The 2026 season was a roller coaster for Freddy Peralta. After being traded to the New York Mets during the offseason, he hoped to take over as their ace and lead them to the playoffs, but things went sideways almost right away, and he’d again be traded midseason, this time to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Something changed once he got to Tampa, though. Peralta started to look like the pitcher he had been with the Milwaukee Brewers, and he would even be named the AL Pitcher of the Month for September with a 0.96 ERA in 28 innings.
Now, Peralta is set to start Game 2 of the ALDS against the New York Yankees. Finding himself in that situation gave him the opportunity to reflect on what changed since leaving the Mets.
“I was there and I was happy over there,” Freddy Peralta said. “Obviously, I wasn’t in the spot that I wanted to be when I talk about how my numbers were. This is baseball. Everything changed when I got traded. I said it before that I’ve been treated here as a king, and I feel really good about it. They’re working me really well here. For me and for my family this is a great opportunity to be the pitcher for the second game of the ALDS.”
Freddy Peralta Has Improved Significantly Since Leaving the New York Mets
The trade for Freddy Peralta made a lot of sense at the time for the Mets. He was an All-Star in 2025 and finished fifth in Cy Young voting. Going into his age 30 season while coming off a 2.70 ERA, he looked like a fix at the top of the rotation.
Then, he got on the mound. In 22 starts, Peralta threw 113.2 innings. He had a 4.99 ERA and a 1.478 WHIP in that time. He made a complete turnaround with the Rays, though, posting a 3.25 ERA and a 1.012 WHIP in 10 starts. It’s an incredible shift, and now he has a chance to win in the playoffs because of it.
“I feel amazing on the mound, and in general here,” Peralta said. “But I’m looking forward to finding a way to give the opportunity to the team to get the win. No matter how. Don’t matter what I have to do or how I have to do it. Just to find a way to get it done.”
Peralta credits a change in energy going from the Mets to the Rays. That, along with the defense behind him, has helped create this opportunity.
“Since I got here I felt something I was looking for, which is the energy, the way that the boys play the game, how they — when they get into — like, when I talk about the defense, they are amazing, the way they come into the field, the way they take their bats, too, when I talk about the offense. It’s amazing, and I just — we just need to keep it that way. Simple,” Peralta said.
The Mets are Looking for Answers in the Rotation
The 2026 season ended up being a massive disappointment for the Mets. At 74-88, they finished last in the NL East. The pitching was a major reason for that.
For the regular season, the Mets had a 4.15 ERA. That was 17th in MLB. They were also 14th in WHIP with a 1.29 and 12th in batting average allowed at .239 for the season. Nolan McLean remains their top starter, having thrown 31 gams to a 3.16 ERA.
However, behind McLean, the Mets battled injury issues. Only five starters had double-digit starts for the year. That included Freddy Peralta. Several pitchers bounced between the bullpen and the rotation, but there was a complete lack of consistency behind McLean. Now, the Mets are looking for a way to fix that.
Free agent Tarik Skubal is the major prize this offseason, and there have been plenty of rumors connecting him to the Mets. Of course, they will have to get him away from the Los Angeles Dodgers to land Skubal.
Rays SP Freddy Peralta on How Things Changed for the Better Since Mets Trade