ATLANTA — After a poor outing last week amid a subpar season, New York Mets starter Freddy Peralta, one of the market’s biggest trade candidates, decided to make a notable change.
Peralta determined he would go into his start Monday night against the Atlanta Braves with the intention of calling some of his own pitches using PitchCom for the first time this season.
“Sometimes, as a pitcher, I like to follow my instincts,” Peralta told The Athletic after the Mets’ 7-6 win in 10 innings. “Situations in the game don’t allow us or give us enough time to think or to decide on one pitch or the other. So I had it there just in case, in any situation, if I had the trust in one pitch.”
On the surface, Peralta’s start Monday seemed forgettable because it was another short outing in a season containing too many of them. He allowed three runs (one earned), six hits and one walk (six strikeouts) while throwing two wild pitches and hitting one batter over just 4 2/3 innings.
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A deeper dive, however, suggests Peralta inched closer to getting right. That’s vital for him, the Mets and whichever team ends up acquiring him before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Peralta, despite carrying a 4.68 ERA, should still attract plenty of interest. Though Detroit Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal profiles as the jewel of the market, there aren’t many other starters who have emerged yet as obvious trade candidates. Peralta, 30, set for free agency at the end of the season, stands out because of his track record and relatively modest salary (he is making $8 million this season). Also, the Mets (38-53) are looking like classic sellers in a league lacking them.
Multiple scouts and executives who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak freely on the topic said the Mets should end up doing fine on a return for Peralta. It’s unlikely they’ll score the equivalent of what they shipped to the Milwaukee Brewers over the winter for Peralta: pitcher Brandon Sproat and infielder Jett Williams, two top-100 prospects. But they should do OK.
About one-third of the 30 teams, if not more, are potential contenders needing rotation help. The Chicago Cubs, are desperate for it, making them an obvious team to watch for Peralta, who played six seasons under Chicago manager Craig Counsell in Milwaukee. The San Diego Padres scouted the Mets-Braves series. The Toronto Blue Jays make sense. And, especially because of Peralta’s salary, the Tampa Bay Rays are worth monitoring, too. That’s just naming a few.
In the meantime, for all interested parties, Peralta needs to build off his latest start.
Peralta said calling several of his own pitches — more than he ever has in a game, he said — had nothing to do with the Mets’ catchers or coaches and more to do with his own conviction. The Mets, since the beginning of the season, have encouraged pitchers to work this way. Peralta benefited from the change.
Peralta operated less predictably against Atlanta, using more of his repertoire. Too often this season, Peralta’s pitch mix relied on two pitches, his fastball and changeup. When Peralta is at his best, he is incorporating more sweepers and sliders. On Monday, Peralta faced 23 batters. He threw three pitch types during 11 plate appearances, retiring nine of those batters and allowing just one walk and one single.
A handful of times, when Peralta consulted his PitchCom device, he selected a sweeper. Peralta and catcher Francisco Alvarez talked before the game about using the pitch more often against both left-handed and right-handed batters. Of his 103 pitches, the right-hander tossed a season-high 23 sweepers. Peralta entered the game throwing the pitch this season just 3.6 percent of the time.
“I trust in that pitch now,” Peralta said. “It showed me, too, that I can trust more in that pitch because it’s moving in the right direction.”
Peralta made one major mistake, leaving a changeup over the plate that Braves first baseman Matt Olson crushed for a home run, but otherwise limited damage. Three of the hits against Peralta were weak contact, including two that didn’t leave the infield. The Mets defense again offered little help; Jared Young’s error at first base led to the two unearned runs, Carson Benge didn’t catch a ball in front of the wall in right field, and another softly hit ball dropped in front of Juan Soto in shallow left field.
Peralta said he worked on some things mentally to better stay focused regardless of what happens behind him.
There are other lingering issues Peralta must address. Some are mechanical, such as his arm angle dropping and his lack of extension. Those things can affect the velocity on his four-seam fastball. But Monday, in another encouraging sign, he averaged 95.1 mph on that pitch, a full 1 mph higher than his season average.
Sneakily, Peralta took a step Monday in a better direction.
“I wished to at least finish the fifth,” Peralta said, “but other than that, I feel really good about everything else.”
