The Mets’ latest sell-off brought a familiar name back into the trade conversation, and this time Freddy Peralta is on the move again.
New York dealt the two-time All-Star to the Rays for outfielder Aidan Smith, second baseman Émilien Pitre and right-hander Gary Gill Hill. Peralta, 30, was expected to anchor the Mets’ rotation when they got him from the Brewers this offseason in a deal that sent Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat to Milwaukee. Instead, he becomes another piece flipped out of New York’s hands, and he’ll head to a Tampa Bay staff that already features Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan and Nick Martinez.
Peralta’s 2026 season never came close to matching the version the Mets thought they were getting. Through 22 starts, he’s 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP, piling up 113 strikeouts and 48 walks across 113 2/3 innings. His 22.1% strikeout rate and 4.46 FIP are both career worsts.
That’s a sharp drop from what he did in 2025 with the Brewers, when he went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP and 204 strikeouts against 66 walks in 176 2/3 innings. He led the National League in wins and finished fourth in ERA, strikeouts per nine at 10.39 and WAR at 5.5, while also placing ninth in FIP at 3.85.
From 2021 through last season, Peralta had been one of the National League’s steadiest starters, going 54-34 with a 3.30 ERA, a 28.5% strikeout rate and 14.8 WAR. But the Mets got a much rougher version this year. Opposing hitters have produced a .235 expected batting average against him, up from .206 last season.
The fastball, which he throws 53% of the time, has also taken a hit. Opponents are batting .270 with a .429 slugging percentage against the pitch in 2026, compared with .209 and .381 in 2025.
His changeup has slipped even more dramatically, with hitters at .280 and .449 against it this year after posting .173 and .271 last season. The curveball hasn’t been much better, as batters are hitting .250 off it and slugging .500, up from .189 and .300 a year ago.
The underlying delivery numbers have shifted too. Peralta’s arm angle has dropped from 38 degrees to 33, and his extension is down from 6.8 feet last season to 6.5 feet this year.
That helps explain why his first-pitch strike rate has fallen to a career-low 57.8% over a full season, down from 63.3% in 2025 and below 61% for the first time since 2023. He’s been working from behind more often, and it has shown in the results.
Still, the Rays are betting a new setting and a playoff chase can help straighten him out.
For the Mets, the return is built around three prospects with different skill sets and varying ceilings.
Smith, a 22-year-old outfielder, was a fourth-round pick by the Mariners in 2023 before going to Tampa in the Randy Arozarena deal in 2024. He brings speed and defense, along with raw power, but the swing-and-miss is a real issue.
He’s spent his second straight season in High A, and in 59 games across three levels in 2026 he’s hitting .209/.281/.391 with 10 home runs, 16 stolen bases and a 68 wRC+. His strikeout rate sits at 30.1%, a number he’ll need to clean up to get to the majors.
Gill Hill, a sixth-round pick in 2022, has a mid-90s fastball, a hard cutter and a usable slider. The 21-year-old also owns a strong walk rate this season at 5.0%, but his changeup is not much of a factor and his overall profile comes with limited upside. MLB Pipeline ranked him Tampa’s 26th-best prospect, and he has a 4.43 ERA with opponents hitting .307 against him in 15 Double A starts this year.
Pitre is the most interesting of the three. A left-handed-hitting infielder, he made his name with the Canadian junior national team before heading to Kentucky and eventually becoming a second-round pick in 2024.
He doesn’t have one carrying tool, but he has been producing this season, hitting .323/.451/.492 with a 155 wRC+ in 37 games at Double A. At 23, he’s older for the level, and while he makes consistent contact, the power isn’t big enough to suggest a loud ceiling.
The Mets come away with three players who have some usable traits, but no obvious headliner in the group.
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Chris Lamoriello is staying in place as one of the clubs other assistant GMs, with his emphasis remaining on scouting and player personnel decisions. Taken together, the structure says plenty about how Mathieu Darche appears to want this operation run, with a clearer division of labor between development, evaluation and the big-picture decisions that shape the roster. [Read more 🡒]