Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:
1. Mets land their top-end starter:
A busy week for the Mets got even better last night when the team swung a deal with the Brewers to acquire right-hander Freddy Peralta. New York surrendered two top prospects (Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat) in order to land Peralta (and righty Tobias Myers), but in doing so they’ve finally addressed their long-discussed need for a top-of-the-rotation talent. Peralta finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting this past year and is a two-time All-Star.
That pedigree is enough to make him a great choice to pair with Nolan McLean at the top of the rotation, but questions remain about what’s next for the Mets. Could the team look to make another addition, perhaps to add some insurance behind Carson Benge and Luis Robert Jr. in the outfield? New York still has a glut of starting pitching talent to dangle in subsequent trades. McLean’s dominant 2025 debut makes him a lock for the rotation. Veteran options include Peralta, David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes, and Sean Manaea. Myers, top prospect Jonah Tong and former top prospect Christian Scott, who’s returning from 2024 Tommy John surgery, could all pitch in a big league rotation as well, though every member of that trio has at least one minor league option remaining.
2. Yankees land Bellinger:
The Yankees finally reunited with Cody Bellinger yesterday when he agreed to a five-year, $162.5MM deal that affords him the opportunity to opt out after the 2027 and ’28 seasons. The move helps to solidify the team’s outfield, setting the Yanks up to once again rely primarily on a trio of Bellinger, Aaron Judge, and Trent Grisham on the grass. That begs the question of what happens with young outfielder Jasson Dominguez and top prospect Spencer Jones, though both could certainly be kept as depth given that Grisham is on a one-year deal. It’s unclear at this point if the Yankees are done; Bellinger was the big fish the club was looking for, but they were also involved in the Peralta market prior to Milwaukee’s deal with the Mets. It’s possible they pivot elsewhere, though the Yanks have already deepened the rotation by acquiring lefty Ryan Weathers from the Marlins.
3. Post-Peralta rotation market:
Peralta’s trade to the Mets not only takes the top starting pitcher off the trade market, it also takes the most obvious suitor for high-end pitching off the table. That’s an interesting state of affairs given that the rotation market still boasts two starters with front-of-the-rotation pedigree: lefty Framber Valdez and, to a lesser extent given his down season in 2025, righty Zac Gallen. The Orioles have been known to be in the market for a front-end starter this winter, and while swinging a deal for Shane Baz added some upside, they haven’t landed a more established arm. The same can be said for the Cubs, who made a deal for promising righty Edward Cabrera earlier this month. Atlanta could use another arm but doesn’t typically spend at Valdez levels in free agency. The D-backs may not have payroll space. The Angels saved significant money with Anthony Rendon’s contract restructure but haven’t yet been prominent players in free agency.
Mets out of nowhere are having a great off-season.
Gunnar – Yeah I agree, a sign of maturity is patience and some people here simply don’t have it. It’s like assuming how a book will end without actually reading the end of the book.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mets have one more addition such as Framber.
The rotation would look great with Skubal at the top. They could give the Dodgers a good run for their money.
That’s next year
Melch – Mets don’t have the talent to trade for Skubal. But I’m sure they will be bidders when he hits free agency.
Yes they do. They just won’t.
Plus, tigers never said they were trading Skubal.
But if they were, and the Mets put in a trade offer, they can dangle tong, benge, mcewing, among others. If they were crazy, McLean.
I wouldn’t even want the Mets to trade for Skubal as that would wipe out their farm, but they have a package that could get it done
3B Mark Vientos, OF Carson Benge, RHP Jonah Tong and someone like LHP David Peterson could probably get it done.
Vientos would step right into the 3B spot. Benge is listed 21 in the top 100 prospects. Tong at 46. Peterson gives the Tigers a major league starter for 2026. That’s quite a bit for a 1 year rental. Tigers could pivot and sign Framber Valdez to head up the rotation and still challenge for the division.
Tough to imagine Vientos (not good) and Peterson (FA after this year) having much of any value.
Out of no where ?? They got unlimited funds lol. How was them and dodgers not going to be the big winners
Because Baltimore stole thier first baseman lol
They do, headlined by McLean. But that’s not going to happen. So I think they will make a high AAV offer to Valdez.
Stearns probably not done. What an emotional roller coaster. Many NYM fans I know were down in the dumps 3 weeks ago. Now they are pumped for season.
Not sure why anyone would have thought the Mets were done 3 weeks ago.
Shaq – Agreed, it made no sense especially with so many players still available via free agency or trade.
