The New York Mets acquired righty Freddy Peralta during the offseason to be their most reliable starter. But the former two-time All-Star has fallen short on multiple occasions. He has shown signs of being able to put together quality outings. Yet, that comes with falling back down, with the latest coming in a 7-0 shutout loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field on Tuesday.
Freddy Peralta Falters
Peralta was inconsistent on the rubber to start the season, losing six of his first eight. The longest he lasted was six innings, while tossing eight strikeouts once. However in his next six appearances he managed to string together five wins. His best performance came when he struck out nine batters in seven innings.
Yet, Freddy Peralta was unable to replicate that same success against the Cardinals. After two scoreless innings, the righty walked Nolan Gorman and gave up a double to Nathan Church in the third. JJ Wetherholt hit an RBI single off Peralta. Peralta then surrendered an RBI double before Lars Nootbaar scored a runner off a groundout. Giving up four runs in the third came before Alec Burleson hit a two-run shot off Peralta in the fifth.
Overall, the Mets right-hander gave up six earned runs, six hits, and two walks in six innings. He struck out five batters, but has a 3.81 ERA. Furthermore, Freddy Peralta has a 9.5% walk rate, which ranks ninth-worst in the majors among qualified pitchers. His expected ERA and batting average are in the 59th percentile. He has a 30% chase rate, and his hard-hit rate is at 40.5%, which is in the 48th percentile. He simply has not given the Mets the production they were hoping to receive during the winter, and this can have implications.
Long-Term Implications
Peralta is on an expiring contract, making him a free agent after this season. Still, reports have noted that he is interested in returning to the team if he can receive a long-term extension. Yet, the Mets front office has been reliant on giving him that offer, like they have with others.
Secondly, if the club can not give Peralta an extension, then they can look elsewhere in free agency or within their farm system. Lastly, the Mets are eight games under .500 and 15 1/2 games out of first place in the NL East. When the time comes closer to the trade deadline, they very much can make a deal surrounding Peralta in return for younger talent.
More New York Mets Articles
More MLB Articles
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
- Category
-
New York Mets
