SerpApi.Org
Freddy Peralta's days with the New York Mets appear to be numbered. Or do they?
Peralta tossed another clunker during his return to Milwaukee on Monday. The righty allowed seven earned runs on eight hits over 5.1 innings, with two walks and six strikeouts in what ended up being an 8-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
Through 21 starts this season, Peralta is now 5-9 with a 5.01 ERA, which is the third-worst mark among qualified starters in the major leagues.
"I don't understand sometimes, but I got to keep fighting, I got to get through this," Peralta said after his start against the Brewers.
It goes without saying that Peralta's tenure in New York has been an abject failure, especially after the Mets acquired him from the aforementioned Brewers in the offseason in exchange for two top prospects, Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams.
And with the Mets holding the second-worst record in the National League and Peralta on an expiring contract, it's widely expected that the right-hander gets dealt ahead of the August 3 trade deadline. But with Peralta stringing together arguably the worst season of his career, could the Mets hold onto him past the deadline if they don't get the right value in return?
During Tuesday's SNY Baseball Night in New York show, former MLB general manager and current analyst Jim Duquette argued that the Mets may need to keep Peralta post-trade deadline if the right value for him is not available on the trade market.
"They might be depending on what the offers are; they might be better off making him a qualifying offer at the end of the year, hoping that he takes it for one more year because I don't know how much he's going to get," Duquette said.
Contending teams across Major League Baseball always value starting pitching and Peralta should attract many teams. But with that being said, it may be hard for the Mets to get anything significant back in return in a potential trade.
So are the Mets just better off keeping the 30-year-old past the deadline?
Since being acquired by the Amazins', Peralta has expressed his desire to stay in Flushing past this season. But no long-term deal ever transpired.
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Peralta will by no means get the long-term contract that he desired and his tenure with the Mets is likely over whether he gets traded or not. And his struggles could deter contending teams, resulting in his value not being very high.
Not trading Freddy Peralta may not be off the table for the Mets.