Ever met a Mets fan?
3 weeks and years on top of that
80% of Mets fans have a low emotional IQ – but that probably applies to ALL sports gans.
Cubs have the prospects to make a deal for Tarik Skubal get er done
Quite a few teams have the prospects to get Skubal deal done if Detroit makes him available. Nothing is going to happen on that front until after arbitration and let’s be realistic it’s going to be very hard for Detroit to trade him when they made the post the last two seasons. There is a lot of value in just keeping him and running it back for another year. I highly doubt they trade him unless they fall out by the deadline.
The Tigers should sell while Skubal’s value is high. The return for 1 full season and a draft pick is higher than a couple months. Scott Harris doesn’t believe in windows, so that’s why he hasn’t gone and filled any holes. They still have holes at SS, 3B, RF and in the rotation. All he picks up are veterans looking for one last payday.
They already made their moves. They didn’t sign a pitcher bc they signed Bregman then overpaid for the pitcher. One more overpay and they’ll have no farm left
No point making a trade for Skubal until finding out how much he’s going to cost this year
It’s kind of interesting that Bellinger got almost exactly what people could/should have predicted….utterly conventional, while a whole new market has developed for the tier above him. I’ll be interested to read some MLBTR analysis when offseason essentially over,
Mike – How did you arrive at that conclusion?
Of all the free agents ranked higher than Belli, none got more than expected in terms of total contract. Teams are basically cutting their risk in half, if not more.
Imai – $150M expected, got $54M/3yrs (much lower AAV)
Bregman – $160M expected, got $150M
Murakami – $180M expected, got $34M
Cease – $189M expected, got $183M
Bichette – $208M expected, got $126M
Tucker – $400M expected, got $228M
It makes sense for teams to go with shorter lengths and higher AAV, not good for players.
That was my point….Bellinger had a conventional contract–Bichette and Tucker (higher on the ratings) didn’t . Bichette and Tucker signed late, after seeing what the market was willing to offer, and as you said, took much less in total guarantees, Bellinger, I think, got lucky that the Yankees were willing to stick to the original offer after the Roberts trade. I think top tier may continue to see these huge up-front guarantees rather than crazy terms. They may make more in the aggregate by dipping again in FA. But some of these guys might age early or get injured, and find their market is less strong three years from now.
Fever, I’m curious on your take on Giolito who I believe can be the bargain of this year’s class. The longer he goes unsigned, the more likely he’ll takes a prove I’m healthy one year deal. Yes, he was injured when the playoffs started but I think he just needed a break and while I had worries earlier in the year because I thought the years needed was an issue, I think he’ll be stronger in 26. Whoever gets him short term I think will be very happy.
Good day for New York yesterday.
Mets obviously made a few more pick ups and all told they sorta feel done at this point. Shored up the OF and BP along with Freddy. Mets fans, thoughts?
As for my Yanks, I think the Peralta interest wasn’t as clear cut after getting Weathers as we really don’t need to spend on a front end guy. We have Fried, and better with Cole coming mid-season. We also have Rodon who’s a mid rotation guy due back in May, and later on Schmidt. Could I see another smaller add on that front, sure, maybe someone to push Yarborough to BP sooner, but it’s not 100% necessary. BP though does need a couple more bodies, and then? Maybe another backup catcher if don’t like Escarra. Thoughts?
Either way, let’s try to celebrate and not fight today, I’m tired. lol.
@Sal
I think Yarboroughshould prepare for the pen now. With Freid, Gil, Warren, Weathers and Schlittler headed into ST the Yanks are set.
Right, my bad, I miscounted as I prepped to head to work.
That helps a bit in that department. Still, I’d love to at least secure another pen option like Seranthony or Romero in a deal.
As far as catcher, I was thinking about how much time we give Wells to put it together. I almost feel like Rice may be the future starter there with Wells the backup. If we figure that out sooner we could theorically swing a deal for Murakami, because let’s face it, he’s not going to be a Pale Hoser for life…
@Sal
Wells is an above average C defensively. I’d like to give him time to work on his offense. The power is there. My thinking on Rice is this. I think he has the abilities to be a high walk rate 30+ homer guy. Why put him thru the physical riggers of being an everyday C? Let’s keep it simple.
“You can never have enough pitching” is such an obvious cliche, but in this case, truer words were never spoken. Given the rate at which injuries happen, even solid rotations can get decimated when the inevitable takes place. With that in mind, I want the Cubs to Go Get Gallen.
