NY Mets Monday Morning GM: The mistake with the Freddy Peralta trade

Freddy Peralta starts Game 2 for the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday against the New York Yankees. A much different pitcher than he was with the New York Mets this year, he couldn’t escape several questions about the difference between his time in Queens vs. Saint Petersburg.

He didn’t rub dirt in our eyes. He didn’t spoil any chance at a reunion (not happening). Peralta handled the questions well. We could try to interpret things like getting treated like a king with the Rays if we wanted to. There doesn’t seem to be any clear answer as to how he sank like an innocently accused witch in Salem once he joined the Mets.

More praise for the Rays staff than a knock against the Mets, it sounds a little bit like the Mets, starting with David Stearns, might have misunderstood the person while comprehending the player.

The Mets understood the player Freddy Peralta is, they didn’t know the person

Criticism of Stearns’ bedside manner is nothing new. His way of communicating has never sat well with some fans. Pete Alonso talking about Stearns the way he has and being so open about it is another example of how players aren’t a fan of his either.

Peralta has routinely taken the high road and as non-controversial as his statements were, it does give us a hint into how maybe there was more than pitch selection at work.

“Treated like a king” can be interpreted plenty of ways. On the Mets, Peralta was the ace but also on a team with already established veterans. This isn’t so much a Mets issue as much as it is a Peralta one. If he needs to be treated a certain way and feel like royalty, that’s on him. Considering he believed he deserved a Max Fried-like contract, we can deduce there’s no shortage of ego. That’s not a bad thing. Athletes should have inflated thoughts about themselves as long as it doesn’t hurt their performance.

The real key to what Peralta said was this line:

"The information and the way that he [Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder) communicated to me, it was the right way to do it.”

It wasn’t only the information but how it was brought to him. Peralta and Mets pitching coach Justin Willard might have been a poor match. You can’t build your coaching staff around meshing well with one rental player nor can you ever anticipate how they might react. There hasn’t been some sort of story or inside information about Willard being unpopular with players. As a rookie pitching coach himself, the Peralta line about how the information was delivered is something the Mets can learn from.

The trade for Peralta was no-doubt a smart move to make and has yet to actually punish the Mets. Flipping him around for three well-ranked prospects who performed after the trade deadline helps ease some of the hurt.

The Mets need to change in order to move on from the 2026 season. Maybe it’s not the baseball philosophies that are the problem. How it’s communicated could be as valuable.

Rays skipper Kevin Cash kept it simpler while maybe throwing a little shade the Mets' way.

Hardly an explanation at all, owning home field advantage throughout the AL playoffs gives the Rays enough bragging rights and reason to be cocky even if the assessment isn't necessarily a direct hit.

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