Freddy Peralta takes the mound for the Mets on Tuesday against Detroit at Citi Field, a start that lands at a moment when New York can ill afford another slip. Entering Monday, the Mets had only a 23.1 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, according to FanGraphs.
Peralta was expected to top a rotation built to help a high-priced roster get back to October, but the club has not come close to that goal. He has at least been mentioned as a trade candidate, a reminder that his place on the roster has not felt entirely settled even after the offseason move that brought him to New York.
That uncertainty is familiar to anyone who watched what happened a year ago. Leading up to last year’s trade deadline, Peralta was starring for the Brewers, yet Milwaukee has long had a reputation for making players available well before free agency. Even so, he finished last year with Milwaukee, and the Brewers went on to reach the NL Championship Series.
The offseason trade to the Mets was supposed to change the story. Instead, it has left Peralta on a team that has been described as the most disappointing in the sport, with little room left for a slow climb back into contention. Tuesday’s start against Detroit is not just another turn in the rotation; it is one of the few chances left for the Mets to show that the season still has a pulse.
The larger problem is that Peralta’s presence does not solve the question hanging over the club. If a pitcher expected to lead the rotation is already being discussed as a trade candidate, the issue is not one outing in April or May. It is whether the Mets have enough time, and enough pitching, to turn a roster built to contend into one that actually does.
