It has been nearly 10 months to the day since the Milwaukee Brewers traded ace right-hander Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets. 

On Monday, as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, he helped punch his new team’s ticket to the World Series to face his old one, and he earned the American League Championship Series MVP Award.

For Peralta, this is a full-circle moment that has been made possible by the adversity he has faced. Now, he can celebrate.

The Brewers traded Peralta to the Mets on Jan. 21 after he came off a dominant season in which he went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA through 33 starts and 176.2 innings of work.

Following the 2025 campaign, the Brewers exercised their $8 million club option on Peralta, but trade speculation was running rampant around his name. 

This is because the small-market Brewers were not in a position to pay Peralta what he would be worth in free agency, so they traded him to the Mets, who have the second-highest payroll in baseball.

However, Peralta's time with New York was short-lived, and it was marred by poor play, but his struggles were only part of the bigger issues plaguing his new team.

By the time the trade deadline arrived on Aug. 3, the Mets were well below .500, and it was evident that there was little chance for their season to be salvaged. When New York traded Peralta, he had a 5-9 record with a 4.99 ERA through 22 starts. 

It seemed as if his down year had ruined any chance of a big payday. Then, the Rays took a flyer on him, and everything changed.

Peralta made 10 starts with the Rays over the remainder of the regular season, and he went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA. 

In the playoffs, he was even more dominant, going 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA through four games, three of which were starts. Nothing has been easy for Peralta, but he persisted and got back on track with an organization known for getting the most out of its pitchers. 

Now, an unlikely full-circle moment is nearly at its crescendo.

After he was named the ALCS MVP, Peralta expressed his gratitude, and he feels that God brought him to the right place. On Friday, he will be reunited with the organization he got his start with, but it will be as rivals as they play in the Fall Classic.