5 moves the NY Mets should make if they aren’t willing to go beyond 3 years

4) Trade for Freddy Peralta

Okay, so you want an ace. You aren’t finding him in free agency. Two of the best available starting pitchers are on expiring contracts. Freddy Peralta is the more affordable both in salary and player capital the Mets would have to give up. If your preference is for Tarik Skubal, by all means, do it.

Peralta is an immediate extension candidate if he was to arrive on the Mets roster. A good follow-up move for the Mets to make that’ll satisfy Stearns’ nostalgia for the good old days from Milwaukee, he’d be the big punch at the top of their rotation. Often overlooked because he has been teammates with Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff in the past, Peralta elevated himself last year with a league-best 17 wins and career-best 2.70 ERA. Heavy on strike outs, he’s the dream kind of pitcher the Mets were missing last year to carry them through good times and bad.

It seems like one day the Brewers are definitely trading him and the next they aren't. A mix of young prospect and MLB-ready or near players is the likely price it'll cost the Mets. They have a nice selection of both.

Acquiring a top-of-the-line starting pitcher is going to acquire a trade because the only ones who’d settle for less are older or have something more to possibly prove like Michael King. It would take some prospect investment to convince the Brewers to give him up. Because we have one last trade, he might be the better match than Skubal.