Less than 24 hours after the Detroit Tigers traded left-hander Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the next starting pitcher domino has fallen.
The New York Mets have traded two-time All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for outfielder Aidan Smith (Rays No. 15 prospect), right-hander Gary Gill Hill (Rays No. 26 prospect) and second baseman Émilien Pitre (Rays No. 27 prospect), per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
Well, it was only a matter of time before the Mets dealt Peralta, who has had an extremely underwhelming and disappointing season thus far. Peralta is 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 113 strikeouts to 48 walks through 22 starts (113.2 innings).
His 4.99 ERA is the second-worst among qualified pitchers, a wild regression from his 2025 ERA of 2.70 when he finished fifth in the National League Cy Young voting. Peralta never found his footing in New York, and following his last start against the Dodgers on July 26, he said he let the team and fans down.
“I just come here and try my best every day to stay healthy and give my best every five days,” Peralta said recently.
“I know it hasn’t been that way. We haven’t done what we expected to in general. I know that I can be way better than this. I still believe in myself. I am born to be a winner, not a loser, and I think that I have a lot in me, a lot to show. And I know that it can change because I still have time to make a change, to make it better.”
That change will have to come in Tampa Bay, which has had a great season despite many underestimating the team. Peralta joins one of the best starting rotations in baseball and goes from last place to first place – from out of the playoffs to a sure ticket to October.
New York got a decent return for an impending free agent. Smith was the headliner in Tampa Bay’s return for All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena when he was traded to the Seattle Mariners. He struggled offensively in 2025 but showed flashes of greatness in 2024.
Gill Hill pitched for Great Britain in the World Baseball Classic in 2026 and while he also had a down year in 2025, he has a solid four-pitch mix that gets him a ton of ground balls. He won’t strike out a lot of batters but excels at limiting walks.
Pitre is a great contact hitter with supreme bat-to-ball skills. The way he plays baseball best resembles Chicago Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner – not a ton of power but gets on base, runs well, plays great defense and is expected to be Major League ready in 2027.
