Mets acquire ace pitcher Freddy
Peralta from Brewers in trade
[January 22, 2026]
By MIKE FITZPATRICK
NEW YORK (AP) — The active New York Mets acquired ace pitcher Freddy
Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from Milwaukee on Wednesday
night in a trade that sent two prized young players to the Brewers.
Milwaukee received pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league
infielder/outfielder Jett Williams. Both were rated among the game's
top 100 prospects by Baseball America.
Peralta gives the new-look Mets a frontline starter after their
rotation faltered in the second half of a hugely disappointing 2025
season. The move came hours after New York formally introduced free
agent addition Bo Bichette at a Citi Field news conference, and one
night after the team obtained talented center fielder Luis Robert
Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
“Acquiring Freddy adds another established starter to help lead our
rotation,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said
in a statement. “Throughout the offseason, we sought to complement
our rotation with another front-end pitcher, and we’re thrilled we
are able to bring Freddy to the Mets.”
Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts last season, when he
led the National League in wins and finished fifth in Cy Young Award
voting. He struck out 204 batters in 176 2/3 innings and earned his
second All-Star selection.
The 29-year-old Peralta hasn't been on the injured list since 2022,
when the right-hander was sidelined by a strained lat and later
elbow inflammation. He is set to make $8 million this season and can
become a free agent following the World Series. He is the latest
former Brewers player acquired by Stearns, who ran Milwaukee’s front
office from 2015-23.
“He obviously knows the players well. Look, he and I have worked
very well together for many, many years. I obviously care about him
a lot," Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said.
"Today’s his anniversary and I was at his wedding. We go back a long
way. I think I might have ruined his anniversary dinner. Look, he’s
a dear friend. Hopefully, again, these are the types of trades that
work out for both guys.”
Myers, 27, was 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 25 starts and two relief
appearances as a rookie in 2024 before going 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA in
six starts and 16 relief outings last year as Milwaukee won its
third consecutive division title and advanced to the NL Championship
Series.
“Over the past two seasons, Tobias has become an extremely valuable
major league pitcher,” Stearns said. “His ability to pitch out of
both the rotation and bullpen allows him to help our team in
multiple ways.”
Peralta's departure marks the third straight offseason in which the
cost-conscious Brewers have traded a star pitcher entering the final
year of his contract.
Two years ago, they dealt 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin
Burnes to Baltimore for infielder Joey Ortiz and left-hander DL
Hall. Last winter, the Brewers sent two-time All-Star reliever Devin
Williams to the New York Yankees for left-hander Nestor Cortes and
third baseman Caleb Durbin.
“These decisions are always tough," Arnold said. "We loved having
Freddy Peralta here and everything he meant to this franchise. I
just had an emotional call with him.”
Burnes and Williams both spent just one season with the teams that
acquired them from Milwaukee before signing elsewhere in free
agency. Burnes agreed to a $210 million, six-year contract with
Arizona before the 2025 season, and Williams signed a $51 million,
three-year deal with the Mets last month.
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Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Freddy Peralta walks to the dugout after
the top of the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball's National League
Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oct. 14, 2025,
in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Although the Brewers won’t have Peralta to anchor
their rotation, they do bring back two-time All-Star Brandon
Woodruff, who accepted the team's $22,025,000 qualifying offer.
Woodruff went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA last year after missing the 2024
season with a shoulder injury.
Hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski got called up last June
and was quickly picked for the All-Star team as a rookie. He
finished 5-3 with a 4.36 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 66 innings.
“We feel we have a really good core of starters to deal from,”
Arnold said. “I still feel like we’ll have a very strong rotation.”
Arnold said Sproat and Williams will compete for spots on the
opening-day roster.
The 25-year-old Sproat made his major league debut in September and
went 0-2 with a 4.79 ERA in four starts for the Mets, who selected
him in the second round of the 2023 amateur draft from the
University of Florida. He was rated the fifth-best prospect in New
York's system by MLB.com.
“He’s a guy we’ve liked going back to the draft. He’s major league
ready. He’s going to compete for a spot in our rotation,” Arnold
said. "This guy has incredible stuff. Very high octane, really good
movement on his four-seamer and two-seamer. Really good secondary
weapons and a really good changeup.”
The 5-foot-7 Williams, 22, batted .261 with 17 homers, 34 doubles
and 52 RBIs in 130 games combined at Double-A Binghamton and
Triple-A Syracuse last year. He was drafted No. 14 overall by the
Mets in 2022 out of high school in Texas and was their third-rated
prospect, according to MLB.com.
“This kid’s a gamer. He’s not that big, but I can tell you he plays
with a ton of heart and he’s got incredible tools,” Arnold said.
"He’s one of the fastest players in the minor leagues. I think his
versatility is something that’s going to fit very, very well for
this team.”
Peralta is 70-42 with a 3.59 ERA and 1,153 strikeouts in 931 innings
over eight major league seasons, all with Milwaukee. He joins a Mets
rotation that also includes Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, David
Peterson, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga.
Peralta ranks second in the majors with 40 wins since 2023. He and
Dylan Cease are the only two pitchers with at least 200 strikeouts
in each of the past three years.
To open space on their 40-man roster, the Mets designated
right-hander Cooper Criswell for assignment.
___
AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Milwaukee and AP Baseball Writer
Ronald Blum contributed to this report.
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