The New York Mets acquired Freddy Peralta with high hopes this offseason. In need of a frontline starter, the Mets appointed the RHP as their ace. Sadly, he’s been a disappointment, with the Mets now likely to trade him before the August 3 deadline. As Peralta’s chances of staying with the Mets grow slimmer after failing to deliver quality numbers, including a 1.44 WHIP, a $1.9 billion NL rival has emerged as the top suitor for him.

MLB insider Hector Gomez wrote on X, “The Brewers have emerged as the top suitor to get starting pitcher Freddy Peralta before the trade deadline. Braves and Rays are showing a lot of interest in him, too.”

Peralta spent the first eight years of his professional baseball career with the Milwaukee Brewers, posting a 3.59 ERA. Last season was the best of his career, as he went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA across 176.2 innings. But the team still decided to trade him to the Mets instead of risking losing him to free agency.

Peralta has failed to eat up innings, having pitched into the seventh inning only once in 20 starts. He has completed six innings only five times so far and holds a 5-8 record with a 4.66 ERA. With Peralta clearly struggling, a reunion also makes sense for the Brewers.

Milwaukee traded Peralta in exchange for two of the Mets’ top five prospects, Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams. Sproat also struggled in the Brewers’ system, which is known for turning young prospects into elite arms. Sproat posted a 5.16 ERA in 18 outings with a 3-4 record. Meanwhile, Williams played in Triple-A Nashville, where he struggled to shine. While he continued to draw walks at an elite rate, he failed to replicate last season’s home run production (17) and found it difficult to consistently impact the ball. There are signs of improvement, though, with .325 with four home runs for Williams over a 23-game stretch which began on April 21.

Amid the Mets’ terrible season (41-58), Peralta will most likely be back on the trade block, and the Brewers are ready to get their two-time All-Star back.

The Brewers were involved in a similar trade back in 1977, when they traded Jim Slaton to the Detroit Tigers for Ben Ogilvie. After Slaton played for the Tigers in 1978, he returned to Milwaukee in 1979 and spent five more seasons as a Brewer. Slaton is the Brewers’ franchise leader with 117 wins. Whether Peralta’s future will take a similar trajectory remains to be seen.

Apart from the Brewers, the Atlanta Braves and the Tampa Bay Rays have reportedly set their sights on Peralta. Meanwhile, the Mets have announced that, apart from a few select players, everyone can be traded for the right price, including Francisco Lindor, one of the franchise’s faces.

The Mets are ready to clean house

The New York Mets have reportedly announced that everyone except Juan Soto, Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, AJ Ewing, and Christian Scott is available for trade ahead of the upcoming trade deadline. Though they have not explicitly placed Francisco Lindor on the trade block, the Mets are reportedly searching for a suitable trade partner for him. However, it is not easy to trade Lindor for two major reasons.

One is his huge contract, and the other is his struggles at the plate (.205 BA) and defensive blunders. As of Saturday, Lindor has committed three errors in three consecutive games, bringing his total errors at shortstop to six this season.

Lindor is under a 10-year, $341 million contract signed in 2021. That means the team acquiring him would have to pay the remainder of his contract, approximately $155 million. Given Lindor’s recent performances, teams are unlikely to take such an investment risk, especially amid ongoing salary cap discussions.

However, Lindor added a no-trade clause to his contract entering 2026, so he may not ultimately go anywhere.

While Lindor’s contract makes a blockbuster move unlikely, Peralta’s situation is entirely different. With three (and possibly more) teams circling and Milwaukee emerging as the frontrunner, the Mets could soon send their struggling ace back to where his MLB career began.