The New York Mets have traded prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat to the Milwaukee Brewers for right-handers Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers, bolstering their rotation for the 2026 season. Peralta, a two-time All-Star coming off a career-best year, joins a revamped Mets roster amid an aggressive offseason rebuild. Brewers president Matt Arnold described the deal as emotional but necessary to balance present and future needs.
The trade, finalized late Wednesday, marks the latest move in a transformative winter for the Mets, who have reshaped their lineup and pitching staff after a disappointing 2025 season that saw them miss the playoffs despite an early 45-24 start. Peralta, 29, posted a 2.70 ERA over 176 2/3 innings in 33 starts last year, earning his second All-Star nod and finishing fifth in National League Cy Young voting with 17 wins and 5.5 WAR. He brings a mid-90s fastball, devastating slider, changeup, and curveball to a Mets rotation that ranked ninth in the NL with a 4.13 ERA in 2025, joining Nolan McLean, David Peterson, Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga, and Clay Holmes.
Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, who first acquired Peralta for Milwaukee in 2015, praised the pitcher's growth and leadership. "This is someone who... is a really good person," Stearns said Thursday. "He’s constantly getting better." Peralta earns $8 million in 2026, his final contract year, and Stearns declined to speculate on an extension, noting, "I’m not going to speculate on that on Day 1 here. We’ll let Freddy get acclimated."
For the Brewers, who led MLB with the best 2025 regular-season record and advanced to the NLCS, the deal continues a pattern of trading premium pitchers before free agency—following Corbin Burnes in 2024 and Devin Williams in December 2025—to acquire controllable talent. Arnold called his conversation with Peralta emotional: "We loved having Freddy Peralta here, and everything that he meant to this franchise." In return, Milwaukee gains versatile infielder/outfielder Williams, 22, who hit .261/.363/.465 with 17 homers and 34 steals across Double- and Triple-A last year, and right-hander Sproat, 25, who debuted with a 4.79 ERA in four starts. Myers, 27, provides the Mets with a swingman who posted a 132 ERA+ over 188 2/3 innings in two seasons.
Executives viewed the swap as a win-win. "The Mets get better for this year, and the Brewers get better for the long haul," one NL executive said. The Mets' aggressive approach, including additions like Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, and Luis Robert Jr., positions them as contenders, though questions linger about health and consistency in the revamped roster.
