After trading the right-hander for a underwhelming return, New York must watch their former starter dominate for Tampa Bay following a dominant, award-winning September surge toward October.
The New York Mets are sitting at home watching the MLB postseason on their couches.
If that doesn't sting enough, there are several players who were in Queens not too long ago who are in the postseason, most notably Chicago Cubs starter Clay Holmes and Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Freddy Peralta.
Once the Mets realized their season was lost, they traded some pieces. Holmes was dealt, and Peralta was traded despite having been acquired in a prospect-heavy package in a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers not even 10 months ago.
The Mets did get three prospects in exchange for Peralta. However, that must sting even more, because Peralta was named the American League Pitcher of the Month following the end of the regular season.
Peralta finished September with a 4-0 record, along with a 0.96 ERA, 28.0 IP and 23 Ks.
And, the Rays have the top seed in the American League and a bye with home-field advantage throughout the entire postseason.
Now, Peralta struggled big time in Queens, and the two sides couldn't agree on a long-term deal, which made the trade sting even more in a short return.
Peralta made 22 starts for the Mets, going 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in 113.2 innings.
For comparison, he has a 5-2 record in 10 starts with Tampa Bay along with a 3.25 ERA in 55.1 innings. So, he is just under half the innings pitched in less than half the starts in Tampa Bay.
David Stearns had spoken about Peralta's struggles recently, as well.
So, why couldn't Peralta figure things out in Queens? Who knows, but the offense certainly didn't help with run support. The manager change also probably wasn't helpful, and the ongoing questions about a contract were probably on his mind.
Sometimes a change of scenery works out, and the Mets certainly hoped Peralta would be the ace that he was during his days with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Yet, it didn't happen. It was so bad that New York decided to move on from Peralta, and having to trade a talented prospect like Jett Williams for about four months of Peralta is not a good look for Stearns and the front office in Queens.
Peralta now goes into the postseason on a positive note, and there could be a lot more Peralta starts coming in October as he stars for the best team in the AL.
