Jorge CastilloJan 21, 2026, 09:55 PM ET
CloseESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
The New York Mets‘ winterlong pursuit of a frontline starting pitcher ended late Wednesday when they acquired All-Star Freddy Peralta, as well as fellow right-hander Tobias Myers, from the Milwaukee Brewers for Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams, two of their top prospects.
Peralta, as the haul the Brewers received indicates, was coveted by several clubs. He is a two-time All-Star coming off a career season in which he went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 176 â…” innings across 33 starts. He is one of two pitchers — Dylan Cease is the other — with at least 200 strikeouts in each of the last three seasons. He also ranks 10th in the majors among qualifiers with a 3.40 ERA and third in opponent batting average (.210) over that span.
Adding to his value is his $8 million salary for the 2026 season — a bargain for a pitcher of his caliber — before he’s slated to reach free agency. The small-market Brewers, after determining they did not have a realistic shot at re-signing Peralta, found that trading him for the right package was preferable to letting him walk for just a compensatory draft pick. Milwaukee made a similar decision last winter when they traded Devin Williams to the New York Yankees with the closer entering his final year of team control.
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Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns also happened to be the Brewers’ general manager when Milwaukee acquired Peralta in 2015 and oversaw his development into an ace.
“Acquiring Freddy adds another established starter to help lead our rotation,” Stearns said in a statement. “Throughout the offseason, we sought to complement our rotation with another front-end pitcher, and we’re thrilled we are able to bring Freddy to the Mets.”
The deal is the latest in an incredibly busy offseason for the Mets, who have revamped their roster after failing to reach the postseason in 2025 with baseball’s second-most-expensive payroll. It also might be New York’s most important.
Stearns had been clear about his desire to add a top-tier starter to a rotation that fueled New York’s downfall last season. The rotation, thanks to injuries and underperformance, finished 27th in innings pitched, placing a significant burden on the bullpen that led to that group’s struggles and propelled the Mets’ crash from the best record in the majors in mid-June to failing to qualify for the postseason on the regular season’s final day.
The rotation is now headlined by Peralta and Nolan McLean, a revelation as a rookie upon his promotion in late 2025, followed by David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga, with Myers and Jonah Tong next in line on the depth chart. Right-hander Cooper Criswell was designated for assignment Wednesday to make room on the 40-man roster for Peralta and Myers.
The 27-year-old Myers excelled as a starter as a rookie in 2024 before regressing in 2025. He compiled a 3.48 ERA in 31 starts over the last two seasons. He also has a 1.62 ERA in 18 relief appearances in his brief career.
Sproat — along with McLean and Tong — was one of the three hyped prospects the Mets promoted late last season to help their floundering rotation. A third-round draft pick in 2022, the right-hander recorded a 4.79 ERA in four major league starts upon his promotion. The 25-year-old Sproat, ranked the Mets’ No. 6 prospect in Kiley McDaniel’s August rankings for ESPN, finished his season in Triple A with a 4.24 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 121 innings.
Williams, 22, is a 5-foot-7 middle infielder and center fielder who finished last season in Triple A three years after the Mets selected him 14th overall in the draft. Williams, the Mets’ No. 1 prospect in McDaniel’s August rankings, finished the year batting .261 with 17 home runs, 34 steals, and an .828 OPS in 130 games between Double A and Triple A.