Mets trade Freddy Peralta to the Rays

The Mets got three prospects out of a strong farm system in their trade for the disappointing right-hander

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A key off-season acquisition for the Mets has gone south.

Per The Athletic, the Mets have traded RHP Freddy Peralta to the Rays for three prospects - Rays No. 15 OF Aidan Smith, no. 26 RHP Gary Gill Hill, and no. 27 INF Émilien Pitre, per MLB.com.

The Rays will pick up all of the remaining money owed to Peralta, who is earning $8 million this year and can become a free agent after this season.

Peralta arrived in New York with high hopes and a steep price tag, as the Mets sent two top-100 prospects to Milwaukee in INF Jett Williams and RHP Brandon Sproat to get him. But his tenure with the Mets never got on track as he pitched to a 4.99 ERA over 22 starts and 113 innings. He was plagued by some bad luck and some poor defense behind him in many of those starts, but his 8.95 strikeout rate this season is a career-low and down from 10.39 strikeouts per nine innings in 2025 and his 4.99 ERA is the second-worst among qualified starting pitchers in the game so far this season.

As such, the Mets were unable to net a similar return in terms of prospect rankings that they gave up to get Peralta earlier this year.

Even so, their ability to restock their farm system with players from a very strong system in the Rays organization can be viewed as a plus in this deal. All three prospects in their return for Peralta are ranked in the top 30 in the Rays organization and near-ready talent in Pitre, New York area native Gill Hill, and Smith. If anything, this gives the Mets front office more supply in what will likely be an off-season in which they will be heavily relying on the trade market thanks to a poor free agent class, especially on the position player front.

As for who will replace Peralta in the rotation for the rest of the year, that remains to be seen, and the Mets could very well need two new starting pitchers with Peralta gone and the likelihood of Clay Holmes being moved in the next 24 hours. Jonah Tong, who remains their highest-ranked prospect, last appearing in the major leagues on June 2, but has a 5.24 ERA with Triple-A Syracuse in 2026. The Mets recently promoted Jonathan Santucci to Triple-A, and they have Robert Stock pitching in the big leagues against the Marlins today. There’s also Jack Wenninger, who has been okay for Triple-A Syracuse as well.

As for Peralta, 30, he leaves New York after a very disappointing tenure with the Mets this season. He will join an already strong rotation and a pennant race in the American League East, joining Drew Rasmussen, Nick Martínez, and Shane McClanahan to form one of the best starting rotations in the game. That plus a stronger defense behind him should bode well for Peralta as he looks to rebuild his value ahead of becoming a free agent after the season.