","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-mets","14":"tag-newyork","15":"tag-newyorkmets","16":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116195364967244883","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}