Freddy Peralta vs. the “inevitable” NY Mets free agent signings

Let's wind the clocks back a few months. The New York Mets were in the midst of an offseason upheaval, swapping out position players like it was going out of style. Somehow, the rotation hadn't yet been touched, despite the team's glaring and obvious need for an ace-caliber pitcher.

Lo and behold, every Mets fan's favorite pundit, Buster Olney, came along and guaranteed that the team would sign one of the top two left-handed starters on the market: Framber Valdez or Ranger Suárez.

Of course, that didn't actually happen. Valdez signed a hefty deal with the Detroit Tigers, while Suárez found a new home in Boston with the Red Sox. In turn, the Mets pivoted to a blockbuster deal for Freddy Peralta, a rental starter with a prior history with David Stearns during their shared time in Milwaukee.

Now that the 2026 season is more than a month old, let's revisit Olney's "inevitable" prediction and see if the Mets made the right call choosing Peralta over the two free-agent starters.

Should the Mets regret picking Freddy Peralta over Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez?

Ranger Suárez

Suárez has had an odd-ball season thus far. He's made six starts, three of which were scoreless over at least six innings. In the other three, he allowed exactly four earned runs and failed to get out of the fifth inning each time.

That being said, he's really righted the ship after a slow start, tossing eight shutout innings twice in his last three starts. That kind of length would look fantastic in the Mets' rotation, as would the 30-year-old's 3.09 ERA and 3.36 FIP.

He signed for five years and $130 million, not to mention the fact that he came attached to a qualifying offer. There's no doubt Suárez is living up to that deal right now, but it may not age so gracefully for a guy who is already barely eclipsing 90 miles per hour with his fastball.

Framber Valdez

Valdez's season-long stats look roughly par for the course based on his recent track record; he's running a 3.41 ERA and 3.80 FIP across six starts and 34 1/3 innings, though his strikeout rate and groundball rate are at career-low levels, which is concerning considering that's where he earns his keep.

In truth, his line is being dragged down by one bad start on April 8 against the Twins, wherein he allowed eight runs on 10 hits in five innings. Remove that outing from the equation, and he's sitting on a pretty 1.53 ERA.

The 32-year-old signed a three-year, $115 million deal that comes with a player option prior to the final season. Like Suárez, he came attached to a qualifying offer.

Freddy Peralta

Peralta has been the most consistent of the three, but also the least impressive. His 3.90 ERA perfectly matches his 3.90 FIP, though he's not doing anything exceptionally well. His strikeout rate (25.9%) is above average, but also the lowest mark of his career.

He's been a little more prone to the long ball than usual, but otherwise, he's the same old Freddy Peralta. While that means a ton of competitive starts, it also means little in the way of providing length (he's averaging barely over five innings per start).

The 29-year-old cost the Mets two top prospects -- Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams -- though New York did also receive Tobias Myers in the deal with the Brewers.

Verdict

The Mets certainly saved money by acquiring Peralta, as well as draft picks and international signing bonus money by not engaging with more free agents attached to the qualifying offer.

Still, their lack of extension negotiations with Peralta rings as problematic, especially because Sproat and Williams were supposed to have important roles in New York for the foreseeable future. For the sake of 2026, the stability Peralta provides atop the rotation has been worth the acquisition cost, but the Mets may come to regret their decision if they can't get him to stay in town after this season.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow