Freddy Peralta is not acting like he is the savior of the New York Mets’ rotation, even if he is the exact type of arm the franchise prioritized this winter.
Instead, the 29-year-old lent a look into his veteran mindset, which made him such a strong clubhouse presence with the Milwaukee Brewers.
“I’m not gonna say that it’s going to be better or worse with me, but what I can say is that I work really hard every day to be my best every game without thinking about what’s going to happen,” Peralta said on Tuesday afternoon during his introductory Zoom press conference. “There are some things that we cannot control in the game, but I know that I work very hard to be there every five days, give my best, and try to win games. That’s what we need.”
If he can re-create his stat line from his time in Milwaukee, that certainly won’t hurt the Mets either. Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 33 starts last season, finishing fifth in the NL Cy Young Award voting. He is one of just two pitchers (Dylan Cease) to record at least 200 strikeouts in each of the last three seasons and ranks second in the majors with 40 wins since the start of the 2023 season.
As a pending free agent, it cost the Mets two of their top prospects in infielder Jett Williams and pitcher Brandon Sproat, but it makes him the undisputed proven ace of a Mets rotation that collapsed during the second half of 2025.
For how long he’ll keep that mantle in Queens is unknown, though president of baseball operations David Stearns will obviously hope that he can ink the righty to a long-term contract extension.
“I just got here,” Peralta said when asked about his future. “I think that I’ve 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 likelihood that Peralta wants an extension with the Mets likely correlates with their chances of being contenders. For that to happen, the rotation has to rediscover its footing after last year’s debacle.
Stearns is expecting bounce-back seasons from Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea, and the hope is that Nolan McLean can replicate his brilliant eight-start MLB debut in which he went 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA. Should they meet those expectations, and couple that with an altered lineup that now features Bo Bichette and Luis Robert Jr. batting behind Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto, the postseason does not seem like too tall a task.
“There are a lot more fans here, there are a lot more people watching,” Peralta said. “To be honest, I like the competition that I’m going to face here. I’ve been around, watching for years. To now be a part of a big-market team, I’m excited for that. I can’t wait.”
