Freddy Peralta says the move that sent him out of New York and to Tampa Bay changed everything.
“I was happy over there. Obviously I wasn’t in the spot that I wanted to be with my numbers…but this is baseball,” Peralta told the media after Game 1 of the ALDS.
“Everything changed when I got traded. I’ve been treated here as a king, and I feel really good about it.
They work on me really well here. For me, and my family, this is a great opportunity to be the pitcher for the second game of the ALDS.”
Elsewhere in the Mets’ orbit, prospect Cole Mathis - one of the players the club picked up at this year’s trade deadline - is showing off a new hitting stance in the Arizona Fall League.
And in New York baseball culture, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post wrote that there may be no wider gap between fan bases than the one separating the city’s two baseball teams.
Out in the NL East, the Braves tried to lean on a bullpen game in Game 1 of the NLDS, but the plan didn’t hold up. The Dodgers won 5-3 behind six innings of one-run ball by Tarik Skubal.
That result leaves Atlanta facing a real decision with Chris Sale. The Dodgers have put pressure on the Braves to decide whether Sale starts Game 2 after he was used for the final four outs of the Wild Card Series on Thursday, or whether Atlanta holds him back for Game 3.
Evan Macy of PhillyVoice also laid out ten things the Phillies need to change this offseason.
In Washington, D.C., officials are considering legislation that would authorize bonds to raise $380 million for what the Washington Business Journal described as an “extensive” renovation of Nationals Park. The report says it remains unclear how much the Nationals would put into the project.
Around Major League Baseball, Aaron Judge’s lingering calf injury kept him off the Yankees’ ALDS roster.
The Yankees could have used him. Drew Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the eighth inning at a sold-out Tropicana Field, and the Rays rode that performance to a 1-0 lead in the ALDS.
Game 1 in the AL Central ALDS was also a shutout, with the White Sox blanking the Guardians 3-0.
The Brewers and Padres played the wildest Game 1 of the bunch, and Milwaukee came out with a 3-2 win. The Padres jumped ahead 2-0 off Jacob Misiorowski, who only got through 12 outs, before Jackson Chourio tied it with a two-run homer in the third. William Contreras then delivered the decisive blast in the eighth off Padres setup man Adrian Morejon.
And the finish was pure October chaos: a potential go-ahead home run in the ninth off Ty France hit a cable running across the roof of American Family Field and bounced right into Jackson Chourio’s glove, a bizarre twist that decided the game.
In Other News...
Mets May Be Eyeing A Rotation Gamble They Know Too Well
The Mets are already thinking ahead to the post-2026 rotation picture, and it is easy to see why. Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton give the organization some younger arms to work with, but a staff built around prospects usually still needs a veteran stabilizer, especially if the club wants to keep its window open and avoid leaning too hard on unproven depth.
One name that has surfaced is Tyler Mahle, whose recent performance makes him appealing on paper even as his injury history remains part of the conversation. For the Mets, the attraction is obvious, but so is the danger of chasing a pitcher whose availability has been a question before, which is why any serious push would need a credible backup plan if the Braves starter proves too risky to trust as the answer. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Deadline Haul Already Features One Prospect Fans Will Obsess Over
The Mets did more than patch a roster at the trade deadline, they also added a crop of prospects who give the organization some real long-term intrigue. Among the names that landed in the system were Aidan Smith, Gabe Davis, Emilien Pitre, Billy Amick and Jefferson Rojas, a group that already gives the front office a few different developmental paths to watch as the minors fill out over the next few seasons.
Rojas stands out at the top of that list because the upside is easy to see, especially for a club that has been searching for young infield talent to keep moving forward. The evaluation around the group is less about immediate help than future value, but Rojas has emerged as the one to circle most closely, with a possible path to taking over at third base in 2027 if everything develops the way the Mets hope. [Read more 🡒]
Ronny Mauricio Feels Like A Mets Decision They Can't Delay
The Mets disappointing finish has already pushed the front office into an offseason of hard questions, and Ronny Mauricio is one of the more interesting ones on the board. After a year in which New York fell short of preseason expectations and wound up last in its division, President of Baseball Operations David Stearns offered some telling body language in his postseason press conference, where Mark Vientos went unmentioned and Mauricio came up only after a direct question.
Mauricios situation has lingered because the Mets have been cautious with his major league chances, a choice that could be tied to preserving his value. Even now, the club may see him less as an immediate lineup piece than as a possible bench competitor or trade chip, with an offseason move looking more likely than a future where they simply risk losing him on waivers. [Read more 🡒]