When the New York Mets made a splash by acquiring Freddy Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night, the move sent a clear message: they’re serious about bolstering their rotation with top-tier talent. Peralta, fresh off a dominant 2025 campaign that saw him post a 2.70 ERA, arrives in Queens as a bona fide ace. But for longtime Mariners fans with sharp memories, this trade might’ve stirred up a different kind of reaction - because once upon a time, Peralta wore Seattle blue.
Let’s rewind the tape. Peralta’s journey to the big leagues started in 2013 when he signed with the Mariners as a teenage international free agent.
By 2015, he was a 19-year-old pitching in Rookie ball, putting up a 4.11 ERA. Not exactly eye-popping, but enough to keep him on the radar.
That offseason, Seattle packaged him with two other minor leaguers in a trade to Milwaukee for veteran first baseman Adam Lind.
At the time, it looked like a standard move - a team trying to add a proven bat by parting with some unproven arms. The other two prospects in the deal never made much noise.
But Peralta? He kept developing, kept grinding, and eventually blossomed into one of the National League’s most electric starters.
Now, nearly a decade later, Peralta is headlining trades instead of being a throw-in. His breakout with the Brewers culminated in that stellar 2025 season, and it’s no coincidence that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns - who was with Milwaukee when they originally acquired Peralta - is the one bringing him to New York. It’s a full-circle moment that highlights just how unpredictable player development can be.
As for the Mariners, it’s tough to second-guess the move in hindsight. At the time of the trade, Peralta wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire.
He was raw, inconsistent, and far from a sure thing. And Lind, while not a game-changer, gave Seattle a reliable lefty bat for a season.
Still, it’s hard not to wonder what could’ve been if Peralta had stayed in the Pacific Northwest.
For the Mets, though, this isn’t about the past. It’s about what Peralta can do now - and if his 2025 form carries over, they just landed a difference-maker.