The New York Mets have played better baseball as of late but are still way behind in the playoff picture, which will likely prompt it to deal its top pitcher at the trade deadline.
Despite winning its series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4 on Thursday, the New York Mets are still firmly out of the playoff picture at 34-41 in a tough National League.
The Mets were powered by a two-homer game by left fielder Juan Soto, who now has 17 home runs and 38 RBI while slashing .300/.398/.582 (.980 OPS) through 58 games. New York’s offense has been generating a lot more traffic and runs recently, but it can’t get out of last place in the NL East.
Queens’ finest are 3.5 games back from the Miami Marlins and 13.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the division. The wild card is still open at this point, but the team is 5.5 back from the final spot and it seems like it is slipping away.
This could prompt the Mets to be sellers at the Aug. 3 trade deadline and it’s likely that New York moves on from ace right-hander Freddy Peralta, who is starting Saturday’s game against Philadelphia.
Peralta, a two-time All-Star as recent as last season when he led the NL with 17 wins, was acquired in the offseason from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade that sent multiple prospects to Milwaukee.
The 30-year-old hasn’t pitched up to the standard he or the Mets have wanted but he’s been decent through 15 starts, posting a 5-5 record with a 3.90 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 81 strikeouts to 33 walks over 83 innings of work.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan ranked the top 100 trade candidates as we approach trading season, and Peralta was listed as the 11th best; he was also given a 90 percent chance of being moved.
“Teams are thrilled that Peralta has gotten off to a middling start with the Mets,” McDaniel and Passan wrote Wednesday. “Unless New York goes on a run, it has to trade the 30-year-old. Why? Because of the Mets' spending over the luxury tax, the best compensatory draft pick they can reap for him comes after the fourth round.
“Even with his strikeout rate dipping below one per inning, Peralta is still plenty capable of throwing seven shutout innings in a postseason game -- and that makes him worth a much better prospect than what New York could get with a fourth-rounder.”
Just a season ago, Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 204 strikeouts and a 155 ERA+ through 33 starts (176.2 innings). He has collected 200 or more strikeouts in three consecutive seasons and although he isn’t pacing to do it again this year, he is projected for 175 punchouts.
The best part of it all is Peralta’s salary of just $8 million. He is in the final year of his deal and is likely due for a nice payday, so the belief is that the Mets should cash in while it can.
The teams named as the best fits are the Cleveland Guardians, Athletics, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves.
