The New York Mets Have Aced the Offseason After Landing Freddy Peralta
The offseason didn’t get off to the best start for the Mets, but David Stearns and Steve Cohen have completely flipped the script. Within the last week, the New York Mets have added the frontline starter they needed, the big bat they needed, and the center fielder they needed.
The 2025 season was an absolute disaster for the New York Mets, and Stearns wasted no time completely blowing up the roster. After signing Juan Soto to the largest contract in baseball history last offseason, Stearns was aggressive and showed an extreme sense of urgency to build around the young superstar.
The Mets Are Ready To Compete
After landing Freddy Peralta from the Milwaukee Brewers, the New York Mets have solidified themselves as one of the best teams in the National League. The Mets’ rotation was the team’s biggest weakness last season, and it gets a lot better with Peralta. The top of their lineup is absolutely stacked, featuring Francisco Lindor, Bo Bichette, and Soto, all of whom are known for coming up clutch in October.
Not to mention, if Luis Robert and Marcus Semien can be half of what they were in 2023, New York will have one of the best lineups in all of baseball. Stearns and Cohen deserve a ton of credit for what they’ve done this winter, and their aggressiveness has not wavered one bit, even after losing Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz. The criticism was extremely loud, and the praise needs to be even louder.
Peralta Is the Ace They’ve Needed
Coming off a career year in 2025, where he went 17-6 with an incredible 2.70 ERA, Peralta is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. He struck out nearly 30% of the batters he faced last season, which ranked among the best in Major League Baseball. He and Nolan McLean will be an incredible duo as the Mets look to make a deep playoff run this upcoming season. David Stearns showed that he wasn’t afraid to deplete the farm system and is willing to go all in.
Within the past week, he’s shipped out Jett Williams, Brandon Sproat, and Luisangel Acuña. Stearns was embarrassed with how things ended last season, especially with how badly he failed with his acquisitions at the deadline. I’m extremely impressed with how many moves he pulled off this Winter, and the Mets still might not be done as we inch closer to Spring Training.
Will the Mets Make More Moves?
I think the Mets will slow down after the flurry of moves they made this week. Unless they’re adding another arm to their rotation, they really don’t need to make another move. Stearns has put them in a position to wait until the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline to really bolster the roster and fill any remaining holes.
The next move could be to add another high-leverage bullpen arm that can pitch in the seventh inning to set up for Luke Weaver and Devin Williams. Even if Stearns doesn’t make another move, the Mets roster is set and in a great position to compete in 2026. The biggest question remains: can they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers?
