Mets trade Freddy Peralta to Rays for three prospects

The Mets were playing a game against Miami and a waiting game at Citi Field — waiting for more trades to be completed and announced.

Monday’s trade deadline has been hanging like a cloud over these sellers for a while now. Many names have been swirling in regard to who will be headed outbound.

Reliever A.J. Minter was the first to be sent away, dealt to Minnesota for two prospects after Thursday night’s series opener.

Word began to get out about the next departing player before Sunday’s second inning was done in what became a 2-0 loss to the Marlins — surely the final game for some Mets, with Monday being a day off.

The Mets had sent struggling starter Freddy Peralta to Tampa Bay for three prospects.

“I think where we are today screams that we’re wishing we were in a different spot,” interim manager Andy Green said after the Mets dropped to 47-66. “He gave us everything he had.”

The 30-year-old righthander was going to be a free agent. He was just one of many moves by president of baseball operations David Stearns that turned out very badly.

Peralta was fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting with Milwaukee last season, when he won 17 games and had a 2.70 ERA. He cost the Mets two top-100 prospects in the offseason, righthander Brandon Sproat and infielder/outfielder Jett Williams.

But Peralta went 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA in 22 starts. He left without commenting.

“I know he’s disappointed by it,” Green said of Peralta’s season. “He came here to anchor the rotation and felt the weight of that. I know from talking to him, he certainly didn’t feel that it went the way he hoped it would. I think we all feel that way.”

The return package included 22-year-old outfielder Aidan Smith, who was ranked 15th in the Rays’ system by MLB Pipeline; Gary Gill Hill, a 21-year-old righty ranked No. 26, and 23-year-old second baseman Emilien Pitre, ranked No. 27.

Smith, a 2023 fourth-round pick by Seattle, was struggling with High-A Bowling Green before going 5-for-10 with two homers and seven RBIs in his past two games. The righthanded hitter had a .215/.283/.410 slash line with 10 homers, 37 RBIs and 14 steals in 49 games this season at that level.

Gill Hill, a 2022 sixth-round pick who was born in New Rochelle and played for Kennedy Catholic High in Somers, has taken his four-pitch mix to two minor-league levels this season. He went 4-3 with a 4.43 ERA in 15 starts with Double-A Montgomery.

Pitre, a 2024 second-round pick from Canada, is known for making contact. The lefthanded hitter had a .323 average and .943 OPS with three homers, 10 RBIs and 11 steals in 37 games for Montgomery.

MLB Pipeline immediately ranked Smith as the Mets’ No.  12 prospect, followed by Pitre at 15 and Gill Hill at 17.

The Mets, meanwhile, let four pitchers circulating in trade talks take the mound.

They had Clay Holmes, one of the best available starters left after Tarik Skubal was obtained by the Dodgers, make his third rehab start. He threw 73 pitches in 5 1⁄3 innings for High-A Brooklyn against Winston-Salem.

Holmes, who can opt out of the one year and $12 million left on his contract after the season, allowed four runs (three earned), seven hits and no walks.

Relievers Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazoban and Brooks Raley each tossed a scoreless inning against the Marlins.

Raley is the one with an expiring contract. He knew this was the end, so it was emotional for him.

“Of course,” the 38-year-old lefthander said. “This organization has done so much for me. I’ve been here for four years. They believed in me coming back from Tommy John. A lot of great memories here.​​​​​​

“It’s not what you think or want to do in the spring, but we’re here,” Raley added about the sell-off. “Obviously, you just want to be in position to help teams and reciprocate that for the Mets in what they get in return.”

The Mets called up Robert Stock, 36, from Syracuse to start against Miami. He started two games for the Mets in 2021 and hadn’t started in the majors since. He pitched in Korea, Mexico and in Central Islip with the Ducks, among other places, and appeared twice for Boston last year.

Stock was on the injured list from March 18 through July 18 after surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in his upper right arm. He took the loss Sunday but excelled, allowing one run and three hits in five innings.

“It felt great,” he said. “Thinking where I was a couple of months ago where I couldn’t lift my arm over my head to being in Citi Field is as much of a dream come true as it could be.”