NY Mets Monday Morning GM: The only wrong take about the Freddy Peralta trade

The Freddy Peralta trade return can divide fans. Optimists will be thrilled the New York Mets got anything in return for him. Pessimists would have scoffed at anyone with a batting average below .800. This was an “it is what it is” situation. As with all trades involving prospects, there’s a long waiting period.

Having already graded the trade, you’re entitled to whatever opinion it is you have about the return. There is one take that isn’t correct, though.

Just because the Mets picked up Rays prospects doesn’t mean this was a good or bad trade. Anything they did there no longer matters. Their development is in new hands.

We shouldn’t judge this Mets trade by the team they made the deal with

The Rays have a reputation for building well from within. Their farm system routinely ranks as one of the best. But do most of their prospects in the mid-teens and later turn into much?

In 2021, their prospects ranked 15 or worse produced very little. Taj Bradley is one of the better ones but even they had enough of him.

The story shifted in 2022 with Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero added to the equation in the lesser half of their top 30. That’s not something incredibly unique. The Mets had Christian Scott in the mid-20s that same year.

What makes this a winning trade for the Mets is if they’re able to develop these same players correctly or not. Whatever the trio from the Peralta trade learned with the Rays system can be quickly unlearned or altered with the Mets.

Prospect rankings are arbitrary and whether these guys rise in the Mets system or fall in a similar spot doesn’t matter all that much. The Rays have a good eye for talent, true. They also were willing to part with these three for a good reason: they’re not sold any of them are untouchable.

The reality of the trade deadline is the sellers rarely get much. In Mets history, there's Zack Wheeler and maybe Jeff Kent? Even he was traded before he became a real superstar.

Restocking your farm system at the trade deadline because your team wasn't any good is behind even a consolation prize. It's like going on Jeopardy! and they don't make you pay them money for falling into the negative. Rarely does a Pete Crow-Armstrong get moved at the trade deadline. That heist is a rarity. The norm in a major sell-off is getting one role player.

The three freshly added Mets prospects now rank higher here than they did for Tampa Bay. On paper, it makes the trade look better. In reality, it's a bit meaningless because now they're in the hands of a new system.

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