Mets trade pitcher Freddy Peralta to Rays for 3 minor leaguers

NEW YORK (AP) — The first-place Tampa Bay Rays gave their starting rotation a boost Sunday, acquiring pitcher Freddy Peralta from the struggling New York Mets for three minor leaguers.

Peralta, a two-time All-Star who can become a free agent this fall, has been a disappointment for the Mets after they acquired him from Milwaukee in a January trade.

“He gave us everything that he had, stepped out on the mound every single day and competed,” interim Mets manager Andy Green said. “I know he wanted better results. And I think when we struck the deal to get him, we were all hoping for a different set of circumstances on this day than what we’re looking at.”

Green said Peralta was informed of the trade during the early innings of a 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins that dropped the Mets to 47-66 — their worst record through 113 games since 2003, the last time New York finished last in the NL East.

But Peralta could help a strong pitching staff with the Rays, who began the day with the best record in the American League at 65-45 and a 3 1/2-game lead in the AL East over the New York Yankees.

“Freddy is a proven major league starter with high-stakes experience and a strong track record,” Rays President of Baseball Operations Erik Neander said in a statement. “Adding a pitcher and competitor of his caliber strengthens our team as we push forward.”

The last-place Mets received outfielder Aidan Smith, infielder Émilien Pitre and right-hander Gary Gill Hill in exchange for Peralta. Pitre was a second-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2024 draft while Hill was a sixth-round pick in 2022. Smith was picked in the fourth round of the 2023 draft by the Seattle Mariners, who sent him the Rays in the Randy Arozarena trade in July 2024.

The move came a day before baseball’s trade deadline at 6 p.m. EDT on Monday, and hours after the Los Angeles Dodgers landed the biggest prize on the market, ace pitcher Tarik Skubal, in a deal with the Detroit Tigers.

Before joining the Mets last offseason, Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA over 33 starts in 2025. He led the National League in wins, finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting and helped the Brewers win their third straight NL Central crown.

With the Rays, the 30-year-old right-hander joins a rotation headed by All-Stars Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez. Left-hander Shane McClanahan, an All-Star in 2022 and 2023, is 9-6 with a 3.09 ERA in 20 starts but was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with mid-back tightness on his left side.

Last winter, New York sent youngsters Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams to the Brewers for Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers, giving up a pair of players rated among the game’s top 100 prospects in the anticipation Peralta would be the frontline starter the team needed.

Instead, he went 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts and failed to complete five innings in four of his last five outings for the Mets.

“I know he’s disappointed by it,” Green said. “He came here to anchor a rotation and felt the weight of that. I know from talking to him he certainly doesn’t feel like it went the way that he thought it would.”

He was 5-5 with a 3.90 ERA after beating Atlanta 8-1 on June 14, but is 0-4 with a 7.93 ERA in his past seven starts, including a June 20 dud when he allowed 10 runs and 10 hits over 2 2/3 innings at Philadelphia.

“I know that so far I let them down,” Peralta said late last month. “I haven’t (done) what I was supposed to do.”

Peralta becomes the latest pitcher traded away by the high-priced Mets, who are selling off assets for young prospects after beginning a miserable 2026 season with World Series aspirations.

“I think where we are today screams that we’re all wishing we were in a different spot,” said Green, who began the season as the Mets’ vice president of player development before moving into the manager’s chair following the firing of Carlos Mendoza on June 26.

They sent David Peterson to the Chicago Cubs for minor league infielder Cole Mathis one day before Mendoza’s dismissal and reliever A.J. Minter to Minnesota for minor league infielders Bruin Agbayani and Billy Amick last Friday.

Peterson and Minter are eligible for free agency after this season as well. New York also is expected to move pitcher Clay Holmes, reliever Brooks Raley and outfielder Tyrone Taylor before Monday’s deadline — and possibly players such as relievers Huascar Brazobán and Luke Weaver, each of whom are under team control next year.

Holmes, who broke his right fibula on May 15, made a rehab start for Single-A Brooklyn Sunday, when he allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings. Raley, Weaver and Brazobán all threw a hitless inning of relief while Taylor pinch-ran in the ninth inning.

“Those guys were all healthy, rested, available, good to go,” Green said. “So we felt comfortable letting them do what they do during a baseball season.”

To open a spot for Peralta on the 40-man roster, Rays outfielder Jake Fraley (hernia) was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

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