ANGRY MIKE
The Mets capped off their busy off-season with arguably their biggest move, acquiring Brewers “Ace”, Freddy Peralta and swingman man Tobias Myers, for top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. It was a shocking move that materialized rather quickly after there were reports the Brewers made a formal offer of Freddy Peralta for Williams and Sproat. After the smoke and flames from the "Hot Stove" settled, the Mets were able to get the established “Ace” their rotation sorely needed, as well as a high upside arm for the bullpen.
The cost was expensive, as Williams and Sproat are not only both high impact prospects, they’re both “MLB-ready” and capable of contributing for the Brewers during the 2026 season.
This was one of the rare trades where teams exchanged players from positions of strength, to supplement areas of need. The Mets have the deepest farm system in the MLB, and the “Rich got even Richer”, when they were able to sign the #1 Prospect from the 2026 I.F.A. Class, Wandy Asigen, who has been lauded as a true franchise-altering talent. It was speculated all winter by the media and “industry experts”, if the Mets were serious about acquiring a true “Ace”, they would have to surrender Jonah Tong and other top five prospects. The fact the Mets were able to keep players with the highest upside and still acquire an All-Star like Peralta is a testament to how phenomenal of job they have done in recent years to quickly build their stockpile of high-upside talent within their farm system.
FREDDY PERALTA SCOUTING REPORT:
Peralta has been one of the most consistent starters in the MLB over the past few years, possessing electric stuff that qualifies him as the #1 SP on almost any franchise. What makes Peralta even more intriguing is the fact as good as he’s been, there is still room for improvement, that could help elevate him into a true candidate to win a Cy Young. The Mets have done a tremendous job helping pitchers of various pedigrees unlock their best versions, and that was even before they hired Justin Willard to be their new pitching coach. The combination of Willard, the Mets Pitching Lab, and Peralta’s electric stuff, make for an interesting pairing that should help Peralta continue to improve and deliver the type of “Ace Caliber” season the Mets are hoping for.
4-seam Fastball -> 60+ Scouting Grade 94.8 MPH AVG., tops out 98 MPH, perceived velocity is significantly higher, generates run value Top 15% MLB.
Slider -> legit 70 Scouting Grade, generated a 53% Whiff rate in 2025, that features sharp horizontal break.
Changeup -> 55-60 Scout Grade, he used it significantly more last year & it is a pitch that is continues to get better
Curveball -> 50-55 Scouting Grade, features 12-6 drop & above average vertical drop.
<-> FREDDY PERALTA <-> 3 Consecutive Seasons of:
<-> 30+ -> Game Starts
<-> 165+ -> Innings Pitched
<-> Fewer hits allowed -> than innings pitched
<-> Fewer Hits allowed -> than Strikeouts
<-> K-RATE -> of 28% or Higher
<-> Averaged 13 Quality Starts per season
<-> Double digit wins
<-> Averaged 18 Outings per season -> 2 earned runs or fewer
<-> Averaged 20 Outings recording -> 6+ Strikeouts or more
METS ACQUIRED <-> TOBIAS MYERS -> SP / RP
<-> SCOUTING REPORT:
Myers is an interesting swingman, who’ll take over Max Kranick’s multi-inning role for the 2026 season. He has a similar pitching mechanics to Jonah Tong, with a mid-90s fastball that is deceptively fast. Myers best off-speed pitch is his splitter, which he uses to induce chase & thrown for strikes. Myers also uses a curveball and changeup but they are not close to his splitter. Myers has the potential to be a valuable piece out of the bullpen, but he gets hit hard at times and will need to earn Mendoza’s trust if he is to graduate to high-leverage situations. I wouldn’t put him on par with Luke Weaver just yet, but he provides much needed depth for the bullpen and can eat innings in a multi-inning role to help prevent having to use other key high-leverage arms on a daily basis.
Myers also provides another benefit that I believe is being overlooked. Myers has the same delivery as Mets phenom Jonah Tong, who could greatly benefit from learning how to develop a similar plus splitter like the one Myers throws. Did Stearns choose Myers over other potential RP, because he could help teach his prized pitching prospect another potential 60+ grade pitch that he can add to his arsenal, which he’ll elevate him into a frontline starter?
I’d like to think so, because that’s exactly what I would’ve done.
Many felt the Mets had to make a move to get a bonafide “Ace” after the way 2025 season ended, and being able to acquire Peralta without having to surrender either Carson Benge or Jonah Tong, as well as several other prospects makes this a huge win for the efforts. The Rangers surrendered 5 prospects for Mackenzie Gore and the Orioles paid a similar steep price for Shane Baz, who might have additional years of control, but aren’t remotely as close to being as accomplished as Peralta is. Having Peralta at the front of the rotation takes a tremendous amount of pressure off of the rest of the rotation and it provides the Mets with the luxury of letting Tong further develop his secondary pitches in AAA to start the season. After a flurry of moves to close out the off-season, the Mets have positioned themselves as legit playoff contenders and better compete with the Phillies for the N.L. East Division.
Until Peralta signs an extension, critics will continue to harp on how much the Mets overpaid for a rental, but Peralta’s has already voiced a willingness to sign an extension if he feels he lands in great situation, which Cohen and Stearns should have no problem convincing him as such. They had a similar situation when they traded for Lindor, which was resolved quickly after the season, and I believe they will be able to get an extension done with Peralta as well. Regardless of whether Bichette opts out or not, the Mets will have over $90+ million coming off the books, leaving more than enough room to extend Peralta and still pursue Tarik Skubal.
The Mets have positioned themselves well to have a great 2026 season, as well as having the payroll flexibility to continue investing in elite caliber talent by utilizing short-term high AAV contracts or if they feel a player is worthy of locking up using a long-term contract.
