Jim Duquette may not be the voice Mets fans want to hear on trade deadline strategy, but he did put a real dilemma on the table when he talked about Freddy Peralta.
On BNNY, Duquette laid out the scenario in which the Mets hold onto Peralta through the deadline, then make him a qualifying offer. If he leaves in free agency, New York would get a compensatory pick after the fourth round.
Duquette noted that Peralta is very likely to accept the one-year deal, which is expected to come in at a little over $23 million. And that’s where the whole thing starts to look like a trap.
A second run with Peralta, just hoping for better results, would amount to the Mets tying up their own roster for no clear gain. Duquette didn’t sound fully sold on the idea himself, and even seemed to concede partway through that it may not be the best path.
Still, the broader point is hard to ignore: if the Mets don’t get the right value for Peralta on the market, they may be better off taking whatever trade return they can get rather than playing qualifying-offer games. Peralta’s current form means the haul probably won’t be huge. Someone will make an offer, but the Mets may have to wait a while before that move pays off.
That’s where the scouting argument comes in. If a team believes in its ability to identify talent early, it can use a low-value return to hunt for upside elsewhere.
There are plenty of ways to do that. You can target players in Double-A or Triple-A who have fallen out of favor with their current organizations and try to fix them.
Or you can dig even deeper and look for players in the lower minors who haven’t hit their ceiling yet.
The source material points to examples like the Cincinnati Reds landing their current fourth-ranked prospect in 2022 for Tyler Naquin, with Hector Rodriguez now mashing his way up to Triple-A after being acquired for a bench player. It also cites Fernando Tatis Jr. as part of a package for James Shields as another reminder that small-looking pieces can turn into something much bigger.
Even so, the issue with Peralta isn’t just trade value. It’s fit.
The Mets may not have the room or the need for him next season, especially with the rise of Zac Thornton alongside Christian Scott and Nolan McLean. Sean Manaea may be difficult to move, and if the club were choosing a fifth option, Clay Holmes or someone else would likely be the preference.
So while keeping Peralta might not be the disaster Duquette made it sound like, the Mets also can’t let a deadline decision box them in for 2027. That’s the real danger here: making a move in late July that solves nothing and limits everything later.
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Royals Outfielder Suddenly Emerging In Deadline Buzz For A Contender
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Among the names being floated is Tyrone Taylor, whose profile gives Philadelphia a different kind of look than some of the other rental bats out there. Lane Thomas of the Royals is also in the mix, and the comparison matters because the Phillies are weighing affordability, fit and whether they want a player with more on-base value or more pop as they try to improve the roster without creating another problem elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]