Cubs, Blue Jays, Braves get intriguing update on Mets top trade asset originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Nearly every contending team around Major League Baseball should be looking at what Freddy Peralta is going for at this year’s deadline. There’s a lot of reason to think that if things go as planned, he’ll end up on one of the better teams in baseball.
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According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, there appears to be an expectation of a bidding war for his services, with the Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays, and Atlanta Braves recently mentioned as options.
“Teams are thrilled that Peralta has gotten off to a middling start with the Mets. Unless New York goes on a run, it has to trade the 30-year-old. Why? Because of the Mets’ spending over the luxury tax, the best compensatory draft pick they can reap for him comes after the fourth round. Even with his strikeout rate dipping below one per inning, Peralta is still plenty capable of throwing seven shutout innings in a postseason game — and that makes him worth a much better prospect than what New York could get with a fourth-rounder.
“Even better: Peralta is making $8 million this season, an awfully attractive figure for low-payroll teams,” Passan wrote.
The interesting part that I want to touch on is that Peralta is only making $8 million this season.
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Teams are often hesitant to add massive contracts toward the end of the campaign, especially for just a few months of a player’s services.
The Braves, Blue Jays, and Cubs don’t really have much to worry about in that regard, considering they all have the money to pay him, but the one that lands him should feel very confident in the rest of the season going better than it would without him.
