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01/27 16:56 CST Peralta willing to consider multiyear deal with Mets but wants
to get settled in New York first
Peralta willing to consider multiyear deal with Mets but wants to get settled
in New York first
By JERRY BEACH
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) --- Freddy Peralta is willing to consider a multiyear contract
with the Mets before reaching free agency.
But he wants to get settled in New York first.
"I've got to see around, share time with my teammates and think about different
ideas, learn about everybody, coaches (and) the organization in general," the
All-Star pitcher said Tuesday. "And then we can see."
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns expressed a similar
sentiment after acquiring Peralta from Milwaukee last week, saying he would
definitely allow the right-hander an adjustment period before potentially
broaching a long-term arrangement.
The 29-year-old Peralta is due to make $8 million this season after the Brewers
picked up their club option on a deal he signed in 2020. He can become a free
agent following the World Series.
So next winter, Peralta could be in line for a very lucrative contract as one
of the most attractive players on the open market. And with only one year of
club control remaining, he couldn't fully ignore the chatter about a potential
trade from small-market Milwaukee this offseason --- or resist connecting the
dots that made a move to the Mets a likely outcome.
"I was trying to avoid that but I couldn't because family members (and)
everybody (was) talking about it all the time," Peralta said on a Zoom call
with reporters. "But I had a feeling that I was coming to the Mets."
His hunch came to fruition last Wednesday, when New York sent pitcher Brandon
Sproat and touted prospect Jett Williams to the Brewers for Peralta and
right-hander Tobias Myers.
The deal reunites Peralta with Stearns, who ran Milwaukee's front office from
2015-23. Stearns pulled off one of his biggest moves with the Brewers on Dec.
9, 2015, when he acquired Peralta, then a 19-year-old who hadn't pitched above
rookie ball, from the Seattle Mariners for veteran first baseman/designated
hitter Adam Lind.
"I knew that something was going to happen and it was a little hard at the same
time, because I spent my whole career in Milwaukee and there's a lot of great
memories over there," Peralta said. "But this is a business and anything can
happen. I was prepared for the moment. And being honest, I'm really happy to be
here in New York and be a member of the Mets organization."
Peralta's arrival gives New York a much-needed frontline starter and appears to
cap a hectic offseason for the Mets, who parted ways with lineup mainstays Pete
Alonso, Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo as well as star closer Edwin Daz.
New York's rotation wore down last season, when the Mets had the best record in
the majors through June 12 but missed the playoffs.
Peralta made the National League All-Star team and finished fifth in Cy Young
Award balloting last year, when he led the NL with 17 wins and also set career
bests with a 2.70 ERA in 176 2/3 innings over 33 starts. He struck out 204
batters, six shy of his single-season high established in 2023.
Peralta and Dylan Cease are the only major league pitchers to make at least 30
starts and record at least 200 strikeouts in each of the last three seasons.
The Mets haven't had a pitcher make 30 starts in consecutive campaigns since
Steven Matz and two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom did so in 2018 and
2019.
Kodai Senga, who had 202 strikeouts as a rookie in 2023, is the lone New York
pitcher with a 200-strikeout season since 2019.
Converted reliever Clay Holmes led the Mets with 12 wins, a 3.53 ERA and 31
starts last season, when only Holmes, Senga and David Peterson reached 100
innings for New York.
"I think that's the No. 1 important thing for me --- to be healthy, to be ready
every five days to take the ball and go and pitch and be there for the team,"
Peralta said. "That's what I have on my mind all the time --- get the necessary
work with the trainers in the weight room, mentally with the pitching coaches,
just to protect myself and try to be there every five days. Because I know when
you have 30 starts, ideally 30-plus starts, something good is going to be on
the line."
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
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