NEW YORK \u2014 Freddy Peralta maintains hope that the New York Mets are going to turn things around. And that they won\u2019t end up trading him before the Aug. 3 deadline.<\/p>\n
After all, he just got here.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough,\u201d Peralta said. \u201cIt\u2019s part of baseball, but we know we have to perform better.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the baseball calendar, Memorial Day is the unofficial assessment point. The skinny on the Mets (22-32) after Monday\u2019s holiday: They\u2019re banged up and down bad.<\/p>\n
There is enough time, however, for improvement. The Mets\u2019 7-2 loss Monday to the Cincinnati Reds dropped them seven games back in the standings for the third and final wild-card spot. New York is carrying a $368 million payroll (per FanGraphs). Owner Steve Cohen said in spring training that making the playoffs was the baseline expectation. At the absolute minimum, they are not expected to wave the white flag for a while longer.<\/p>\n
With their season essentially hanging in the balance over the next several weeks, Peralta, one of their most important players, is set to face the distraction of being one of the best trade candidates.<\/p>\n
Peralta turns 30 on June 4 and becomes a free agent after the season. Through 11 starts (61 1\/3 innings), the right-hander holds a 3.52 ERA\/4.14 FIP. Plenty of teams are eyeing him this summer for the same reason the Mets sent two consensus top-100 prospects to the Milwaukee Brewers last winter to get him: He might not be an ace, but he\u2019s a proven frontline starter. Barring a Tarik Skubal trade, Peralta would probably be the best pitcher available.<\/p>\n
Before the Brewers traded him, the Mets were one of the teams Peralta hoped to land on. He loves New York, he said for what feels like the umpteenth time, and it\u2019s a place where many of his family members live. Despite the Mets\u2019 play through the first third of the season, Peralta\u2019s feelings haven\u2019t changed about the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be on a team that I know is going to put all the effort in getting a championship sooner or later,\u201d Peralta said. \u201cI feel that way here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus, his answer when asked whether he\u2019d hold a strong interest in the Mets during free agency even if they trade him (and after not agreeing on an extension) comes as little surprise.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Peralta is a nine-year veteran, but he doesn\u2019t have experience handling in-season trade speculation. He said he isn\u2019t worried about performing under such scrutiny. He has learned that playing in New York offers plenty of pressures of its own.<\/p>\n
At Citi Field, the noise, the booing and the criticisms are only getting louder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the recent play, people are in the right to do it,\u201d Peralta said.<\/p>\n
From Peralta\u2019s perspective, playing with the Mets fits him well. Some of his numbers this season are similar to his career figures (112 ERA-plus in 2026, 117 ERA-plus over his career). Length lingers as an issue, but that\u2019s not dramatically different from other seasons in his career, and he is coming off a start in which he tossed seven innings. He is capable of more, but he\u2019s not too far away from the kind of pitcher the Mets figured they were getting in late January.<\/p>\n
Back then, the Mets thought of Peralta as a finishing piece. Securing a starter like him was the last big move of a transformative winter. A handful of months later, he might present the biggest move of an embarrassing summer.<\/p>\n