Mets Could Trade Ace as NL Contenders Eye Struggling Team

MLB trade rumors: Mets already considering moving their ace, and at least one NL contender is interested

The Mets, at 14-23, need to turn their season around over the next three weeks, or they may pivot to trading away key pieces

By Mike Axisa

May 8, 2026 at 3:30 pm ET • 2 min read

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The thriving Chicago Cubs are among the teams to discuss a trade for righty Freddy Peralta with the disappointing New York Mets , reports 670 The Score . The Mets are said to be targeting June 1 to either get back into the race or pivot to selling at the trade deadline. New York enters play Friday with baseball's worst record at 14-23. They're 6 ½ games out of a wild-card spot.

Peralta, 30 next month, will be a free agent after the season, which makes him an obvious trade candidate if the Mets do indeed sell before the Aug. 3 trade deadline. He and Cubs manager Craig Counsell overlapped for years with the Milwaukee Brewers , so Chicago has additional insight into Peralta. They also know him well from his time as an NL Central rival with Milwaukee.

Freddy Peralta NYM • SP • #51

ERA 3.12 WHIP 1.2 IP 43.1 BB 18 K 43 View Profile

The Cubs have won nine straight games and are atop the NL Central at 26-12, though they are running out of starting pitchers. Lefty Matthew Boyd is the latest to go down. Earlier this week he suffered a knee injury playing with his kids that required surgery. Here is Chicago's rotation depth chart at the moment:

- LHP Justin Steele ( recently suffered a setback from elbow surgery rehab ) - RHP Cade Horton ( will miss rest of the season with elbow surgery ) - LHP Shota Imanaga - LHP Matthew Boyd ( out several weeks with knee surgery ) - RHP Edward Cabrera - RHP Jameson Taillon - RHP Colin Rea - RHP Ben Brown (reliever who is moving into the rotation) - RHP Javier Assad

When Brown starts Friday's game against the Texas Rangers , he will become the ninth different pitcher to start a game for the Cubs this year. That's the third most in baseball. Chicago needed of a legitimate frontline starter coming into the season and that is even more true now given the injuries. Peralta would certainly help address that need.

The Mets traded shortstop Jett Williams , the 66th-best prospect in baseball entering 2026 , and righty Brandon Sproat to the Brewers for Peralta and righty Tobias Myers this past offseason. They won't get back as much at the deadline as they gave up to get Peralta in the offseason, but they would get a good return. Peralta would likely be the best available starter this summer.

Peralta has expressed an interest in signing an extension several times over the years. It's possible that, if he does get moved at the deadline, the team that acquires him will be able to lock him up long-term and keep him from hitting the free agent market after the season. The Mets could also try to extend him before going forward with a trade.

If the Mets do indeed make Peralta available, they would almost certainly make righty Clay Holmes available as well. Holmes has outpitched Peralta this year and can opt out of his contract after the season, which he would very likely do given his $12 million salary for 2027. For all intents and purposes, Holmes is a rental like Peralta.

The Mets must go 71-54 the rest of the season to reach 85 wins, which is probably about what it'll take to get a wild-card spot. That's a 92-win pace and that's doable, sure, but the turnaround has to begin ASAP. The Mets have 22 games remaining in May and may need to win at least 15 of them to get back into the race by June 1.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-trade-rumors-mets-freddy-peralta/)._