The Mets’ latest sell-off sent Freddy Peralta out the door and into a Rays uniform, with New York landing three prospects in return: outfielder Aidan Smith, second baseman Émilien Pitre and righty Gary Gill Hill.
It’s a striking turn for a pitcher the Mets only just brought in this offseason, when they acquired Peralta and Tobias Myers from the Brewers for prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. Now Peralta is gone again, this time headed to Tampa Bay as the Mets keep reshaping the roster.
The 30-year-old right-hander will be a free agent after the season, but he’ll now slot into a Rays rotation that already features Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan and Nick Martinez. Tampa Bay is betting a change of scenery can get him back on track during a playoff race.
That’s because 2026 has been a rough year for Peralta by any standard. Through 22 starts, he’s 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP, while striking out 113 and walking 48 across 113 2/3 innings. His 22.1% strikeout rate and 4.46 FIP are both career worsts.
That’s a long way from what the Mets thought they were getting. Peralta came off a career-best 2025 with Milwaukee, 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 placing ninth in FIP at 3.85.
That season fit into a bigger stretch of dominance. From 2021 through last year, Peralta was one of the NL’s top starters, posting a 54-34 record with a 3.30 ERA, a 28.5% strikeout rate and 14.8 WAR.
Instead, the Mets got a version of Peralta that has struggled to stay ahead of hitters. Opposing batters are putting up a .235 xBA against him, up from .206 last season.
The biggest issue starts with the fastball. Peralta leans on his four-seamer more than anything else, throwing it 53% of the time, but hitters are doing damage this year. They’re batting .270 with a .429 slugging percentage against the pitch, both clear jumps from .209 and .381 in 2025.
His changeup has taken an even steeper hit. Opponents are batting .280 and slugging .449 against it, compared to .173 and .271 last year. The curveball hasn’t held up either, with hitters at .250 against it and slugging .500, up from .189 and .300 in 2025.
The underlying shape of those pitches hasn’t shifted much, but Peralta’s delivery has. His arm angle has fallen from 38 degrees to 33, and his extension has dropped from 6.8 feet in 2025, when it ranked in the 81st percentile, to 6.5 feet this season, which sits in the 54th percentile.
That lines up with another ugly number: his first-pitch strike rate has dipped to a career-low 57.8% over a full season. He was at 63.3% in 2025 and had been above 61% every year since ‘23. Too often, he’s been forced to pitch from behind, and that’s made life harder from the jump.
There’s still a chance a few small adjustments can help him find something closer to the pitcher he was just a year ago.
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