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The New York Mets landed an advertised ace for their rotation when they acquired right-hander Freddy Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers earlier in January.
Peralta is set to reach free agency after the 2026 season, and many have assumed he’ll want to hit the open market before he puts pen to paper on any multiyear agreement. During an introductory Zoom news conference on Tuesday, Peralta discussed whether or not he’d commit his long-term future to the Mets before Opening Day.
Would Freddy Peralta be open to signing extension with Mets?
“I just got here,” Peralta explained, per Danny Abriano of SNY. “I think that I got to share time with my teammates, think about different ideas. Learn about everybody — coaches, the organization in general. And then we can see.”
The Mets gave up pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league infielder/center fielder Jett Williams for Peralta and fellow pitcher Tobias Myers. Williams was listed as the Mets’ third-best prospect, while Sproat was ranked as the Amazins’ fifth-best prospect. Thus, it’s understandable that Mets fans want Peralta to be more than a one-year rental for the club.
That said, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has been reluctant to sign starting pitchers to long-term deals since he accepted the job in the fall of 2023. Back in the spring of 2021, Mets owner Steve Cohen locked shortstop Francisco Lindor down via a 10-year contract extension that could be worth up to $341M after New York acquired Lindor from the now-Cleveland Guardians in January of that year.
“I feel really good,” Peralta said about relocating from Milwaukee to the Big Apple. “It’s a different market, different city. There’s a lot more fans, a lot more people watching. I like the competition that we’re gonna face.”
Freddy Peralta has already received warm welcomes from Mets leaders
According to Abriano, Peralta revealed that he has heard from Mets players such as Lindor, outfielder Juan Soto and fellow starting pitcher Sean Manaea.
“I can’t lie,” Peralta said about those interactions. “It makes me feel really good. I told them: ‘I can’t wait to be with you guys together and have fun together.'”
Whether or not they will all have fun as teammates for longer than one season shall be seen.
