Grading the NY Mets trade of Freddy Peralta to the Rays for 3 prospects

The New York Mets found their taker for Freddy Peralta, the Tampa Bay Rays. Right as their game against the Miami Marlins was getting underway, Will Sammon dropped the sledgehammer.

The Rays are acquiring starting pitcher Freddy Peralta in a trade with the New York Mets, league sources tell The Athletic.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) August 2, 2026

In return, the Mets add three prospects.

Tampa Bay will send Aidan Smith, Emilien Pitre and Gary Gill Hill to the Mets for Peralta, sources tell me and @JonathanMayo.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) August 2, 2026

It’s time to look into what they have to offer and give this trade a grade.

Give this Mets-Rays trade of Freddy Peralta a C-

The goal with trading Peralta was never to regain what they gave up to get him. Two top 100 prospects, Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams, was a hefty price. The Mets didn’t get any, instead adding MLB Pipeline’s 15th, 26th, and 27th from the Rays organization. Not necessarily even weighing that too heavily, we can be left dissatisfied with the return. Other places, such as Baseball America, rank them much differently.

@BaseballAmerica has Smith 15, Gill Hill 27 and Pitre unranked #Mets
— Daniel Wexler (@WexlerRules) August 2, 2026

Aidan Smith is the headliner. His .693 OPS in High-A tells us this 2023 fourth round pick by the Seattle Mariners has a lot of growing to do before he ever challenges anyone for a big league job. Through 151 games in High-A, he’s only a .230 hitter with good speed in previous years but not this season. Add in 81 strikeouts through 59 games, Smith feels like a project.

Gary Gil HIll gets bonus points for the rhyming name, but the fun stops there. Well, maybe we can appreciate he’s from New Rochelle. A sixth-round pick with a 4.47 ERA in High-A and Double-A this season, his best attribute has been striking throwing abilities. He’s at only 1.9 BB/9. Who knew this was allowed?

Finally, there’s Emilien Pitre. A second round pick from 2024, he might actually have the brightest future albeit limited with power. A second baseman with a .323 batting average in Double-A this year, his 32 stolen bases combined in High-A and Double-A at least provide an outlook where he finds his way onto the Mets bench in the future. Everyone can appreciate a good utility man.

The Mets got far less than what they gave up for Peralta and that was always the reality. After seeing how little it cost the Los Angeles Dodgers to rent Tarik Skubal, this was the clear outcome for the Mets.

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Give this Mets-Rays trade of Freddy Peralta a C-

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