New ace Freddy Peralta takes the mound for his Mets debut, facing electric rookie Paul Skenes in a must-see Opening Day showdown.
The New York Mets saw Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz leave in free agency.
The Mets then traded away Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo, so there are a lot of new faces in Queens this season.
However, they landed some big fish in the offseason, including Bo Bichette, Luis Robert Jr., Jorge Polanco and former Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.
Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams went to Milwaukee for Peralta, and the Mets did what they needed by adding a front-line starter to the rotation.
Now, in a very unsurprising announcement, Peralta will get the ball on Opening Day, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported on Friday.
Carlos Mendoza said it was "pretty clear" that Peralta would be at the front of the rotation as the Mets manager spoke to reporters on Friday.
Peralta is a two-time All-Star with the Brewers, and he went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA, setting career-best marks in wins and ERA.
He also made 33 starts, which was the most of his career, and had 204 strikeouts, another career-best.
The other arms projected to be in the Mets' rotation are Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, Kodai Senga and Jonah Tong, although Mendoza has to find a way to get this rotation down to six by the time the season begins.
Peralta and new addition Devin Williams will both make their Cactus League debuts on Friday, so the timing comes on the heels of Peralta being named the Opening Day starter.
Nolan McLean, who should be the No. 2 starter, pitched well in his first spring training action, but he is now headed to the World Baseball Classic, where he will play for Team USA.
Weird Twist For Freddy Peralta
To make it a bit more odd, Peralta, who spent his entire MLB career in the National League Central, will begin his Mets run against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Opening Day.
That means Paul Skenes faces the Mets, so a dynamite pitching matchup of Peralta vs. Skenes in Queens on March 26 for the first game of the season.
Everybody knows how electric Skenes is, and he went 10-10 with a 1.97 ERA in 2025. His record would've been better if Pittsburgh had given him even half-decent run support, but that's how it goes.
Get your popcorn ready. Opening Day in Queens will feature some top pitchers as the new-look Mets team begins their season.