The Mets may still be kicking around Freddy Peralta trade ideas, and if San Diego gets serious before the deadline, the Padres have a few names that could get the conversation moving.
Peralta’s first 20 starts haven’t looked like frontline-starter production. He’s sitting on a 4.66 ERA and 4.38 FIP over 104.1 innings, and even with that, interest around the league hasn’t gone away.
San Diego is one of the clubs watching closely while it sorts out its own deadline plan. The Padres are 47-48, 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, and still close enough that a strong stretch could change everything.
If the Padres decide Peralta is the move, the prospect package could start with right-hander Tucker Musgrove, the club’s No. 9 prospect. A seventh-round pick in 2023 out of the University of Mobile, Musgrove didn’t get his pro career rolling right away because a torn UCL delayed his debut until 2025.
Since then, he’s been impressive. In 19 innings at High-A Fort Wayne, he has a 3.79 ERA, a 3.78 FIP and a 44.0% strikeout rate.
He’s already been bumped to Double-A San Antonio and should stay there the rest of the year if he keeps pitching like this. Scouts are especially intrigued by his fastball mix - he works with a four-seam, cutter and sinker, and can reach triple digits at times.
Add in his breaking stuff and long extension, and he looks like the kind of arm that could help a bullpen down the line.
Catcher Ty Harvey is another name that fits the kind of deal the Mets could chase. San Diego’s No. 6 prospect, Harvey was a fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft out of Inspiration Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
He was only 19 and already producing at Single-A Lake Elsinore, where he posted a 143 wRC+, before a fractured left hand cut his season short after just 58 plate appearances. He’s expected to be out until the end of July or later.
Because he came out of high school, there’s still plenty of runway here, and the injury doesn’t figure to change much about his long-term outlook. For New York, catcher depth that isn’t expected to arrive until 2029 could still make sense, especially with Francisco Alvarez under control until free agency in 2030 and the possibility that the Mets move him earlier.
Then there’s left-hander Kash Mayfield, San Diego’s No. 4 prospect and a 2024 first-rounder taken 25th overall out of Elk City High School in Oklahoma. Mayfield dealt with shoulder issues and weight loss last year, which cost him some fastball velocity, but his changeup remains the pitch that stands out - late dive, arm-side movement, the whole package.
This season, he’s logged 48.2 innings for High-A Fort Wayne with a 3.33 ERA and 4.24 FIP. For the Mets, starting-pitching depth is still a need, even after Nolan McLean graduated and Jonah Tong has had trouble putting it together at the upper levels.
Mayfield’s ETA is 2028, which lines up with a future opening, since Sean Manaea and Clay Holmes will both be free agents by then.
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