Wow, what a day for Mets fans! Something the Mets needed desperately for years, they finally get it: a formidable and proven ace with a deep track record of winning games. The starter comes from none other than the Milwaukee Brewers, who are known to constantly churn out talented pitchers.

Last night it became official when the two teams agreed to a deal that sent RHP Freddy Peralta and RHP Tobias Myers to the Mets in exchange for #3 Mets prospect SS Jett Williams and #5 prospect Brandon Sproat. This was quite the price to pay for a rental and it is the first big trade the Mets made dealing from their farm system since 2021 when the Mets let go of top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong for 2.5 months of Javier Báez and Trevor Williams.

The Mets get what they deserve, and with Peralta, their team looks much stronger and more defined. Let’s dive into the statistics and see how much better this one player significantly changes the outlook of the 2026 Mets. In his age 29 season, Freddy Peralta was good for a 5.5 WAR (wins above replacement). In 33 starts and 176.2 innings, he led the National League with 17 wins, only had 6 losses, and struck out 204 batters with a WHIP of 1.075 and an ERA+ of 154. He also finished 5th in Cy Young votes and achieved his second All-Star selection.

For his career, he is 70-42, with 1,153 strikeouts and a 14.3 WAR. Since becoming a full-time starter in 2021, he has had one of the best track records in all of baseball. Freddy Peralta joins a list of just 7 pitchers with 700 IP and a 125 ERA+ since 2021 and owns the highest strikeout % of 29.6% and a 126 ERA+ out of the group. He has reached the 200 strikeout mark for three consecutive seasons, and out of everyone in baseball, only he and Dylan Cease have reached this feat. The most important part of all this is his durability and ability to stay on the field. He has made 30 or more starts in the past three seasons. A consistent weapon to rely on for 30 or more starts is something the Mets haven’t really had.

The last Mets pitcher to accomplish this was deGrom from 2017-2019, and before that was Bartolo Colón. It is nearly seven years since we had a reliable ace. The only concern with Freddy Peralta is he doesn’t go deep into games; he only went into the 6th inning or higher twice last season. But regardless, it doesn’t matter; Peralta had a career year, and we should see it for what it is. Besides, the Mets are still revamping their bullpen and have also granted Tobias Myers another major piece to weaponize a weak point of the Mets’ bullpen in 2025.

Another piece to add to an already amazing trade is Tobias Myers who has two years under his belt pitching both as a starter and relief. In two years for the Milwaukee Brewers, Tobias Myers has a record of 10-8 in 188.2 innings and 165 strikeouts for an ERA+ of 132. Majority of his work came in 2024 when he pitched a 9-6 record in 25 games started, 138 innings and 127 strikeouts for a 138 ERA+ while accumulating 2.7 wins above replacement. This season he only had 6 starts but appeared in 22 games total and closed out 8 of those games. He had a 1-2 record and 3.55 ERA. His fielding independent pitching is a little higher than league average with 2 to mid three’s being the golden numbers. A fielding indecent pitching measures  on outcomes Myers control (strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches, home runs), removing defense and luck to estimate what their ERA should be.

The 3.55 ERA in 2025 tells the full story but not the full picture. His bullpen work was much more consistent than starting, reports cite an ERA around 1.60 in relief and a WHIP under 1.00. He has an incredible arsenal of pitches, and it shows with a lower pitch count. The transition indicates his ability to show he can handle both the pressure of starting and swinging.

Remember the epic 2024 National League Wild Card game, when Pete Alonso launched that monster home run to send the New York Mets past the Milwaukee Brewers and win the series? The irony is wild looking back now, because the Brewers’ pitching sequence that night went -Freddy Peralta to -Tobias Myers to Devin Williams now and all three of those arms are now Mets. Meanwhile, the hero of that moment, Alonso, is no longer in Queens and is instead wearing the uniform of the Baltimore Orioles. Baseball really doesn’t waste time flipping the script.

Baseball is a business, and sometimes the transactions you make and don’t make can hurt. Missing out on a guy you thought you were going to sign, only for that player to go to the Dodgers, hurts, but so does not offering a final contract to one of your best homegrown players. It all feels the same; they both hurt. But so does giving up on potential future talent for the gamble of a short-term trade return.

There is no right way to approach this, but it is about being bold and looking towards the future. No more looking back on the past and feeling sad about the losses of some of the Mets’ greats. There is no point, except keeping your head up and seeing the talent this team will produce. David Stearns gave us a reason to believe after taking away all our hopes early in the season. Let’s see where this season takes us.