For David Stearns and the Mets, the decision to choose Freddy Peralta as the ace and the Opening Day starter was the easy part. Now comes the headache of a pitching plan that could throw the rest of the rotation into chaos.

For the upcoming season, the Mets’ rotation would feature Peralta, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Sean Manaea, Nolan McLean, and Kodai Senga. Manager Carlos Mendoza reportedly plans to execute a six-man rotation.

While a true six-man rotation can maintain balance, their plans to keep Peralta on a normal five-day schedule cause an imbalance for other pitchers. Recently, Michael Kay dissected how the Mets’ plans for Peralta can be problematic in the backdrop of Mendoza’s six-man rotation plan.

“You can’t have a pitcher who’s something else, and I’m doing air quotes, that affects everybody else adversely. I can almost see if you’ve got a six-man rotation, all of them have an extra day rest. But when you say that Peralta is always going to be kept on his schedule, then everybody else is completely out of whack, that’s not going to end up being good for the Mets,” pointed out Kay on The Michael Kay Show.

However, the six-man rotation plan is ideal for the Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga, who needs more rest between pitching.

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To accommodate Senga, Mendoza is restructuring the entire Mets rotation. Ideally, a true six-man rotation offers everybody an extra day of rest while maintaining the balance. But Peralta’s usual five-day routine puts the rest of the rotation at risk and causes the imbalance.

With Peralta protected, it falls on the rest of the pitchers to bear the load of this disruption and adjust around Senga.

Pitchers are creatures of habit, as Kay pointed out. Disrupting their routines mean creating problems in their between-start throwing programs, mental preparation, and physical recovery.

Another consequence is the number of starts the top pitchers get, creating uncertainty.

“You can’t take starts away from Noah McLean, you can’t,” warns Kay.

In a normal five-man rotation, McLean usually makes 32 starts. But the six-man rotation causes that number to drop to 26 or fewer.

However, the Mets are not completely unfamiliar with the six-man rotation.

In 2025, they added Brandon Sproat to feature in the six-man rotation alongside Jonah Tong and McLean Manaea, Peterson and Holmes. But this time, with Peralta in the mix and getting special provisions, the Mets rotation would operate in a hybrid structure.

David Stearns oversaw Peralta’s trade to the Mets from the Milwaukee Brewers. He was already facing pressure about whether to offer him a contract extension. Now, with the additional factor of protecting him at the risk of disrupting other pitchers, the Mets’ President of Baseball Operations has a new headache to address.

Freddy Peralta is an asset, and so is a healthy Senga. But the Mets policy of protecting them and putting the others at risk raises question on how effective such a rotation can be.

While the New York Mets’ pitching plans are a major point of discussion now, rumors about Peralta’s contract extension are abuzz, too.

A long-term contract can secure Peralta’s stay at the Queens

The New York Mets acquired Freddy Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange of shortstop Jett Williams and RHP Brandon Sproat.

Peralta is on a one-year, $8 million contract with the Mets. He enters free agency at the end of 2026. But recently, he has revealed his preference for a long-term contract.

“I would prefer to go long and make sure I’m going to be in the place where I want to finish my career,” shared Peralta via Ken Rosenthal.

The 29-year-old Dominican pitcher is coming off an incredible season with the Brewers.

Across the 33 games he started last season, Kacike recorded an impressive 17-6 record with a 2.70 ERA.

There have been rumors that the Mets will offer a four-year, $112 million contract extension to Peralta, per Will Sammon and Tim Briton. But the franchise is yet to make any official announcement.

This season, the Mets have not yet offered anyone a contract longer than three years, including Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco. And to keep Peralta, Stearns has to overcome his philosophy of offering short-term contracts.

Turning 30 this June, Freddy Peralta’s priority is settling at a franchise for the rest of his career. But whether David Stearns breaks his own philosophy is yet to be seen.