Mets Ace Projected For $112 Million Deal After Extension Report

The New York Mets flipped the script on their offseason with a series of exciting additions, but the biggest move of all won’t mean much if they can’t convince that addition to stick around.

After parting ways with longtime stars Edwin Diaz, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil, the Mets seemed to take a harsh step back after missing the playoffs last year. But then, in short order, the team added Bo Bichette, Luis Robert Jr. and Freddie Peralta, transforming the roster and suddenly emerging as a contender again.

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But the acquisition of Peralta, which cost the Mets a duo of highly touted prospects in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers despite the fact that he’s on a one-year deal, instantly raised questions about how long the team will be able to keep him.

“The Mets surrendered two of their farm system’s top five prospects in (Jett) Williams (No. 3) and (Brandon) Sproat (No. 5) for a rental starter in Peralta,” Pat Ragazzo noted for Sports Illustrated’s On SI. “Given the cost for Peralta, it’s certainly possible that the Mets would want to extend the right-hander before he reaches free agency next winter.”

And the pitcher is open to signing an extension, Ragazzo reported.

As one of the most effective and durable starters in recent years, Peralta is in line for a long-term contract and, if he reaches free agency, he will be entertaining offers from virtually all of Major League Baseball’s biggest market teams. As a result, the Mets could be looking to head that off with an extension, though that will be costly.

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Projecting that cost, The Athletic’s Tim Britton and Will Sammon put the figure at $112 million over four more years.

“For a projection, let’s go with the consensus and a contract that takes Peralta through his age-34 season in 2030 — four additional seasons of team control,” the pair wrote. “To keep it that short, we’ll up the average annual value over those four years to $28 million per season — better than those received on the open market by (Dylan) Cease and (Ranger) Suárez. That equals four years and $112 million of new money for Peralta — pretty much in line with what (Tyler) Glasnow received from the (Los Angeles) Dodgers.”

Of course, there are going to be some moving parts to Peralta’s next contract that can’t be precisely projected. On paper, he is comparable to both Cease and Suarez by many metrics, but the desire to keep him from exploring all of his options on the open market might cost the Mets a little more than a typical free agent signing would.