The Mets have moved on from Freddy Peralta, and the return is a trio of prospects from a Rays system that has plenty of depth.
On Sunday, New York dealt Peralta to Tampa Bay for outfielder Aidan Smith, right-hander Gary Gill Hill and second baseman Emilien Pitre. All three land in the Mets organization as top-30 prospects in the Rays’ system on MLB Pipeline: Smith is No.
15, Hill checks in at No. 26 and Pitre is No. 27.
The deal comes after a rough run in Queens for Peralta, who was supposed to be an ace when the Mets acquired him in January. That earlier trade cost New York two of its better prospects, but Peralta never delivered like the front-end starter the club envisioned.
Instead, he posted a 4.99 ERA across 22 starts this season, and with the Mets selling ahead of the deadline and Peralta set to become a free agent this winter, holding onto him no longer made much sense.
Will Sammon of The Athletic first reported the trade, while Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported the prospect package heading back to New York.
The Mets still managed to keep the asking price high despite Peralta’s struggles, and they had multiple teams in the mix. Given the Rays’ reputation for building a strong farm system, these three players should slot into the Mets’ pipeline with better internal standing than the rankings they carried in Tampa. Those lists are subjective, and New York clearly decided this was the best return available.
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