I don’t want to hear about the depth they already have because if those were really good starting pitchers they wouldn’t be considered “depth”. Make this happen Jed.
Gallen coming off a rough season, never had TJS before his run of logging lot of IPs by modern standards (another Burnes/Cole situation?), Boras his agent, Comp pick attached not appealing even on a short deal rebound/opt out scenario……there’s a lot to make teams want to pass.
Because Gallen is clearly a flawed pitcher as was evidenced by his shaky at best platform season, I think everyone interested is just waiting out Boras at this point.
I believe the Brew Crew got the better end of this deal. Yea, no Peralta but they were going to lose him after this year. Sproat and Myers should be able to pick up some starts.
Agreed that 6 years of Jett and 6 years of Sproat should be more valuable than 1 year of Peralta, who had a career year last year. Of course, if the Mets extend him, that could make him the higher value over the next 5/6 years, but the Brewers did not hold that asset value so it should not even be considered when grading this trade.
@Vanilla
A players next contract should never play into evaluating the winner of a trade. That new deal is all about cash. I thought the player experience mattered but Bellinger proved that it was mostly about the money.
Knicks, if the Mets win in 26, it was worth it. Also, only the Mets truly know the value they placed on Williams who I wanted as part of a Duran trade with Boston.
@dewey Mets winning it all this year would be the only outcome that tips the trade fully to the Mets side. Otherwise it’ll be on how the kids work out for the Brewers only.
Mets got myers too
As Brewers fans have affectionately called him, “Toby” is best suited for a swing man/7-8th starter role. Think Colin Rea. Certainly a Major League player with some value, but not exciting. It is possible that Sproat never becomes even that, but I’d bet on Sproat having the better 2026 than Myers.
Myers is on the Mets now. Right now the mlb.com depth chart for the Brewers lists exactly two starting pitchers. Getting something rather than just a pick for Peralta is probably worthwhile doing, but Williams is not the guy I would have picked from the Mets. 12 months ago he was sort of a bust in the making. He had a great year in ‘25, so that’s good, but he’s an unusual profile, albeit one the Brewers have made work before. Huge risk imo.
I agree on Williams. MIL must be really high on his upside. Undersized players like Pedroia, Galvis, Altuve, Joe Morgan, etc have proven that skills aren’t dictated by stature, so the question then centers around Williams’ skills.
@seam yeah I noticed there are literally 2 starters on the Brewers rotation depth chart too lol. It doesn’t list Woodruff, however. Right now the Brewers starters look something like:
Woodruff
Miz
Priester
Patrick
Gasser/Sproat
Ashby/Zerpa/Hall
There are a few things that irritate me about the perception ppl have towards a) Dominguez. Yes, he’s far from perfect but he can easily become a serviceable LF/CF with more reps and hard work, which from what I’ve heard, he’s a hard worker. There’s reason to like his rookie season. His 9.6% walk rate,.253 BA and .335 OBP aren’t great but at least he wasn’t overwhelmed. Let’s not act like he’s the only prospect that needed a year or two to adjust to mlb pitching. Plus, the Yanks need depth and I trust JD’s bat more than I do Spencer Jones at the moment. If anything happens to Grisham, Beli, Judge, Stanton, Rice or Wells, which in the case of 1B or C might necessitate position shifts, Dominguez immediately can be a full time player. Add to the facts that he’s cheap let’s stop valuing him like he’s a failed prospect or not an mlb player.
It’s mostly the pathetic fanboy fawning over “The Martian”. The rest of MLB looks at the Yankees as a pathetic franchise of entitled fans and vastly overrated “prospects”. But otherwise, he’s great.
@why
No team has the right or the audacity to look at the Yanks as a pathetic franchise. Going into ST we’re almost certain we’ll be on the post-season. Not many teams can say that. And last I checked, the Yanks have no say over external prospect lists.
As a Mets fan, what about signing Goldschmidt ( another ex Yankee) or Hoskins ( another ex Brewer) to play 1b and neither would cost much than put Polanco at DH at least we’ll have a real 1b man.
They need flexibility for the roster. No more major league contracts should happen.
I don’t think either is the worst idea.
While I can’t stand Hoskins I’d rather have him, but I don’t like the idea of polanco at 1b.
Goldy can definitely be had on a 1 year deal
My guess is the same with Hoskins
We may put Baty at 1B. He adapted to 2B very nicely last season. He’s a very good athlete, and fielder. No reason he can’t do 1B too.
