Braves Lose Out on Freddy Peralta Sweepstakes to Arch Rival

Freddy Peralta is heading to the National League East, but he won't be in an Atlanta Braves uniform

Freddy Peralta is heading to the New York Mets | Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

In the late hours on Wednesday night, the Atlanta Braves ultimately missed out on a starting pitcher they had been targeting. According to ESPN's Jeff Passan and MLB insider Jon Heyman, he's heading to the division rival New York Mets.

The return for Peralta will be two of their top-five prospects. Utility man Jett Williams and right-hander Brandon Sproat are heading to the Brewers system.

BREAKING: The New York Mets have acquired All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, sources tell ESPN. Deal is done. Top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat are headed to Milwaukee. One more big league pitcher will head to the Mets.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 22, 2026

Per the New York Post's Joel Sherman, right-hander Tobias Myers is also headed to the Mets. A division rival of the Braves lands an All-Star along with another for the rotation in exchange for two top prospect.

Despite the Mets balking at having to give up one of their top pitching prospects, Jonah Tong, they still managed to find a way to win out the sweepstakes.

As both the Braves and Mets aim to bounce back this season, the latter is the one that adds a major arm to the rotation. They needed a starter badly, and now they have just that.

The Braves were in on Peralta for quite some time. From what Atlanta Braves on SI had heard previously, they were close to a deal. However, the final pieces that had to be hammered out clearly never came together. The longer a deal takes, the less likely it is to happen.

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From what we have heard, it appears that talks of an extension likely played a role in the deal not coming together. Some top young pitchers in the system were believed to be at play, including JR Ritchie, Cam Caminiti and Hurston Waldrep.

Regardless of who may have been potentially bound for Milwaukee, they'll sticking around Atlanta now. The Braves miss out on a big chance to aquire a strong durable arm.

At age 29, Peralta pitched to a career-best 2.70 ERA across a career-high 176 2/3 innings pitched. His 1.07 WHIP was the third-best of his career in a season. He has made at least 30 starts over the past three seasons. He was named an All-Star for the second time in his career and finished fifth in the Cy Young voting.

After this, we will have to wait and see what who the Braves potentially pivot to next. There are some free agent options out there, but none who they have been connected to substantially, at least in some time.

For what it's worth, the Braves have more options than they have rotation spots. However, they were missing that key upgrade that guaranteed them an extra quality option in the rotation.

Young options, such as Ritchie, Waldrep and Caminiti, could prove to be solid options in the future. Waldrep has already shown some promise, and Ritchie is expected to reach the majors this year. However, Peralta is a proven option.