New York Mets ace Freddy Peralta is a free agent after this season, and now, his price tag in free agency has been revealed.
The Mets traded Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams to the Milwaukee Brewers this past offseason in exchange for Peralta and swingman Tobias Myers, a high price to pay given the Mets knew that Peralta is set to hit free agency this winter for the first time in his MLB career.
But with Mets owner Steve Cohen having deep pockets, the expectation is that the Mets are going to pay up to keep Peralta on the team next season. If that’s the case, then it’s going to be expensive to bring him back.
Freddy Peralta Seeking Contract Similar to Max Fried
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Peralta is seeking a free-agent contract similar to what the New York Yankees gave to Max Fried a few years ago, which is eight years, $218 million.
“If a team acquires New York Mets ace Freddy Peralta at the trade deadline and wants to keep him, they better be ready to pay up. Peralta will be seeking a free agent contract similar to Max Fried’s eight-year, $218 million deal, according to those familiar with Peralta’s expectations,” Nightengale wrote.
On paper, it makes sense that Peralta’s camp is looking for a contract similar to Fried’s. But at the same time, Fried has accumulated double the career bWAR that Peralta has (30.2 bWAR for Fried compared to 15.3 bWAR for Peralta). Still, that Fried contract was signed two years ago, and with MLB contracts going up every season, it’s possible that Peralta could get what he wants.
Freddy Peralta Has Been Solid, but Not Spectacular, for New York
In his first season in New York, Peralta is 4-4 with a 3.63 ERA in 13 starts and 72 IP, while racking up 74 Ks and 1.0 bWAR.
These numbers are pretty much in line with Peralta’s career numbers, as he had a 3.59 ERA in 224 games for the Brewers before he was traded to the Mets. However, he did have a higher strikeout rate with the Brewers, which is something that MLB general managers tend to value more highly when handing out big-money contracts.
That being said, Peralta is clearly one of the best arms slated to hit free agency this offseason, so regardless of whether it’s with the Mets or another team, someone is going to pay up for Peralta.
He’s an excellent pitcher who is still only 30 years old, so he has plenty of good years left in the league. Fried was a similar age when he got his eight-year contract with the Yankees, so it makes sense that Peralta’s camp is looking for a similar number of years and money.
This year, the Mets seem unlikely to make the postseason, as they are 5.5 GB of the third National League Wild Card spot at this time of writing with a 28-36 record. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if the Mets decide to keep Peralta past the trade deadline or attempt to deal him and bring back some assets in return instead of risking losing him in free agency for a compensation pick.
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