After a slow start to the offseason, the New York Mets made a couple of big moves, one of which was trading with the Milwaukee Brewers for Freddy Peralta.
Since coming into the majors in 2018, Freddy Peralta has compiled a 70‑42 record with a 3.59 ERA, 1,153 strikeouts, and one save over 211 career appearances with the Brewers, per StatMuse.
Moreover, Peralta is in a contract year, so if he performs well this upcoming season in New York, the 29-year-old will be getting a payday either from the Mets or another team next offseason.
Ahead of the 2026 MLB season, Mets’ Francisco Lindor shared his thoughts on having Peralta as a teammate for this campaign.
“I’m very excited,” Lindor told MLB Network on Feb. 20. “This guy has infectious energy. His energy is great. He’s always happy. But when he’s on the mound, he competes. I’ve been on the other side of him dominating, and now I’m glad he’s on our side.
“He’s one of the best pitchers in the game, and the way he handled himself day in and day out, I actually told him [on Feb. 20], I was walking around, I’m like, ‘Man, you haven’t stopped working all day.’ He goes, ‘When you’re going to throw 200-plus innings, you’ve got to work.’ And I’m looking forward to that.”
Mets’ Freddy Peralta Gets Contract Prediction
Nonetheless, if Peralta does see himself in New York long-term and the Mets feel the same way, what would a contract extension look like? SNY’s Jim Duquette shared the contract length and dollar figures he sees the Mets offering the starting pitcher.
“I don’t see the Mets going to five years on anything like that,” Duquette said in a video that SNY published on Jan. 28. “If he was willing to do four years, and if it was around $28 to $30 million, $120 [million] total, that might be in the possibility. He does have an agent that has done deals before [with the Mets].”
Moreover, Duquette doesn’t see the new Mets starting pitcher taking any discount after being on a team-friendly contract during his time with the Milwaukee Brewers.
“There may be a change of rules in 2027 where there’s a salary cap, so you see a lot of short‑term deals,” Duquette added. “That’s primarily what the organization has been focusing on, is short‑term deals, and they also develop pitching well.
“So I think that all has to factor into any type of offer that you make to Freddy Peralta, and you hope that he’s willing to take a discount or a little bit of a discount. But you also know he’s coming off one where it was a steep discount there in Milwaukee.”
Would Freddy Peralta Consider Staying in New York?
Meanwhile, Mets beat reporter Anthony DiComo of MLB.com shared his take on whether Peralta can stick around in Queens past this upcoming season, noting that any contract extension is a two-way street to get done.
“I think what people forget to realize sometimes is that it takes two to tango,” DiComo said on the Jan. 26 edition of “Baseball Night in New York.” “Freddy Peralta, who’s a year from free agency, who’s never pitched in New York before, probably doesn’t even know if he likes it, of course, because he hasn’t pitched here. He has to want to do it, too, and the Mets have to make it worth it as well. David Stearns doesn’t love paying players into their mid-30s.
“That’s what he would have to do for Peralta in an extension. So these are all reasons why it doesn’t necessarily have to happen, but it absolutely could. I think if you’re the Mets, you do give up those prospects. There is some motivation, at least, to explore it. These conversations tend to happen in March. You get down to spring training, everyone’s in the same place.”
Mets’ Francisco Lindor Doesn’t Hold Back on Freddy Peralta