NEW YORK (AP) — David Stearns wasn't about to let his wedding anniversary get in the way of landing an ace.
One day after completing a late-night trade with Milwaukee that brought All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets, the team's president of baseball operations confirmed he was dealing with a full plate Wednesday.
Stearns ran the Brewers' front office from 2015-23 and remains friendly with his successor, Milwaukee president of baseball
operations Matt Arnold. It was Arnold who mentioned to reporters Wednesday night he might have spoiled Stearns' anniversary supper as the two worked on the transaction.
“Matt was serious. Matt was at my wedding nine years ago, so Matt certainly knows that was my anniversary," Stearns said Thursday on a Zoom call. "And so, had some conversations at dinner and then was able to wrap up the trade once we got home.”
New York acquired Peralta and fellow right-hander Tobias Myers from the Brewers for a pair of touted prospects: starting pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league infielder/outfielder Jett Williams.
“I think we recognize that we’ve parted with some very good young players here," Stearns said. “We’re acquiring one of the better starting pitchers in baseball. A guy who’s been really consistent — and it was going to hurt. And it does hurt. Giving up good players hurts. And those guys are going to be playing in Milwaukee for a long time and we’re going to be competing against them. We’re also really excited to get Freddy and Tobias here, and I think both of those guys are really going to help us.”
Stearns said discussions between the teams about Peralta, who can become a free agent after this season, began in November.
“They took a lot of twists and turns and involved a lot of different names at various points, different constructs, different sizes of deals,” Stearns explained. "I think talks probably accelerated over the last few days and ultimately we were able to get it across the line for both sides last night.”
Peralta gives the new-look Mets a frontline starter after their rotation faltered in the second half of a hugely disappointing 2025 season. He joins a New York rotation projected to include Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga.
“I think being able to add Freddy as somewhat of a stabilizing force to help lead our rotation probably gives a little bit of space to some of our younger pitchers," Stearns said. “We like where our rotation is. I think it’s got a nice combination of youth and established major league veterans.”
The move came hours after the busy Mets formally introduced free agent addition Bo Bichette at a Citi Field news conference, and one night after the team obtained talented center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.
Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts last season, when he led the National League in wins and finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting. He struck out 204 batters in 176 2/3 innings and earned his second All-Star selection.
"A player I know well, a player I trust, and a player who I think is going to mesh very well with our organization, our team and our city,” Stearns said.
The 29-year-old Peralta hasn’t been on the injured list since 2022, when the right-hander was sidelined by a strained lat and later elbow inflammation. He is set to make $8 million this season and becomes just the latest former Brewers player acquired by Stearns since he took over in New York.
“We’ve talked throughout the offseason about our desire to add to our starting pitching group, to find a starter who can pitch in the top half of our rotation, and I’m certainly very pleased that we were able to do this here with this transaction,” Stearns said.
“This is someone who first and foremost is a really good person. He meshes well with his teammates, with his organization. He’s emerged as a really quality leader in the clubhouse and with the Brewers. And he’s constantly getting better. And I had a front-row seat of that during his development, during his first few years at the major league level. He was never satisfied. He wants to get better. And he’s been able to get about as much out of his ability as any player can, and that’s been fun to watch.”
Myers, 27, was 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 25 starts and two relief appearances as a rookie in 2024 before going 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA in six starts and 16 relief outings last year as Milwaukee won its third consecutive division title and advanced to the NL Championship Series.
“Tobias is a player who's a great development story. Has worked really hard to get to where he is right now," Stearns said. “We like his ability to give us multiple innings out of the ‘pen when needed, and also flex into the rotation if that’s the way it goes. So that versatility, the roster flexibility that can come with it, will really help us.”
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
