3 Best MLB Trade Deadline Fits For Mets Starter Freddy Peralta

Straight-up: This season hasn’t been Freddy Peralta’s best work. But he’s also better than this.

In what’s his first season with the New York Mets, Peralta owns a career-worst — over a full season — ERA (4.99), WHIP (1.48) and ERA+ (83). At the same time, Peralta, a two-time All-Star, is just a season removed from the best year of his career (2.70 ERA, 5.5 wins above replacement and a 155 ERA+). While set to be a free agent at the end of the year, Peralta is capable of being a top-of-the-rotation force that moves the needle for a starting rotation and is worth making a trade for.

Here are the three best trade fits for Peralta.

Freddy Peralta earned an All-Star nod in 2021 and 2025. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

Bryce Harper said it himself: the Phillies, who have lost seven of their last eight games and now own a mere 1.5-game lead on the third National League wild-card seed, “need some help.” Acquiring Peralta would suffice.

Philadelphia’s starting rotation has been respectable this season. Cristopher Sánchez (2.73 ERA, a 165 ERA+ and an NL-high 5.6 wins above replacement among pitchers) will likely be a finalist for the NL Cy Young Award; Zack Wheeler (2.53 ERA and 0.92 WHIP) is on top of his game since returning from the injured list; Jesús Luzardo (157 strikeouts and a .230 opponent batting average) continues to be a sturdy force every fifth day.

After those three starters, though, the Phillies have received inconsistent performance from their rotation, with veteran Aaron Nola having a discouraging season (5.61 ERA) and former first-round pick Andrew Painter being sent down in June (7.06 ERA and 1.66 WHIP), among other shortcomings. Peralta, who averaged 204.7 strikeouts per season from 2023-25, would fortify Philadelphia’s postseason rotation, allowing it to move Nola into a long-relief role come October.

The 30-year-old Peralta tends to rely on his four-seamer and changeup, with an occasional curveball rounding out a base, three-pitch arsenal. Peralta’s slider usage has dipped over each of the last two years, with him throwing the offering just 5.6% of the time this season, according to Statcast.

All that said, the Phillies could potentially have to surrender more than fair value to acquire Peralta, given his playing for the NL East-rival Mets, and Philadelphia may also tell itself that Nola, who has traditionally pitched well in the postseason, will bounce back and be effective enough to remain in their rotation.

Freddy Peralta boasts a career 3.74 ERA and a 112 ERA+. (Photo by Ishika Samant/Getty Images)

The D-backs are in possession of the second NL wild-card seed (57-52). They’re a team that, on paper, entered this season likely not good enough to contend for the World Series but also talented enough to compete for a playoff spot. And here we are: Arizona continues to find ways to win, and with a tweak or two, maybe it recaptures some of that 2023 magic when the D-backs went to the World Series as the third NL wild-card team?

Peralta could change the calculus for the D-backs. Yes, Eduardo Rodriguez (2.48 ERA, 173 ERA+ and 4.7 wins above replacement) is having a resurgent season, and Mike Soroka (3.07 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 140 ERA+) was, as well, before suffering a glute strain that has sidelined him since mid-June. Concurrently, Zac Gallen, who’s on the injured list with elbow inflammation, is having an alarming season (6.34 ERA and .304 opponent batting average), while Merrill Kelly and Ryne Nelson (before suffering an elbow injury in mid-June) have struggled. In all, Arizona’s starting rotation is 26th in MLB in opponent batting average (.260), 21st in WHIP (1.33) and 14th in ERA (4.27).

This season is an anomaly for Peralta. The right-hander averaged a 3.30 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP per year with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2021-25. For the bulk of Peralta’s career, he has been a consistent front-line force who logs strikeouts at a high rate. Plus, sometimes a change of scenery, specifically a new pitching coach, can be the change that’s needed.

Arizona has seen multiple pitchers miss time due to injury and others just outright have underwhelming seasons. The D-backs have reason to be buyers. With a rotation boost and perhaps just better health, their starting staff will improve and can turn a corner, and it’s accompanied by an offense of proven commodities.

Despite all the optimism, though, the factor/question that could prevent the Diamondbacks from getting in a bidding war for Peralta is whether his arrival would make them an NL contender or merely give them a better chance to put up a fight in the NL Division Series Round?

Freddy Peralta led the National League with 17 wins in 2025. (Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)

If the Cubs are going to contend for the NL pennant, they need to improve their entire pitching staff, but especially their starting rotation, and Peralta represents both a viable and affordable option. 

Chicago’s starting rotation is 16th in MLB in ERA (4.31) and 14th in opponent batting average (.243). Left-handers Shota Imanaga (3.72 ERA and 1.10 WHIP) and Matthew Boyd (3.41 ERA) have been reliable forces. Elsewhere, it has been a guessing game for the Cubs. Edward Cabrera, who owns a 5.10 ERA, has been out the last month with a leg injury after Chicago dealt for him this past offseason; Jameson Taillon (5.92 ERA) was recently designated for assignment; Colin Rea (4.67 ERA and .267 opponent batting average) has been a mixed bag; Cade Corton (season-ending elbow surgery) and Ben Brown (neck) have been limited by injury; Justin Steele hasn’t yet returned from his April 2025 elbow injury.

Peralta would join a Chicago team with lofty playoff aspirations, not unlike the Milwaukee club he was part of the first eight seasons of his MLB career (2018-2025). Sure, on one hand, one could argue Peralta would be another pitcher added to the mix for the Cubs that comes with a question mark. In this case, the concern is about his recent performance.

On the other hand, it’s reasonable to think that at least one of Chicago’s injured starters returns and gets back on track (e.g., Cabrera or Brown), and Peralta would be arguably the most accomplished starter in the Cubs’ rotation. He would, undoubtedly, be part of their postseason rotation, joining Imanaga, Boyd and likely one of Cabrera or the recently acquired David Peterson.

Peralta would be a three-month rental, so trading for him isn’t going to gut the Cubs’ farm system, and it should cost less than what it would take to pull off a blockbuster move for Detroit Tigers superstar left-hander and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. Granted, Skubal is also a free agent after this season.

Chicago could base a trade package for Peralta around emerging catcher/first baseman Owen Ayers and versatile right-hander Javier Assad, among other players.