{"id":711533,"date":"2026-05-29T02:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T02:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/711533\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T02:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T02:42:17","slug":"the-mets-argument-for-not-trading-freddy-peralta-rests-on-two-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/711533\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mets\u2019 Argument For Not Trading Freddy Peralta Rests on Two Things"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Mets<\/a> have struggled to this point in the 2026 season. Their 23-33 record through May 27 is closer to the bottom of the National League standings than the third and final NL Wild Card berth.<\/p>\n

In a competitive league, and a division led by the team with the best record in baseball (the Atlanta Braves<\/a> are 37-19 through May 27), it\u2019s time for the Mets to think about selling before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.<\/p>\n

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More news: Will the New York Mets Trade Freddy Peralta? 3 Teams That Could Land Him<\/a><\/p>\n

Arguably, their most attractive trade piece is pitcher Freddy Peralta. A two-time All-Star, Peralta is putting together another quietly solid season (3.52 ERA in 11 starts). Critically, he\u2019s in the last year of a contract that pays $8 million plus bonuses for All-Star Game appearances, Cy Young Award votes, and various postseason awards.<\/p>\n

\"MetsJUPITER, FLORIDA \u2013 FEBRUARY 27: Freddy Peralta #51 of the New York Mets looks on prior to a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a> at Roger Dean Stadium on February 27, 2026 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Considering the Mets\u2019 record and the state of their farm system, it makes more sense in theory to trade Peralta for prospects in his final year before free agency.<\/p>\n

The Mets did not place a single player in the updated Top 50 prospect rankings released by The Athletic<\/a> on May 28. MLB<\/a> Pipeline ranks two Mets prospects<\/a> among its Top 100, but both infielder A.J. Ewing and pitcher Jonah Tong are on the Mets\u2019 active roster. Their \u201cprospect status\u201d could expire soon.<\/p>\n

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More news:\u00a0Giants Pitcher Could Become Top MLB Trade Target if Struggles Continue<\/a><\/p>\n

In practice, two reasons stand out for keeping Peralta \u2014\u00a0and neither hinges on their chances of reaching the postseason (which FanGraphs estimates at 14.5 percent<\/a> through May 27).<\/p>\n

The best argument for keeping Peralta is if the Mets view him as a candidate to re-sign in 2027 \u2014 either via an in-season contract extension, a qualifying offer, or as a free agent. The MLB Players Association has proposed eliminating the qualifying offer, which could factor into the president of baseball operations David Stearns\u2019 calculus.<\/p>\n

More news:\u00a0Astros Announce Death of Former Catcher, 7-Year MLB Veteran<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Mets can receive a compensatory pick in the 2026 MLB Draft if Peralta receives and rejects a one-year \u201cqualifying offer,\u201d a contract worth the mean salary of MLB\u2019s 125 highest-paid players. He can\u2019t receive a qualifying offer from the Mets \u2014 or anyone \u2014 if he is traded during the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Peralta\u2019s track record of success, diversity of pitches, and age (29) will make him an attractive free agent on the open market. The Mets might be concerned by Peralta\u2019s diminished bat-missing ability; his strikeout rate is on pace to finish below 27 percent<\/a> for the first time in his nine-year MLB career. But thanks to his ability to limit hard contact, Peralta\u2019s expected ERA is essentially unchanged from the last three seasons.<\/p>\n

More news:\u00a0The Rockies Best Player is a Surprise \u2014 And an Obvious Trade Candidate<\/a><\/p>\n

The other argument for keeping Peralta is if Stearns feels the right-hander is needed to anchor a 2027 rotation that should see the returns of injured starters Kodai Senga<\/a>, Clay Holmes<\/a>, Tylor Megill<\/a>, and Justin Hagenman<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Add in youngsters Nolan McLean<\/a>, Christian Scott<\/a>, and Tong \u2014\u00a0plus former starters Tobias Myers<\/a> and Sean Manaea<\/a>, both under contract for next year and currently pitching out of the bullpen \u2014\u00a0and Peralta might give the Mets one starter too many in the eyes of Stearns.<\/p>\n

The uncertain status of the qualifying offer in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement complicates this equation. But it\u2019s something to consider as the trade deadline approaches. For now, the case for trading Peralta is less than crystal clear.<\/p>\n

For more MLB news, visit\u00a0Newsweek Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Start your unlimited Newsweek trial<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Mets have struggled to this point in the 2026 season. Their 23-33 record through May…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2396],"tags":[46,5,10607,1712,9411,753,12950,25115,1716,101,4,1690,61,2548,4203,2517,1268,67,2006,1326],"class_list":["post-711533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-mets","tag-atlanta-braves","tag-baseball","tag-christian-scott","tag-clay-holmes","tag-david-stearns","tag-freddy-peralta","tag-jonah-tong","tag-justin-hagenman","tag-kodai-senga","tag-mets","tag-mlb","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-mets","tag-newyork","tag-newyorkmets","tag-nolan-mclean","tag-sean-manaea","tag-st-louis-cardinals","tag-tobias-myers","tag-tylor-megill"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116655564183199030","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711533","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=711533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}