The New York Mets are on a quest to fix their pitching and defensive woes from last season in hopes of returning back to the playoffs.
You’ve heard the buzz words “run prevention” surrounding the Mets all offseason, which is essentially improving the pitching staff and defensive consistency which have plagued this team for longer than just the 2025 season.
The Mets have been one of the most active teams in Major League Baseball so far this offseason; they traded left fielder Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers for second baseman Marcus Semien, traded second baseman Jeff McNeil to the Athletics, signed infielder Jorge Polanco to a two-year deal to play first base and designated hitter and signed right-handed relievers Devin Williams and Luke Weaver to bolster the bullpen.
New York did lose several key pieces, however, in star first baseman Pete Alonso and right-handed closer Edwin Diaz. Alonso goes against the “defense first” sort of approach that president of baseball operations David Stearns is going for, so it makes sense why the team was comfortable attempting to replace his offensive presence rather than deal with his defensive woes (although, signing Polanco to play a position he has played once in his career doesn’t exactly scream upgrade).
While they have made several moves to bolster the bullpen, New York hasn’t gone out and gotten an ace yet. The Mets need an anchor for the young trio of Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat to lean on and they are showing interest in Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.
“Per the report, the [New York] Yankees, Mets, [Los Angeles] Dodgers, [Atlanta] Braves and [Boston] Red Sox are among the clubs showing interest in the right-hander, who is signed for $8 million in 2026 -- a relative pittance compared to the going rate for a starter of his caliber in free agency,” MLB.com reported Monday.
“Though Peralta has only one year of control remaining, the Brewers’ asking price remains high.”
Peralta has been incredible since joining Milwaukee’s starting rotation full-time in 2021. The two-time All-Star is coming off a 17-6 (fourth-best) season with a 2.70 ERA (seventh) and 1.08 WHIP (13th) over 33 starts (176.2 innings) while posting his third consecutive 200-plus strikeout season (204, ninth-best).
The 29-year-old will garner a hefty return for Milwaukee should the team decide to trade him, and the Mets have the resources to get a deal done.