The Mets finally found a package they liked for Freddy Peralta, moving him to Tampa Bay for three prospects most fans have likely never heard of. Indeed, none of these prospects ranked in the Rays’ top-10 per MLB pipeline. There’s more to like to this return than you might think, however.
Émilien Pitre is the headliner (insofar as there is a headliner) of this deal. Taken in the second round of the 2024 draft out of Kentucky, Pitre is an undersized second baseman originally from Canada. He returned to High-A to start this season after an unremarkable 2025 and has basically done nothing but hit since then; 128 wRC+ at A+, 155 wRC+ in Double-A, and a .308/.438/.447 slash line across two levels with more walks than strikeouts. The knock here is the lack of power, as Pitre has only average-ish EVs and a propensity for ground balls. The realistic projection is a table-setting, OBP-heavy 2B with solid defense who could be ready by the middle of 2027, with upside for a bit more if the Mets can coax out improvements to his vertical spray.
Advertisement
Aidan Smith is almost a mirror image of Pitre. He’s got plus exits, run times, and overall athleticism, but he’s managed to strike out more than 30% of the time in the low minors while posting a combined line 30% worse than league average. He probably just can’t hit, but occasionally these guys do put it together. He’ll have the rest of 2026 and all of ’27 to figure it out in the Mets’ system before they’ll need to make a call on adding him to the 40-man roster. Overall it’s high-risk, high-reward swing on a prep that was at one point very highly regarded (was part of the return for Randy Arozarena in 2024).
Finally, we have Gary Gill Hill, a local product (born in New Rochelle, attended high school in Somers) who was selected as a prep arm in 2022. Like Smith, his surface level stats are unimpressive; K% under 20% and a mid-4s ERA in Double-A this season. Unlike Smith, the path to improvement is a bit more clear. Gill Hill has a diverse arsenal and feel for multiple pitch shapes. Refining those shapes and/or adjusting his mix could lead to quick gains, and there’s mid-rotation upside here on a fairly reasonable time horizon.
Back to the view of the return as a whole. First, the Rays have (as usual) one of the deepest systems in baseball; getting three players outside their top-10 for Freddy Peralta and his high-4s ERA is by no means a bad return in a vacuum. Second, raw system ranks are not the most useful of measurement tools, particularly at this point in the season (maintaining list quality on a running basis in-season is hard, and Pipeline is not the best source in the first place). There is a lot to like here, combining both floor and upside, proximity and long-term value.
Finally, we should make the point that this return is likely more valuable than the present value of the players the Mets gave up for Peralta in the first place. Yes, both Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat were top-100 names at the time of the deal, but both have seen their stock decline significantly this season to the point where it’s not longer clear that either will be meaningful contributors. Given how poor Peralta was as a Met, recouping this much value should be regarded quite positively.
We’ll have full grades for every deadline deal the Mets make once all the moves for the deadline have been made. Check back in for those next week.
Read the full article here