Freddy Peralta trade grades: Mets finally get their ace; Brewers continue the cycle

The New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers have agreed to a four-player exchange headlined by right-handed starter Freddy Peralta. The Brewers will get two prospects in return, right-hander Brandon Sproat and utility player Jett Williams, while the Mets will receive an additional big league piece in the form of right-handed pitcher Tobias Myers.

As is the case whenever a notable trade takes place during the Major League Baseball offseason, I’m here to break down the deal from all angles. This means providing analysis of each player who changes hands, as well as passing judgment in the form of a letter grade assigned to each side. It should be noted that the letter grade is the least important part of the assignment and should be treated as such.

Before we get to the fireworks factory, here’s the whole deal again:

• The Mets receive: RHP Freddy Peralta, RHP Tobias Myers
• The brewers receive: OF/INF Jett Williams, RHP Brandon Sproat

Let’s continue.

Food Rating: A

It’s another easy trade for the Mets to like, their second in 24 hours after getting outfielder Luis Robert Jr. in a game exchange without problem with the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night. Essentially, the Mets landed a season with an above-average starter and arm depth without moving anyone from their major league roster or the top of their farm system.

Peralta, 29, is coming off the best season of his career. In 33 starts, he managed a 2.70 ERA (154 ERA+) and a 3.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He earned his second All-Star Game title and his first consideration for the Cy Young Award. If he returned to his previous form, his 111 ERA+ would still have ranked third among Mets pitchers with at least 10 starts. Peralta doesn’t need to maintain last year’s production to be a welcome addition to a New York rotation that should feature some combination of blossoming star Nolan McLean, David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes and Sean Manaea.

Peralta goes about his business with a four-pitch arsenal: a mid-90s fastball that features more slashing action than one might expect; a change he will deploy against both hands; and two breaking balls (a slider and a curveball). It’s a quality arsenal, even if he can have difficulty mastering it. He threw a below-average strike frequency last season, which partly explains why he’s never been a great innings compiler: His 176 innings last year represented a new personal best. Peralta makes it work anyway because he’s adept at missing bats and taking away hard contact. (He ranked in the 83rd percentile in whiff rate last season and in the 80th percentile in average exit velocity.)

It remains to be seen whether or not the Mets are willing to step up to keep Peralta in town beyond 2026. At a minimum, they should be able to recoup the draft fee if he walks.

Myers, 27, is a well-traveled right-hander who has logged nearly 190 innings of 132 ERA+ ball for the Brewers over the past two seasons. He’s not big and he doesn’t throw particularly hard (his fastball sits around 93 mph), but he gets far down the mound and throws at a stiff-arm angle to create an odd visual. Myers has four pitches he relied on last year: the aforementioned fastball (which generates nearly 20 inches of induced vertical break, albeit from a six-foot release height), a cutter and slider tandem (the slider features more downfield action), and a splitter/changeup that led his repertoire in whiff rate.

Peak Myers throws a lot of strikes and avoids scary results from flyballs despite generating about 37% ground balls. He wasn’t as effective dodging barrels last season, with his hard hit percentage dropping from 38.7% to 44.8%. He has one option left in the minor leagues, and that, along with his experience as a starter and reliever, should make him a useful depth piece for the Mets.

Brewers: B

That’s what the Brewers do. They take impending free agent pitchers and convert them into packages, usually involving an unheralded, albeit almost ready, player. They also usually get more mileage than expected from that player. They did it with Joey Ortiz in 2024 (after including him in the Corbin Burnes trade) and they did it with Caleb Durbin last year (after his inclusion in the Devin Williams deal). This doesn’t guarantee the Brewers will be successful with Sproat or this other Williams, but it does suggest their front office knows how to successfully handle these situations.

Once this is established, you can argue that this feedback is light and should be docked to a rating. Not rising to the top of the Mets system despite Peralta’s low salary ($8 million) and the inclusion of Myers is difficult. Would Milwaukee have been better off keeping Peralta, maximizing their World Series chances in 2026, and then getting a draft pick at the end of the year? Maybe. The math seems to support the approach the Brewers are taking, though, especially if you’re not convinced they’re the best team in the majors again.

There’s a weird incongruity between Williams’ basic biodata (he’s a 5-foot-7 center back with speed) and his offensive game. You’d be reasonable to guess that it’s all about putting the bat on the ball. You would also be wrong.

Williams, 22, has instead embraced the art of shooting and lifting the ball. That’s how he hit .261/.363/.465 with 17 homers and 34 stolen bases spread across the upper minors last season, while putting up pedestrian marks in exit velocity (86 mph in Triple-A) and hard-hit percentage (34.3%). As expected, he also swings and misses quite a few things. His 22% whiff rate in the zone would have finished below the MLB average by about four percentage points. Combined with an otherwise patient approach, he’s going to strike out against high-level pitchers most of the time.

Nonetheless, I ranked Williams as the 14th best prospect in the National League East because of his skill set. He’ll walk, hit for power, steal bases and play quality defense wherever the Brewers choose to throw him. He’s a crafty player, no matter how much he defies expectations.

Sproat, 25, made his big league debut last season, compiling a 4.79 ERA (85 ERA+) and a 2.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four games. In 26 previous appearances in Triple-A, he had a 4.24 ERA and a 2.13 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He would have appeared in my aforementioned ranking of the top 20 NL East prospects if not for the late acquisition of outfielder Owen Caissie from the Miami Marlins.

Sproat is a powerful right-hander (his four-seamer average checked in at 96 mph in the majors) with whipping arm action and a wide arsenal. Namely, he showed six pitches last season — that’s two fastballs, a changeup and three breaking balls — and all of them averaged 80 mph or higher. His fastballs aren’t particularly impressive, speed aside, and he’s had trouble controlling them. He has, however, shown some skill in placing his breaking balls in the zone, which allows him to steal strikes.

Sproat feels like a starter, or maybe even a backup in his current form. Few teams know how to exploit the strengths of their players and extract a little more from them in turn than the Brewers. It remains to be seen whether or not they can achieve with Sproat what they did with, say, Quinn Priester last year. But I admit the possibility that there’s a bit of chicken left on the bone, with a major league floor still remaining in place.