The tradeMets get: OF Aidan Smith, INF Emilien Pitre, RHP Gary Gill HillRays get: RHP Freddy PeraltaTrust in the Rays’ track record in these situationsMets: C
Rays: BThe return for Peralta was bound to disappoint. That’s inevitable when a player you acquired for two top-100 prospects — a deal we liked at the time! — looks like a shell of himself in his walk year. The return amounts to an exaggerated shoulder shrug: three guys who have a chance to help the Mets one day down the line, but none of them particularly inspiring. The highest-ranked prospect coming back is Aidan Smith, whom the Rays acquired from Seattle in the Randy Arozarena trade. Keith Law ranked Smith this spring as the Rays’ No. 19 prospect.If there’s an organization you’d trust to turn Fastball Freddy into Fastball Freddy again, it’s the Rays. Get to work, Kyle Snyder and Rick Knapp. Fix Freddy Peralta and the Rays would have a formidable postseason top three: Peralta, Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen. But that’s a big ask on a short timeline. There’s a reason Peralta wasn’t ranked alongside Tarik Skubal atop The Athletic’s trade deadline Big Board; no, he was well down the list, ranked 10th among starting pitchers, below the likes of Reid Detmers, Clay Holmes and Casey Mize.If the Rays weren’t up for paying Skubal prices, Peralta is not a bad gamble as a low-risk, high-reward move. It’s a fine first step, anyway. Next, the Rays lineup needs real upgrades. — Stephen J. Nesbitt
