Mets ace Freddy Peralta receives huge trade update after New York's awful start to 2026 season originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Mets went into the 2026 season thinking they were going to be top contenders: so far, they were totally wrong. They’ve amassed a record of 7-15, and are dead last in the NL East.
Due to that, they could decide to sell at the deadline due to their very bloated payroll. FanSided’s Zachary Rotman believes they’ll be sellers, and predicts that the Mets top candidate to trade will be the All-Star ace they just acquired, Freddy Peralta.
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“Now, it would be strange and incredibly unfortunate for the Mets to trade Peralta just months after trading two top prospects in the offseason to acquire him, but what other choice does the team have? If New York isn't going to make the playoffs, doesn't it make more sense to trade a player slated to hit the open market after the season? Even with his free agency looming, Peralta can fetch a very substantial return, especially when considering he's only making $8 million this season…If the Mets are out of it, they'd be doing themselves a disservice not trading a player they probably won't be re-signing anyway,” Rotman wrote.
So far this season, Peralta has posted a 1-2 record, a 4.05 ERA, 28 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.088 in 26 innings pitched. He’s not in All-Star form right now, but his career has shown this is probably just a cold streak.
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Wherever he would go, they would only have to pay him half of his $8 million he’s owed this season. But, whoever gets him has to be ok with him being a rental, unless they are ready to pay his market value of a five-year, $131 million contract.
Hopefully, the Mets can get out of this funk and be contenders by the deadline. However, if they can’t, trading Peralta so they can at least not consider trading for him a total disaster is probably the smart move.
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