Freddy Peralta is added motivation for a six-man NY Mets rotation in 2026

The New York Mets are capable of carrying a full six-man rotation into the 2026 season. Nothing has been confirmed that this is actually a part of the plan. They may simply carry six starting pitchers into spring training with a belief they won’t be able to go untouched by the injury bug.

There are certain benefits to a six-man rotation with several Mets pitchers being theoretical benefactors of the plan. Kodai Senga seems to require the added day of rest. Sean Manaea, coming off of an injury last year as well, is someone who could benefit from it, too. Clay Holmes’ return to working as a starter and David Peterson’s mid-season burnout make them obvious matches for a six-man rotation, too. Nolan McLean? He’s a kid the Mets shouldn’t overpush because of how significant he’ll be in their rotation for years to come.

What about Freddy Peralta? He’s a bit impenetrable to suffering from fatigue of a normal five-man rotation. However, last year’s numbers suggest he’s more ace-like with the added day off in between outings.

Freddy Peralta has unique numbers when it comes to rest days

Peralta’s numbers were a bit weird last year with 4 days of rest vs. 5 days of rest vs. 6 or more.

In 12 starts with a traditional 4 days of rest, he had a 2.59 ERA. It was his best of the three situations, but the slash line against him suggests he was lucky. Hitters batted .235/.317/.329 against him in those dozen starts. On 5 days of rest, which would happen with a six-man rotation, he had a slightly higher 2.65 ERA in 17 starts. Batters were far worse against him, slashing .170/.257/.339. His K rate skyrocketed to 11.4 per 9 versus just one per inning with 4 days of rest.

The results bear out similarly with 6+ days of rest. A 3.22 ERA in 4 starts but superior .165/.239/.266 slash line again shows he didn’t prevent runs at the best rate but dominated in other ways.

Amazingly, Peralta’s career numbers have similar results with his best ERAs coming on 4 days rest but with lesser slash line numbers. We should take his recent history into account. How he did in 2021 in these situations hints less about what lies ahead for him in 2026.

Peralta is one of those pitchers who doesn’t need to get skipped over in the rotation. On weeks where the Mets have an off-day, bypassing someone else is probably more ideal.

As the 2025 season progressed, the Milwaukee Brewers gave Peralta 5+ days of rest between every start but one in August and September. In his lone start with 4 days of rest, he pitched 5 shutout innings.

Now 931 innings into his MLB career, Peralta is in the prime of his career and anything the Mets can do to get the most out of him should be on the table. He made 33 starts last year even with the added days of rest every so often. Logan Webb, with 34 starts, was the only pitcher in MLB to make more.

The Mets won’t make a six-man rotation decision because of Peralta. He does, however, seem to be an ace who can put up more dominant outings with added time between outings.