Freddy Peralta's resurgence with Rays makes for fascinating free agency question

The Tampa Bay Rays acquired Freddy Peralta from the New York Mets at the 2026 MLB trade deadline with the hope that he could return to his 2025 version of himself.

While he hasn't exactly been an All-Star-caliber pitcher with the Rays since the trade, he has clearly turned things around and looks much better than he did with the Mets.

As USA Today's Bob Nightengale pointed out, Peralta is "building" his free-agent value back up after his brutal start to the year with the Mets, which has led to what should be a very interesting free agency in his future.

Freddy Peralta set to have very interesting free agency in his future

"Freddy Peralta is building his free-agent value back up since joining the Rays," Nightengale writes. "He is 4-0 with a 0.78 ERA in his last four starts after going 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts with the Mets."

In his 22 starts with the Mets this season, Peralta posted a 4.99 ERA and an 83 ERA+ and a -0.4 bWAR. It was the worst stretch of his MLB career since his transition to the starting rotation.

But in the nine outings he's made since joining the Rays in August, he has a 3.60 ERA with a 117 ERA+ and is worth 0.8 bWAR, significantly better than his time with the Mets.

Recently, things have gone even better. Peralta has a 0.94 ERA in his last five starts. In his last six outings, Peralta has gone at least 5.0 innings of work.

Between August 16 (third start with the Rays) and June 20 with the Mets, Peralta in seven of his 10 starts didn't reach five innings of work.

MORE: Freddy Peralta gets bad news on free agency odds to land nine-figure contract

Not only was Peralta struggling by giving up a lot of runs, but he also wasn't going deep into games. That's changed with the Rays, as he's now consistently going at least five innings, with only two of his nine starts with the Rays falling short of that benchmark.

This resurgence has made his free agency a lot more fascinating. While he looked to be headed towards a one-year prove-it deal next offseason, his resurgence with the Rays has opened the door to a long-term deal.

While it might not be a nine-figure contract like what he was hoping to get, he could receive something similar to what Michael King got last offseason. That was a three-year, $75 million deal with opt-outs after the first and second seasons.

Peralta could also settle for a one-year deal with a higher AAV and try to prove himself. But the conversation around Peralta is going to be very fascinating, as teams will have a tall task trying to figure out whether the Mets or Rays version is the real Peralta.

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