5 NY Mets trades and free agent signings to keep the payroll at $320 million or less

Delivering pizzas in 30 minutes or less proved to be difficult. Can the New York Mets put together a competitive roster for $320 million or less? Mike Puma’s story about an expected $310-320 million payroll for the 2026 season gave fans more to talk about than the signing of Kevin Herget on a minor league deal.

Controversial enough to pull Steve Cohen out from his social media slumber, the club now has the task of building a competitive club without spending more than about another $25 million or so. How can they accomplish this? 

1) Trade for Freddy Peralta - adds $8 million

At $8 million, Freddy Peralta isn’t going to do a thing to hurt the Mets payroll. He immediately becomes a co-ace alongside Nolan McLean whose sudden rise should have him starting on Opening Day.

Trading for Peralta is easier said than done. The Milwaukee Brewers aren’t completely desperate to deal him and there have been mixed signals all offseason about the likeliness. A package centered on Brandon Sproat and Ryan Clifford along with a lesser minor leaguer or young MLB position player (none seem to really fit what the Brewers desire) might be acceptable enough for them closer to Opening Day should they decide to move on from Peralta. If it costs more, be willing to give up a little more even for a rental. Get the inside track on him before he reaches free agency and have that first extension conversation.

With $8 million added, the Mets now have $17 million more to work with in this hypothetical situation. That’s where we immediately erase it with another trade.