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New York Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Yuki Iwamura\/AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura<\/p>\n
New York Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta, right, hands the ball to interim manager Andy Green, left, as he leaves during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Saturday, July 11, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Frank Franklin II\/AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II<\/p>\n
New York Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta reacts as he leaves during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Saturday, July 11, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Frank Franklin II\/AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II<\/p>\n
New York Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta winds up to deliver during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n
Aaron Gash\/AP Photo\/Aaron Gash<\/p>\n
New York Mets pitcher Freddy Peralta throws during the second inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Sunday, July 26, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Yuki Iwamura\/AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 The first-place Tampa Bay Rays gave their starting rotation a boost Sunday, acquiring pitcher Freddy Peralta from the struggling New York Mets for three minor leaguers.<\/p>\n
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Peralta, a two-time All-Star who can become a free agent this fall, has been a disappointment for the Mets after they acquired him from Milwaukee in a January trade.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe gave us everything that he had, stepped out on the mound every single day and competed,\u201d interim Mets manager Andy Green said. \u201cI know he wanted better results. And I think when we struck the deal to get him, we were all hoping for a different set of circumstances on this day than what we\u2019re looking at.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green said Peralta was informed of the trade during the early innings of a 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins that dropped the Mets to 47-66 \u2014 their worst record through 113 games since 2003, the last time New York finished last in the NL East.<\/p>\n
But Peralta could help a strong pitching staff with the Rays, who began the day with the best record in the American League at 65-45 and a 3 1\/2-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFreddy is a proven major league starter with high-stakes experience and a strong track record,\u201d Rays President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander said in a statement. \u201cAdding a pitcher and competitor of his caliber strengthens our team as we push forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The last-place Mets received outfielder Aidan Smith, infielder \u00c9milien Pitre and right-hander Gary Gill Hill in exchange for Peralta. Pitre was a second-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2024 draft while Hill was a sixth-round pick in 2022. Smith was picked in the fourth round of the 2023 draft by the Seattle Mariners, who sent him the Rays in the Randy Arozarena trade in July 2024.<\/p>\n
The move came a day before baseball\u2019s trade deadline at 6 p.m. EDT on Monday, and hours after the Los Angeles Dodgers landed the biggest prize on the market, ace pitcher Tarik Skubal, in a deal with the Detroit Tigers.<\/p>\n
Before joining the Mets last offseason, Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA over 33 starts in 2025. He led the National League in wins, finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting and helped the Brewers win their third straight NL Central crown.<\/p>\n
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With the Rays, the 30-year-old right-hander joins a rotation headed by All-Stars Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez. Left-hander Shane McClanahan, an All-Star in 2022 and 2023, is 9-6 with a 3.09 ERA in 20 starts but was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with mid-back tightness on his left side.<\/p>\n
Last winter, New York sent youngsters Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams to the Brewers for Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers, giving up a pair of players rated among the game\u2019s top 100 prospects in the anticipation Peralta would be the frontline starter the team needed.<\/p>\n
Instead, he went 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts and failed to complete five innings in four of his last five outings for the Mets.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know he\u2019s disappointed by it,\u201d Green said. \u201cHe came here to anchor a rotation and felt the weight of that. I know from talking to him he certainly doesn\u2019t feel like it went the way that he thought it would.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He was 5-5 with a 3.90 ERA after beating Atlanta 8-1 on June 14, but is 0-4 with a 7.93 ERA in his past seven starts, including a June 20 dud when he allowed 10 runs and 10 hits over 2 2\/3 innings at Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that so far I let them down,\u201d Peralta said late last month. \u201cI haven\u2019t (done) what I was supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peralta becomes the latest pitcher traded away by the high-priced Mets, who are selling off assets for young prospects after beginning a miserable 2026 season with World Series aspirations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think where we are today screams that we\u2019re all wishing we were in a different spot,\u201d said Green, who began the season as the Mets\u2019 vice president of player development before moving into the manager\u2019s chair following the firing of Carlos Mendoza on June 26.<\/p>\n
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They sent David Peterson to the Chicago Cubs for minor league infielder Cole Mathis one day before Mendoza\u2019s dismissal and reliever A.J. Minter to Minnesota for minor league infielders Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick last Friday.<\/p>\n
Peterson and Minter are eligible for free agency after this season as well. New York also is expected to move pitcher Clay Holmes, reliever Brooks Raley and outfielder Tyrone Taylor before Monday\u2019s deadline \u2014 and possibly players such as relievers Huascar Brazob\u00e1n and Luke Weaver, each of whom are under team control next year.<\/p>\n
Holmes, who broke his right fibula on May 15, made a rehab start for Single-A Brooklyn Sunday, when he allowed four runs in 5 1\/3 innings. Raley, Weaver and Brazob\u00e1n all threw a hitless inning of relief while Taylor pinch-ran in the ninth inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose guys were all healthy, rested, available, good to go,\u201d Green said. \u201cSo we felt comfortable letting them do what they do during a baseball season.\u201d<\/p>\n
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To open a spot for Peralta on the 40-man roster, Rays outfielder Jake Fraley (hernia) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.<\/p>\n