Peralta’s Return to Face Former Team

Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Freddy Peralta is scheduled to start against the New York Mets on Tuesday, roughly a month after the Mets traded him to the Rays at the August 3 deadline. The outing marks another start against a team that dealt him within the past year; Peralta faced the Brewers on July 20 while with the Mets, allowing seven earned runs over 5 2/3 innings.

Asked about facing his former club, Peralta said, "It's a challenge. Every game for me, I think I take it the same way. I just come in to compete and try to get the win."

Looking Back at a Difficult Half-Season

Peralta joined the Mets in the offseason in a trade from Milwaukee, where he had posted a 2.70 ERA during an All-Star 2025 campaign. With the Mets, he went 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA across 22 starts, often struggling to pitch deep into games.

"It was the first time that I was struggling like that, but I never give up," Peralta said. "I was always trying to find a way to feel better, to pitch better. I knew what I could do, and I was feeling good physically too and healthy, but I couldn't make an adjustment. The good thing is that now I'm different, I feel different and I plan to keep going until my worst year is over."

Peralta dismissed the notion that the New York market's pressures contributed to his struggles. "I don't see pressure," he said. "It's a way bigger market and there's a lot more fans, people there, and everybody is paid to win for every day. I enjoyed those kinds of moments when I was in New York, but I don't see it as pressure."

He credited the Mets' coaching staff for their support, saying, "[The Mets staff] was really good and they tried to help me all the time. But for some reason when I got here, for some reason it was probably the time that everything just changed like that."

Despite the difficult season, Peralta expressed appreciation for his time in New York. "I made good friends there, really good friends," he said. "People there, they took care of me really well. For me, that's a little sad."

A Fresh Start with the Rays

The Mets traded Peralta on August 3 for prospects Aidan Smith, Gary Gill Hill and Émilien Pitre. With Tampa Bay, Peralta holds a 5.60 ERA over five starts, although he has pitched to a 3.80 ERA over his last four outings, including six scoreless innings against the Detroit Tigers in his most recent appearance.

Peralta noted that he has regained extension in his delivery, which he says has added life to his fastball. He also welcomed the move to a team that was contending at the time.

"I felt good because I was going to a team that was playing really well, in first place, competing all the time," he said, recalling the trade. The Rays began the day with a 4 1/2-game lead in the AL East, giving Peralta a shot at October baseball that he acknowledged he was unlikely to have with the Mets.