PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. \u2014 If ever a player seemed destined to sign a contract extension with the New York Mets, it\u2019s right-hander Freddy Peralta.<\/p>\n
The only potential roadblock: Peralta, entering his age 30 season, said he doesn\u2019t want one of the high-dollar, short-term deals that suddenly are in fashion \u2013 and the kind that make Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns most comfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would prefer to go long and make sure I\u2019m going to be in the place where I want to finish my career,\u201d Peralta said.<\/p>\n
Peralta, his agents at ACES and the Mets will get to the details in due course. When asked by reporters Friday if extension talks have occurred this spring, Peralta grinned and replied, \u201cNo comment.\u201d But according to a person familiar with the Mets\u2019 thinking, no serious discussions have taken place.<\/p>\n
Not to worry. Peralta has deep ties to Stearns and Mets vice president\/special assistant Eduardo Brizuela from their time together with the Milwaukee Brewers. And for Peralta and other players who are natives of the Dominican Republic, both the Mets and Yankees are always natural fits as Dominicans form the largest immigrant population<\/a> in New York.<\/p>\n When Peralta was 11, his Little League team from the Dominican spent a summer month in New York. Citi Field was the first major-league park he visited. He even threw a no-hitter against a team in the Bronx.<\/p>\n Last Opening Day, when Peralta\u2019s Milwaukee Brewers visited Yankee Stadium, he reserved 40 tickets for friends and family to watch his start. Ask him if he has a lot of relatives in New York, and Peralta responds in the affirmative, saying they are in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, \u201ceverywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd when I say a lot,\u201d Peralta said, flashing his trademark smile, \u201cit\u2019s a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Stearns and Brizuela aren\u2019t quite family, but by baseball standards, they\u2019re close to it. Peralta is the only player Stearns has traded for twice, first with the Brewers at the 2015 winter meetings, then with the Mets just over 10 years later.<\/p>\n Matt Arnold, the Brewers\u2019 current president of baseball operations, was the first to inform Peralta of the more recent deal, on Jan. 21 \u2013 Peralta and righty Tobias Myers for infielder\/outfielder Jett Williams and righty Brandon Sproat. Peralta said when Stearns contacted him, \u201cI could feel his smile in the phone call.\u201d<\/p>\n Stearns said, \u201cI could feel his smile, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Su\u00e1rez is renowned for his \u201cgood vibes only\u201d catchphrase. Peralta is the pitching version of Su\u00e1rez, beloved by players from all cultures and backgrounds. If ever a player could help bridge whatever rift developed between Mets stars Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor last season, that would be Peralta, too.<\/p>\n Naturally, Peralta already is loving life in the Mets clubhouse. He initially feared his new team might try to change his routine, but nothing of the sort has occurred. The Mets, from the players to the coaches to the athletic trainers, have been easy to work with, Peralta said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way that they welcomed me was amazing,\u201d Peralta said. \u201cHonestly, coming from the bottom of my heart, I\u2019m very happy to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n So, with Peralta earning $8 million in the final season of his current deal, how difficult can it be to work out an extension?<\/p>\n Stearns liked him enough to extend him once already, with the Brewers in February 2020. But Peralta\u2019s next deal is almost certain to be much larger than that five-year, $15.5 million steal.<\/p>\n As Stearns enters his third season with the Mets, he has yet to sign a pitcher for more than three years. According to The Athletic\u2019s Will Sammon, he did offer Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a> the same terms the Japanese right-hander received from the Los Angeles Dodgers \u2013 12 years, $325 million. But Yamamoto was 25 then, five years younger than Peralta is now.<\/p>\n