12 comments:
Very pleased to have Peralta on the roster. He is a very talented pitcher, but it is his durability that makes me the happiest. Eat some innings and rest the pen. Leave him in past the 5th, Carlos!!
Mike, good article.
I think that saying Sproat and Williams are MLB READY remains to be seen. I’ve seen plenty of hitters come up to the Mets, such as Vientos and Beatty, and I’m not gonna be fixing my talk to type spelling errors, so please bear with them. Both of the two gentlemen, I named played a lot longer in AAA than Jet Williams and hit a lot better. And then hit severe turbulence upon arrival in the major leagues. I could name more guys like that. Heck, Kelenic hit well in AAA. Better than Jett.
It is entirely possible that Williams is over ranked. Time will tell.
Sproat was a third rounder who hit some real turbulence in the upper minors, seemed to square it away last year, and had a few good starts with the Mets. That doesn’t guarantee success. He may be nothing more than an SP5. Again, time will tell.
I love the Peralta pick up. You have acquired a proven star while surrendering two “potentially good” players, who could also turn out to be bad players.
Tobias, I hope will do well. He’s pitched pretty well in the major leagues, but has some really rough stretches in the minor leagues. Again, time will tell. He should be helpful this year for the Mets.
I like this off season rebuild, as the Mets have gotten younger, other than Simeon, who hopefully will age well, but they avoid a long-term contracts to Nemo, Alonzo and Diaz as they rock it through their 30s. When players hit their 30s, they go from calm waters into rough rapids more often than not. And, so far, we’ve kept all of the really top prospects, and there are a good number of them, that I think are better than Williams and Brandon S.
I agree with what Macks said yesterday that we could use another bullpen arm, because bullpen arm seemed to disintegrate like a puddle of water and 99° weather with the sun out.
I think the team as constructed is in very good shape both in 2026 and going into the future. We’ll know for sure one way or the other one this season is underway.
Without beating a dead horse, I would’ve been much higher on Williams as a prospect if he was four or 5 inches higher himself. Short hitters, who thrive in the major leagues are few in number.
My hopes is Peralta pitches for the Mets though this decade
I’ve mentioned this before, but the Mets have a tremendous advantage in extending Peralta - which I believe has been Stearns’ plan all along.
Peralta only makes $8 mil this year, which is probably $22-$24 mil under market value, and the Mets, if they’re willing to begin an extension this season (rather than next) are the only team that can make up that difference this season. If Stearns offers such an extension, and Peralta turned it down, whatever FA deal he might sign next offseason would need to beat the Mets extension offer by at least $22 million just for Peralta to break even.
Add in that the security of signing an extension now also eliminates all of Peralta’s risk of injury and underperformance heading into FA.
Stearns clearly loves the guy, and so given everything, I have total confidence that an extension will be signed this spring, and that Peralta will be here for 5/6 years.
Offer Peralta a 6 year 180 million dollar contract already.
Trade for Jojo Romero
Solid trade for both teams for sure. If the Mets want Peralta, they will sign him (unless Peralta has a really negative NYC experience).
Zozo, offer me 6 years, $180 million, and I will gladly change my name to Peralta.
To my point earlier, I was glancing through trade rumors and saw a Pittsburgh pirate blogger (I never knew such existed, but I should’ve realized the likelihood) gave his view on the Mets talent, and why he was totally disinterested in making a proposed deal. Please, everybody, feel free to read what he said, as follows. You may not agree, but it’s worth reading:
Pirates dodged a dangerous Mets trade trap that would’ve wrecked their plan
According to the NY Post’s Joel Sherman, New York “extensively” discussed Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft with Pittsburgh in trade talks this offseason. In the abstract, talking about arms makes sense — the Pirates have a real pipeline, and teams always come sniffing when you’ve got premium velocity and years of control.
The Pirates were presumably looking for controllable position-player talent, with names like Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and prospect Carson Benge floating as the types of players who could’ve been listed in talks. In theory, that tracks.
In reality? That’s a great way for Pittsburgh to trade away the very thing that gives them a path to October — cost-controlled pitching
— for a grab bag of “maybe” bats who come with their own loud questions.
The Pirates don’t have the luxury of treating pitchers like spare parts. They’ve already moved arms around to reshuffle the roster (including dealing Oviedo and Mike Burrows), while trying to patch the lineup with additions like Ryan O’Hearn and the Brandon Lowe trade.
Tom--
The Pitt guy obviously makes sense, but what it really reveals is they don't have a strength that they can deal from to create a balanced competitive team. They have Skenes and apparently someone else almost ML ready who is highly touted, but then they have a number of people in the 'so-far 'good but not delicious' ' category like the Mets do. It's not insulting to the Mets or to the Baby Mets being referenced, with the possible exception of Benge. If they wanted a path to October, IMHO, it would involve (were they trading with the Mets), them giving up Skenes and a high ceiling prospect a few years from the majors (who the Mets would be interested in because of their faith in developing talent) and receive Tong (if they believe in him) two other top tier immediate players (from a menu that would likely include Clifford, Riemer and one of the outfielders, either Ewing or Morbitto) and another group of where they can take 2 (from a group a bit farther away from the majors, including a SP, whether Wenninger or Lambert). They aren't fully appreciating that strength in a position is not just a matter of numbers. And you don't get high end talent across your needs unless you let go of your top talent.
Lmao Pirates haven’t developed a legit bat in15 years -> O’Neil Cruz doesn’t count becuz he does nothing other than make hard contact the few times he does connect. What could they possibly know about developing hitters.
Let's keep Ewing.
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