00:00It seems like he would be the perfect extension candidate for the New York Mets, and there have been a
00:05couple of reports. So the first one SNY put out, when Freddie was initially approached about the Mets possibly asking
00:13him about an extension, he was asked if there were any conversations as it pertained to a possible extension with
00:19the New York Mets.
00:20He said with a smile, no comment. Ken Rosenthal then reported on Monday that Freddie Peralta would in all likelihood
00:28prefer a long-term deal somewhere he can finish his career when he hits free agency as opposed to a
00:34high-dollar, short-term kind of deal.
00:38It's an interesting thought exercise, and I want to go through this thought exercise with you right now because that,
00:44in turn, creates a heck of a lot more suitors than a four-year, $150, $160 million deal where this
00:53guy's getting $35, $40 million a year.
00:56If he was looking for that and he was trying to get a $40 million a year deal as a
01:01pitcher, he's probably only signing with one of the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Blue Jays, maybe Phillies. There are a couple
01:07of teams that can throw that at people.
01:10But if he's looking for a longer-term deal and he's looking to make $25 million a year or $30
01:16million a year, there are a lot of teams that can get involved here.
01:20We have no idea what the CBA and what that structure will shake out to look like.
01:25But if you're the Mets, what kind of deal do you place in front of Freddie Peralta this year to
01:30eliminate the idea of him leaving and signing with a team and a team that will probably be in one
01:38of many suitors?
01:38I think this was an interesting play by his camp as well in the respect that Stearns is typically like
01:49to go short-term higher AAVs if he's going to do that for a pitcher and just generally shorter-term
01:54deals.
01:55So I think it creates an interesting situation where I'm sure ownership is going to say, hey, we'll extend this
02:02guy.
02:02And Stearns is going to say, well, this is typically not the type of deals I like to give out.
02:08And I think they're trying to push Stearns and push the conversation around it all to be more out of
02:15the wheelhouse of what Stearns likes to do because I think that's going to be how they approach him, right?
02:19Buy out a couple years here, leverage the year that you have right now, and feel pretty good about having
02:24him for a few more years.
02:24But I think for Peralta, he's like, I've already, you know, I think I've already kind of proved it, and
02:31I'd rather just lock in one more big-time deal and go from there and maximize the long-term money
02:36here.
02:36I feel like some of it is kind of the play of just trying to set things up to be
02:41a longer-term setup instead of another short-term deal where he's going to hit free agency, but now he's
02:47got a pitch to prove it and stay healthy, which he's done so far.
02:51But, you know, there's a risk in itself with that.
02:54I think for the Mets, though, given the ownership flexibility that they have, why not go longer-term with a
03:01guy like Peralta?
03:02I feel like they don't have a ton of money locked up long-term on most of their arms, and
03:08yet you have some guys coming up and Nolan McClain who's great as well.
03:10But I don't think there's any harm in allocating some money here for a guy that you traded for, and
03:15I think it also helps, you know, the trade be a little bit more palatable as well.
03:19I would think so, and I'm just trying to think about the kind of deal that I would give Freddie
03:23Peralta if I were in one of these rooms making the decisions on the contract that you could offer this
03:29guy because he's been really good over the last couple of years.
03:32Freddie Peralta also turns 30 this year, so it would be a newly turned 30-year-old getting an extension
03:38from you.
03:39What does longer-term mean to him?
03:41Does that mean a five-year deal?
03:43Does he retire at 35?
03:44Does that mean a seven-year deal?
03:45It probably means seven more than it means five.
03:48Freddie Peralta, over the last couple of years, it's been ERAs going back to 21.
03:54It's been ERAs at 2.8, 3.6, 3.9, 3.7, and 2.7 last year.
03:59He was a three-and-a-half-win pitcher through the eyes of fangraphs, and in 176 and two-thirds,
04:04he flirted with 200 punch-outs.
04:05He had 204 strikeouts last year.
04:08So you know you're getting a quality product right now.
04:11Things change after someone turns 30 years old.
04:13So if you were in a front office right now and say you were in a mid-level market, I'm
04:22trying to think about a good example.
04:24Like Kansas City was the first team that jumped to the forefront of my mind, but I'm also thinking about,
04:31I don't know, I'm struggling to pick.
04:36Maybe San Diego.
04:37Do you offer San Diego, or does San Diego offer Freddie Peralta a seven-year contract?
04:44I could see a team.
04:45I think that's how you separate and, like, sway him in your direction.
04:50My concern is generally I don't think I'd ever want to give a pitcher on the other side of 30
04:54years old, seven years, and I don't think most of these.
04:56And it's terrifying.
04:57I think that's something that the Mets could actually leverage here, but I also understand it from Peralta's perspective, right?
05:02Instead of going three, four years where you're going to have to go really, really high AAV, which is still
05:08great for Peralta, but then you hit free agency at 34.
05:12If you're not pitching at the peak of your powers, look at what just happened to Zach Gallen, who's not
05:16even that old, and how hard it was for his market to materialize.
05:19So I feel like if you're a team that is trying to pull him away, it is probably your best
05:25bet because you're not going to be able to go super high AAV and have to potentially risk the back
05:29couple years.
05:29But I don't know if I'd ever want to be paying Freddie Peralta when he's 37.
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