Peralta Days are here!
The Mets' latest Opening Day starter had himself quite the day on Friday...
What’s Up with the Mets? 🌴
RHP Freddy Peralta was announced as the Mets’ Opening Day starter against the Pirates on Mar 26
The Mets beat the Cardinals 14-3 in a wild one at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, Jupiter on Friday afternoon (box)
Peralta was the star of the show, throwing three perfect innings with three strikeouts in a dominant Grapefruit League debut
DH MJ Melendez led the way offensively, hitting two home runs and finishing with four RBIs
OF Carson Benge made a highlight-reel play in the field while going 1-for-2 with two runs scored at the plate
OF A.J. Ewing had another noteworthy day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a home run, three runs scored and two RBIs
RHP Devin Williams gave up a home run on his first pitch of spring training, before retiring the next three batters he faced
Peralta is also open to extension talks with the Mets, and hasn’t put an Opening Day deadline on any discussions (NY Post)
Injury Updates 🏥
SS Grae Kessinger will undergo an MRI today after suffering a left knee injury during Friday’s game
SS Francisco Lindor (left hamate bone surgery) continues to progress and has recently taken part in one-handed swings and strength exercises
What I’m Reading 📰
The 30 biggest winners of MLB’s offseason (NY Post)
Daniel Murphy on the new-look Mets and a potential lockout (NY Post)
Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin has lived up to the hype so far this spring (The Athletic)
Could the Blue Jays be better this year? (The Athletic)
What I’m Watching 📺
Former Mets pitcher Jerry Blevins sat down with Christian Scott, Nolan McLean, and Jonah Tong for an in-depth roundtable conversation on SNY.
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Today’s Game 🏝️
Match-up: Mets (4-2) vs. Nationals (4-2)
Where: Clover Park - Port St. Lucie, FL
Starters: RHP Tobias Myers (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
When: 1:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
Must-watch pitching days are back for Mets fans in 2026 ✍️
Friday very much belonged to Freddy Peralta.
Not only was the newly acquired righty announced as the Mets’ Opening Day starter, but he also put on one hell of a show in his Grapefruit League debut, flashing ace-like tendencies in just a dominant outing against the Cardinals.
That’s quite a day.
And, between Peralta and stud phenom Nolan McLean, Mets fans will now have double the amount of high-octane starts from two potential aces to look forward to in 2026.
Linda Surovich detailed on Friday how McLean has the potential to be a complete game-changer for the organization. He balled out in his first start of spring training on Thursday, and it is clear that no real limits exists for the righty. McLean will be must-watch every time he steps on the mound in 2026, adding another layer of excitement to games.
I strongly suspect Peralta will have the same impact on Mets fans this year, too.
For starters, he arrives in Queens with an established and impressive resume already. He’s a two-time All-Star, he finished fifth in National League Cy Young voting in 2025, and he’s proven year in and year out that he can lead a pitching staff and be a force every time he takes the ball. You can also make a strong argument that, at 29 years old, Peralta is right in the middle of his prime years. That was certainly the case last season when he was one of the best pitchers in the sport, leading the NL in wins and going 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts over 33 starts.
Furthermore, Peralta pitches with the kind of authority and swagger that was missing from Mets starters for large parts of the 2025 season. He’s a true frontline starter in every sense, and he will give the starting rotation a lot of stability and quality. He’s an absolute warrior on the mound and he will eat innings and be the kind of workhorse this team has long craved.
Not only that, but the righty will also be a hell of a lot of fun to watch throughout the 2026 season. Just go and watch his Mets spring training debut as proof. He was lights out from the moment he took the ball, retiring all nine batters he faced while his four-seam fastball topped out at 94 mph. Peralta also used every pitch in his arsenal, showcasing the wide range of weapons he has at his disposal to get batters out.
Yes, it was only one outing in spring when games don’t matter, but Peralta already looked in midseason form. More importantly, the way in which he went about his work would have given all Mets fans a tantalizing preview of what’s to come. Like McLean, Peralta should be absolute box office every time he gets the ball.
I don’t think you can labor that point too much with this team, either. After all, the Mets have a long, rich tradition of elite starters. The great Tom Seaver is obviously the gold standard of New York Mets pitching. Dwight Gooden set Queens alight when he broke through, electrifying the fanbase and setting a new precedent for future starters. The likes of Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, and Jacob deGrom then took that ball and ran with it. All eyes were on Queens when those guys were due to start.
Being of a relatively young age, I can speak with more authority when it comes to watching Harvey, Syndergaard, and deGrom at their absolute peak. I lived for “deGrom Days,” and I was lucky enough to witness a couple of his electric starts in person. There was nothing quite like the feeling in the ballpark whenever deGrom was on the mound. There was just this whiff of anticipation in the air that something truly special and unique was about to take place. That anything was possible whenever deGrom had the ball in his hand. The same can be said of Harvey in 2013, and Syndergaard in 2016. They all left you speechless at times, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and providing memories that would last a lifetime.
Citi Field was truly a special place to be on days those guys were starting.
That experience of being awestruck thanks to the guy on the mound was largely missing from the game-watching experience in 2025, until McLean was called up and offered hope that the next generation of elite, dominant Mets starters were on the way.
And, with Peralta now in town to help form a lethal two-headed monster at the top of the rotation with McLean, there is a very likely chance that not only will this franchise’s deep-rooted tradition of pitching excellence return in 2026, but that Mets fans will have the added bonus of getting extra excited about games those two are on the mound.
It is a Mets tradition, after all.
And maybe, just maybe, “Peralta Days” and “McLean Days” will become just as compelling as “deGrom Days” once were.
Around the League 🚩
RHP Shane Baz tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings in his Orioles spring training debut in a 6-1 loss to the Pirates
OF Spencer Jones hit the batter’s eye with a 427 ft home run as the Yankees beat the Twins, 17-5
RHP Edward Cabrera threw two perfect innings with three strikeouts in his Cubs spring training debut as Chicago beat Cleveland, 8-6
Red Sox INF Marcelo Mayer blasted a solo home run in his spring training debut in a 15-8 loss to the Braves