Freddy Peralta’s Slide Has Teams Thinking They Can Fix Him. The Mets Might Let Them Try.

Freddy Peralta looked like a future ace in Milwaukee. Now he’s a reclamation project with a 4.99 ERA and a growing list of front offices convinced they know what went wrong. And the Mets, for the first time in a while, seem open to listening.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, multiple evaluators around the league believe Peralta would benefit from a change of scenery. One scout put it bluntly: “For a bunch of teams, he would start a playoff game. Regardless of the results so far, he’s still going to be one of the top three or four starters available.”

The gap between who Peralta was and who he is right now is kind of wild. Last season with the Brewers, he went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts. He finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting. The Mets traded for him expecting that version. Instead they got a guy who is 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA and 113 strikeouts. Since his last quality start, his ERA has ballooned to 7.34.

The Mets are listening, but it’s complicated

New York isn’t exactly in a position to give away a 28-year-old arm with Peralta’s track record. They’re trying to build for next season and beyond, and a buy-low return on a guy who could bounce back doesn’t do them much good. But his last start was rough even by his current standards, and that kind of thing sticks in the minds of other GMs pushing for discounts.

The Padres are the team that keeps coming up in conversations. San Diego’s rotation needs help, and they’ve shown a willingness to bet on talented arms who’ve hit a rough patch. The Rays are also in the mix, which should surprise nobody — Tampa Bay loves buying low on pitchers they think they can tweak. The White Sox and Cubs have reportedly expressed interest too.

A deadline waiting game

The trade deadline is days away, so expect the Mets to drag this out as long as they can. Peralta’s name will get thrown around in conversations about prospects, lottery tickets, and salary relief. The Mets aren’t desperate, but they’re not married to him either. If a team offers the right package, he’s gone.

What’s interesting is how many front offices still view Peralta as a frontline starter despite the numbers. That kind of reputation doesn’t vanish after a few bad months. Somebody is going to trade for him, convinced they’ve spotted a fixable mechanical flaw or a pitch usage issue. Whether they’re right is a different question.

But right now, the Mets have a decision to make: sell low and move on, or hold and hope the guy who nearly won a Cy Young is still in there somewhere.