While the trade deadline is still a little less than two months away, the New York Mets‘ play has MLB fans wondering when they’ll wave the white flag. While they won’t do so now, the longer they struggle to get back into the hunt, the more likely it is that they’ll give up, and with Freddy Peralta in his final year under contract, that would likely mean trading him for whatever they can get.
The Mets figure to have no shortage of suitors for Peralta, a proven frontline starter making just $8 million this season, but USA Today’s Bob Nightengale threw in an interesting wrinkle to the Peralta sweepstakes on Sunday. Nightengale says that Peralta would be looking for something similar to the eight-year, $218 million deal Max Fried got from the Yankees as a free agent, and that could make teams unwilling to make that kind of financial investment think twice. These four teams, though, can afford to meet Peralta’s asking price.
Chicago Cubs
There might not be a team that needs Peralta more than the Chicago Cubs right now. Virtually every starting pitcher on their active roster currently not named Ben Brown, has struggled, and while Matthew Boyd is nearing his return from the IL, it’s unclear as to when or if Justin Steele will be able to return this season. For the Cubs to make a run, they’re going to need to add at least one starter.
Peralta, a pitcher who has tons of experience at Wrigley Field and in the NL Central, makes a ton of sense, and he could even be the kind of player to get them over the hump against the Brewers, Peralta’s former team.
While the Cubs have been reluctant to spend big money on really anybody, especially pitchers, their need for a starter, combined with the fact that Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are all coming off the books this offseason, means that they have tons of money to spend if Jed Hoyer is willing to do so.
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals aren’t thought of as aggressive buyers ahead of the deadline, but if the season were to end today, they’d hold sole possession of the first Wild Card spot in the NL. Knowing that, why not go after a frontline arm like Peralta, who won’t cost them their absolute best prospects and can make a meaningful difference?
Peralta would give them the reliable veteran presence atop their rotation that they lack right now, and while the Cardinals aren’t big spenders by any means, they should have tons of money to spend. After offloading veterans like Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Sonny Gray and Brendan Donovan over the offseason, they don’t have a single player under a guaranteed contract for next season per Spotrac.
Now, the Cardinals did eat a considerable amount of Arenado’s contract for next season, and Dustin May has a mutual option worth $12.5 million, but other than that, the only players on the Cardinals’ payroll next season are those in arbitration or pre-arbitration, meaning they project to have one of MLB’s smallest payrolls next season. Even though they don’t spend like the big market giants, the Cardinals can absolutely afford to pay a pitcher like Peralta. Whether they choose to, though, is a different story.
Toronto Blue Jays
Starting pitching was supposed to be a strength for the Toronto Blue Jays this season, but they’ve dealt with numerous injuries on that front. Only three starters for the Jays have made more than eight starts. One of those three is Dylan Cease, who is currently on the IL, and another one is Patrick Corbin, an individual who wasn’t even on a team on Opening Day. The Jays have Trey Yesavage back healthy and should get Cease, Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer back soon, but as they know all too well, you can never have enough starting pitching, making Peralta an easy target.
The Jays should be all-in on a World Series title after getting so close last season, and Peralta should only help them. It also won’t be hard for Toronto to fit him in financially.
While the Jays have mostly struck out when pursuing most of the high-end free agents in recent years, they didn’t whiff because of financial reasons. They have the money to pay just about anyone, and knowing that Kevin Gausman, George Springer and Daulton Varsho are among those set to hit free agency this winter means they’ll have even more money to spend than some might realize.
Los Angeles Dodgers
You knew they’d be here. Do the Los Angeles Dodgers need Freddy Peralta? No. Did they need Kyle Tucker this past offseason? Also no. MLB fans know that the Dodgers stop at nothing to win, and that means they’ll be interested in acquiring and, yes, extending Peralta.
While they don’t need Peralta, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Dodgers pursue another starting pitcher, knowing that Blake Snell is on the IL for the second time this season and that Tyler Glasnow was just transferred to the 60-day IL. Adding Peralta would make arguably the best rotation in the league just that much scarier while giving Los Angeles even more quality rotation depth.
And as we all know, the Dodgers have seemingly unlimited funds to spend on anybody. The potential for a salary cap could complicate matters, but until one is finalized, there’s no reason to believe the Dodgers won’t continue spending on anybody they believe would make their team better, and Peralta certainly fits that category.
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