​How Rays’ Freddy Peralta can salvage his free-agent value after awful Mets stint originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The Tampa Bay Rays took a chance on Freddy Peralta at the MLB trade deadline, acquiring him from the New York Mets in the hopes that he’ll rediscover what made him an All-Star and a top-tier starter in 2025.While his Mets tenure went horribly wrong, posting a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts, there’s been a lot more hope with the Rays. He has a 3.25 ERA with the Rays. But his free-agent value has likely tanked too much after his poor Mets stint.However, there is a way for Peralta to salvage his free agent value and land a solid deal this upcoming offseason. As MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand highlighted, a strong postseason for Peralta could help the Rays’ new starter salvage his free-agent value this offseason.Freddy Peralta can salvage FA value with strong postseason”Peralta’s time with the Mets was a disaster, potentially costing him millions in free agency,” Feinsand writes. “… A good postseason could help erase the memory of Peralta’s first four-plus months of this season as he heads to free agency.”While Peralta will always have the 4.99 ERA stain on his resume from his 22-start Mets tenure, he is already doing a lot of good with the Rays to diminish the impact of his Mets stint on his free agency.Will Peralta land a nine-figure contract like he might’ve been seeking this offseason? Probably not, at least not without signing a very long-term deal that has a much lower AAV than pitchers normally would get.But a strong postseason for Peralta with the Rays, especially if he helps them win the World Series, could have the Tampa Bay starter landing a much more respectable deal this offseason.MORE: How Mets, Dodgers and Guardians all made same brutal trade mistake amid MVP racesPeralta’s going to get a decent amount of money this offseason, and the only question, after he struggles with the Mets, is how long the deal will be.Before his success with the Rays, it was looking like a one-year prove-it deal, probably in the $20 million range, would’ve been his future.With his success with the Rays in mind, Peralta could be looking at a longer deal with player options, or a team ignoring his Mets stint entirely and believing in the Milwaukee Brewers and Rays version of Peralta instead.Such a future for Peralta is going to rely on how well he performs this postseason. A strong playoff from Peralta could salvage his free agent value, helping to diminish the negative impact his awful Mets stint had on his future contract.More MLB news:Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski makes all kinds of MLB history with 1,000 pitches of 100 mphWhite Sox reportedly have ‘no urgency’ to sign Munetaka Murakami to an extensionPirates urged to re-sign Brandon Lowe if they ‘want to be taken seriously’Mariners’ Josh Naylor joins Hall of Famer George Sisler with rare SB MLB historyDodgers’ $5.5M postse