Freddy Peralta or MacKenzie Gore? There's another the NY Mets could've traded for

When the hot stove starts spitting out trades, it has a way of rewiring how fans process information in real time. The New York Mets landed Freddy Peralta; the cost was clear, and the move made sense. Then another deal crossed the wire, and some fans immediately questioned whether the Mets had picked the right pitcher after seeing MacKenzie Gore moved shortly after.

Gore became the name associated with that reaction, with some Mets fans wishing the team had gone in that direction rather than trading for Peralta. It is an easy comparison to make and a tempting one to lean into. But it also misses the real point. If there is a pitcher Mets fans should still be thinking about, it is not Gore at all. The regret, if there is one, traces back to a different moment and a different trade that never happened.

Garrett Crochet, not Gore, is the pitcher Mets fans should regret missing.

The discussion about Gore versus Freddy Peralta is unfair. They are different pitchers at different stages of their careers, each with different levels of risk and control. The Mets traded for Peralta because that was the pitcher they targeted, not because they passed on Gore. Framing it as a choice between the two creates a debate that never really existed.

That is why the Gore conversation misses the point. The focus should not be on the pitcher the Mets did not trade for after the Peralta deal. It should be on the opportunity that existed before it, when the Mets could have used the same prospects to pursue a different starter, one who ultimately delivered far more.

Before the 2025 season, the White Sox were looking to trade a package headlined by Brandon Sproat and Jett Williams for Crochet. The Mets passed. The Red Sox did not, and Crochet went on to finish second in Cy Young voting behind Tarik Skubal. He led all of Major League Baseball in strikeouts with 255 and posted a 2.59 ERA over the season.

That outcome changes the conversation. The Mets eventually traded Sproat and Williams anyway, using them to acquire Peralta instead. Crochet’s performance turned that earlier asking price into a bargain, and Boston followed it by committing six years and $170 million to keep him. The Mets, meanwhile, are still evaluating what comes next with Peralta.

This is why Mets fans should not be wishing the team had traded for Gore. The clearer comparison has always been Crochet. Peralta can still help this rotation. Crochet would have put it in a different place entirely. That is not a criticism of the move the Mets made, but a reminder of the one that might have put them in an even better spot.