Mets add frontline starter, acquire Freddy Peralta from Brewers: source

Abbey Mastracco and Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Jan 21, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Hours after saying he wanted to add another frontline starter, David Stearns managed to acquire the best one available on the trade market.

A source confirmed to the New York Daily News on Wednesday night that Stearns is reuniting with Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta, with the Mets sending top prospects Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams back in return. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Milwaukee will also send another major league pitcher to the Mets.

The addition of Peralta instantly boosts the Mets’ rotation. Losing Sproat stings as a player the Mets drafted twice and developed into a big league starter, but the right-hander out of the University of Florida is still unproven. Peralta is an upgrade.

A two-time All-Star, the right-hander has been an ace and a workhorse for the Brewers, recording a 3.40 ERA over the last three years while totaling at least 30 starts in each campaign. While Peralta is also coming off a career-high workload with 176 2/3 innings pitched in 2025, the 29-year-old’s 2.70 ERA, 33 starts, 17 wins and 204 strikeouts were personal bests as well.

Peralta’s 3.64 FIP and 3.47 expected ERA weren’t as strong as his ERA, but both numbers still made him a top-15 starter. Meanwhile, his .206 expected batting average against, 88-mph average exit velocity, 30.1 whiff percentage, 28.2 K% and 34.5 hard-hit percentage all ranked in the 80th percentile or better.

The performance earned Peralta a fifth-place finish in National League Cy Young voting.

Armed with a mid-90s four-seam fastball, change-up, curveball and slider, Peralta had a whiff rate over 34% on everything but the fastball last year. His heater has been his most used pitch, but don’t be surprised if the Mets cut back on that in an effort to create even more swing and miss for a hurler who had the ninth-highest strikeout rate among all starters last season.

A flyball pitcher, Peralta will have to keep limiting hard contact in Queens, where he will try to replicate his 2025 season before potentially hitting the open market.

Set to make $8 million this year, Peralta is scheduled for free agency next winter. However, his agency, ACES, has been open to extensions in the past, and the Mets now have a season to sell the Dominican native on a long-term future in Flushing.

Peralta will headline a group of starters who were equal parts dominant and equal parts dismal last season. Of course, he’ll have to prove that he can handle the bright lights of New York as well, but Stearns clearly sees the potential for him to do so.

Peralta is the second pitcher from the Brewers the Mets have acquired this winter. Stearns, the Brewers’ former president of baseball operations, signed right-hander Devin Williams in December. When Edwin Diaz chose to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers instead of returning to the Mets, Williams became the closer by default.

Jett Williams, a 22-year-old speedy middle infielder and center fielder, was blocked at every position. A crowded infield forced the club to trade Luisangel Acuña, using him to acquire center fielder Luis Robert Jr. from the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night.

After that, the writing was on the wall for the Mets’ 2022 first-round pick.