Freddy Peralta's Massive Free Agent Contract Demands Revealed

Freddy Peralta remains one of the top pitchers on the trade market this season, following Tarik Skubal. But any team that decides to deal for the New York Mets' ace will have to do so with full knowledge of what it would take to keep the pending free agent in town for longer than the two months or so he'd be arriving for this season.

A report from Bob Nightengale of USA Today puts Peralta's free agent demands at a sky-high ask.

If a team acquires New York Mets ace Freddy Peralta at the trade deadline and wants to keep him, they better be ready to pay up. Peralta will be seeking a free agent contract similar to Max Fried’s eight-year, $218 million deal, according to those familiar with Peralta’s expectations.

Is Fried a good comp for Peralta?

Peralta has been an elite starter for several years now, and will go into free agency at the same age that Fried did (age 30) when he got that $218M deal from the Yankees.

This year in New York, Peralta has a 3.63 ERA in the first 13 starts of his first, and likely only year with the Mets. He’s on pace for 185 strikeouts, not too far off his pace of three straight 200 K seasons from 2023 through 2025.

He has a career 3.59 ERA across nine seasons.

Fried, by comparison, does not have the same kind of strikeout numbers as Peralta, but sported a 3.04 career ERA at the time of his free agency. Their career WHIPs are nearly identical at 1.14.

So it could be argued that Peralta has a case. But he'd still have to find a suitor with deep pockets like the Yankees were with Fried. Sure, the Mets obviously have the money, but GM David Stearns is loathe to hand out long-term deals to pitchers.

The Mets still sit in last place in the National League East, 15.5 games out of the division lead, and 5.0 games back of a Wild Card spot, but with six other teams to leapfrog first. Without a dramatic turnaround of their fortunes, they will be sellers.