Polanco, as an experienced middle infielder, will probably be a better defensive 1B than either of those guys at this point.
Go get Wilmer Flores.
Just don’t make him cry this time.
Luis Gil is the other. He’s, health and good walk rate are concerns. But despite his walk rate, he still had an ERA of 3.45 over the last 200 IP. Yet, I’m hearing him valued as a throw in for 1 year rental of Peralta or part of a package for McKenzie Gore? With a full offseaso to rest and prepare they’d no reason to think he shouldn’t be able to come into camp healthy. Even with the rust his velocity was still in the mid 90s. Yet, I’ve heard ridiculous suggestions that a package for Peralta would require Dominguez, Gil and others. In what world?!!!
Health is the only question I have. A Framber Valdez sorry- term deal would be nice at the right price but I would not give up JD or Gil for ANY one year rental, except maybe Skubal but even he’s unattractive because he’s a Boras client and almost certainly is going to be a difficult long protracted signing. I’m sure Boras will want 10/$50 million to $60 million to start. Meanwhile, Skubal has had TJ surgery (2015), elbow tendon surgery (2022) and in today’s world, had a huge workload over the last two years. If he can be had for a Soto-ish haul (Pads to Yanks) then cool but is the price is anything like JD and Gil plus two or three prospects then I’ll be happy to pass.
forgive typos…. “his health and high walk rate….”
After this offseasons deals and Skubal being 30, his contract could be interesting. Do the Dodgers and Mets create a new AAV record on a 4-6 year deal? Something like 75m/yr? If Cohen was willing to pay Scherzer and Verlander 43m/yr each in their late 30’s that doesn’t seem far fetched at all.
That scenario wouldn’t surprise me, but there’s going to be a hard push for a salary cap/floor when the next CBA comes up ⚾
@rond
The real battle should be between the owners and their adult to use funds not directly derived from the teams payroll. The financial advantages that the Dodgers and Mets have one every other team, including the Yanks and excluding the Jays is enormous. In the case of the Dodgers/Guggenheim and Mets/72Point they can borrow money from the funds management account and put in their baseball account for deferred money and them use it as investment capital the way they normality do and use the capital gains to offset the players salary. Not even the Yanks can compete with that.
Im a little disappointed that Freddy wont be back with the Brewers this season. Team wont be the same without him.
One of the all-time great contracts.
5 yr. / 15.5M extension with a pair of 8M team options.
The Brewers paid Peralta a total of around 25M over eight MLB seasons. In ’21, Peralta earned 1.3M, made 27 starts, pitched to a 2.81 ERA with a 12.2 K/9 and made his first All-Star game. He had a 0.970 WHIP in 144 IP. He aced that season and became a front of the rotation starter for Milwaukee.
He has made 30+ starts each of the past three seasons, posting a 40-25 record, a 3.39 ERA, a 1.126 WHIP in 517.1 IP. He recorded over 200 K’s each season for a K/9 of 11.9.
He earned 5.85M AAV over those three seasons.
All the props in the world to a guy who honored his contract and gave his all to the team. He earned an extension without having to throw a pitch this year and it is unfortunate that he didn’t get it with the Brewers but hopefully he gets a good deal with the Mets.
Great return on the trade for the Brewers. One of the shrewdest deals of all-time.
You should feel ashamed of that contract lol. Why side with greedy billionaires taking advantage of athletes. He was worth 30 million last season or more
Great return on that trade !
I think it should go down as one of the greatest deals of all-time and Freddy as one of the greatest players in history due his professionalism, his honor and his love for his team.
One of the truly great performances and it is in part due to the fact that he played on such a team-friendly deal. His value to the team in that regard was astronomical.
And it was a great return on the trade, they jimmied Jett Williams off the Mets and I have thought Sproat to have the highest upside of all the Met’s pitching prospects including McClean.
The shrewd trade is the Brewers business, they had the talks with Peralta about his future, and they likely offered him some sort of deal. It wasn’t the right number, and Freddy is a Met. Hopefully he gets paid well in an extension with the Mets or in free agency in ’27.
Ruh-Roh Phillies. Teams are passing you by. Welcome to the 2020 Red Sox. However, DD did do a much better job of retaining young players. So the situation is not nearly as bad.
What do Philly fans want?
A) Hard Re-Boot
B) Soft Re-Boot, will take longer (what Red Sox did)
C) Keep spending tons of $$$ to stay competitive. (Dont worry, its not your money)
Yanks will look to move either Jones or the Martian for a relief pitcher now or at the deadline.