One of the things the Mets must decide between now and the trade deadline in August is what to do with arguably the number one pitcher potentially available for player swaps in 2026. Yes, Tarik Skubal has more ornamentation on his mantle than does Freddy Peralta, but the Met hurler is completely healthy while Skubal has just begun his rehab from injury. Even if a GM wanted to lure Skubal away from the Tigers, he’d be in the same boat as the teams interested in Peralta — both are eligible to be free agents at year’s end.
Right now Peralta earns a very modest $8 million per year which for Cy Young level pitching is pocket change. Skubal is earning an eye popping $32 million this year and still not 100% healthy. Therefore the ask for Peralta should be significantly higher than it might otherwise be, though a team in search of a lefty rather than a righty might still prefer taking a chance on the viability of Skubal returning to his dual Cy Young form for August and September.
A good example of the kind of players who should be offered up to David Stearns would be potentially one top ten draft pick and another highly regarded one either also near the top ten or perhaps in recovery from injury which might otherwise diminish his overall value. A good example was floated recently about the Los Angeles Dodgers being a team who might seek a push-them-over-the-top additional starting pitcher for the final two months of the season and it’s time to look at who they could provide.
Their top name is currently Josue De Paula who is a 21 year old outfielder who combines strong hitting and baserunning to make himself into the current number eight prospect in all of baseball. Roughly halfway through his AA season for the Dodgers he’s hitting .319 with 10 HRs, 53 RBIs and 16 SBs. Any hitter with strong batting skill, power and speed is certainly highly desirable, so much so that the front office of the Dodgers might pull him off the table entirely.
Next up for Los Angeles is current AAA slugger James Tibbs III. He’s played both the outfield and first base in the minors. Bear in mind that he’s in the PCL and his numbers may be somewhat inflated as is common in that league. He’s batting .313 with 18 HRs and 54 RBIs. Double those numbers for a full year and you could be looking at a post Pete Alonso solution for the Mets.
The other player suggested the Mets consider is a pitcher who is working on his AAA campaign this year after going through Tommy John surgery despite having excelled in his brief major league trial in 2024. River Ryan is no longer at the top of the heap when it comes to prospect ranking but if you look at his minor league numbers you have to be impressed.
His career minor league ERA is a very good 3.17 and right now in the hitter’s league in the PCL he’s doing even better at 2.89. In 2024 he appeared for the big club for 2 games and pitched to a 1.50 ERA. He didn’t pitch at all in 2025 and has done 6 starts in 2026. He’s now 27 years old which is a bit older for a guy not yet established as a major leaguer, but combined with someone like Tibbs it could be a decent haul for losing the final two months of Peralta.
10 comments:
I would deal Peralta away to the highest bidder. That said, so far, Tong, Thornton, Wenninger, and Santucci are collectively far underperforming my expectations for them back in February. If Freddy goes, will any of them grab the ring and step in, or will Tobias grab his starting spot?
I believe Peralta would get TWO prospects. One top 50 and another top 100
I would leave all the kids in Syracuse
I would stretch out Myers and also dump Manaea
Just remember Peralta value. Could he be the next Rick Sutcliffe?
In 1984, with Cleveland thru mid-June, he was 4-5, 5.35…far worse than Freddy.
Then the Cubs got Rick and he went 16-1, from mid-June on, and prevented the Mets from getting to the playoffs in 1984.
I would not sell players under contract but I would definitely listen on Peralta. The Mets have the pitching surplus to do this and they have missed out on opportunities these last few years. Dodgers prospects tend to be hyped somehow, but I think the Tigers will either trade Skubal or go all in, and they have the prospects. Also, a team like Baltimore can be motivated buyers and have some interesting offensive players. I don’t know much about the DBacks or Giants, that don’t have pitching or the Astros that lost their ace.
I would also put Peterson back in the rotation is irder to trade him. Then you have Senga, Myers, and Tong behind these guys. The Mets have the depth. Also, Wenninger has absolutely sucked coming in as a reliever.
I agree with Mack about likely haul for Peralta. As I mentioned before, I would trade sooner rather than later as most teams, especially in the AL, have every reason to believe they are in the playoff hunt now, a view they may not have come early July. Also provides more minor league teams to scour through for prospects.
Texas Gus-- Aren't Vientos and Baty under contract? Why wouldn't you trade them. I think the performance in the mid/upper minors is so off that I am at a loss as to how to evaluate what it shows.
The one thing I am confident about is that Walks are death for relief pitchers.
There is a contagious disease in baseball of a drop off in hitting. This is well known. It makes giving up walks both inexplicable and indefensible.
I thought Willard, our new pitching coach, had the philosophy of throwing your best stuff for strikes. Maybe our pitchers have watched our hitters too often and have come to believe that you can get anyone out with balls since they are inclined to get themselves out.
Walks are to pitchers as strike outs are to hitters. Bad for the heart
Boy LA sure has a kick ass farm system don't they. How about Bo who the Phils offered 200 mil for 7 years so whats his value? Also our BP would bring in a haul if offered.
Gary, do you mean by BP, 'bullpen' or 'batting practice'
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