A trade for a one-year rotation rental might not typically be one of the moves that has fans asking, “Where were you when?” But for David and Whitney Stearns, their ninth anniversary will be one they never forget.
A wild week for the Mets culminated in the addition of another frontline starter in right-hander Freddy Peralta on Wednesday night, and the interruption of Stearns’ anniversary dinner with his wife. The Mets’ president of baseball operations pulled off yet another late-night stunner when he acquired Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from the Milwaukee Brewers, in exchange for right-hander Brandon Sproat and infielder/outfielder Jett Williams.
Matt Arnold, the executive who worked underneath Stearns with the Brewers, jokingly apologized for ruining dinner when speaking about the trade Thursday afternoon to reporters in Milwaukee.
“Matt was at my wedding nine years ago, so Matt certainly knows that that was my anniversary,” Stearns said on a Zoom call Thursday. “We had some conversations at dinner, and then were able to wrap up the trade once we got home.”
Dinner might have been ruined, but this certainly was not any sort of ruinous trade for either team. In fact, it’s a move that is already being widely celebrated by Mets fans. While it undoubtedly stings for Brewers fans, Sproat gives them a rotation piece to build around.
The Mets wanted more of an impact at the top of the rotation. Peralta, who finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting last season after going 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts, provides that. Stearns knows him better than most, having traded for him once already in Milwaukee, and signed him to an extension in 2020.
“This is someone who, first and foremost, is a really good person. He meshes well with his teammates and with his organization. He’s emerged as a really quality leader in the clubhouse with the Brewers,” Stearns said. “He’s constantly getting better, and I had a front row seat for 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. That’s been fun to watch.”
Stearns declined to comment on whether or not the Mets plan to offer Peralta an extension, saying he wants the pitcher to get settled into his new surroundings before discussing his future.
With only one year left on Peralta’s contract, the Mets wanted to make sure they weren’t sacrificing the future of their rotation by giving up Sproat, whose rookie eligibility is still intact. A 24-year-old out of the University of Florida, Sproat is an exciting young prospect who impressed during a four-game big league stint last September, posting a 4.79 ERA over four starts.
He carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning in Cincinnati in his MLB debut, and was penciled into the Mets’ rotation for the 2025 season. If the Mets were going to give up a pitcher ready to help them win now and in the future, they needed to make sure they were getting another arm back in addition to Peralta.
“I think we recognize that we’ve partnered with some very good young players here — players who are going to have good major league careers — and that’s part of it when you’re acquiring a very good player in return,” Stearns said. “Brandon is going to be a good player. [It was] very tough for us to give him up and, and I do not think we would have given him up in a deal where there was not a starting pitcher coming back.”
Enter Myers, a 27-year-old swingman. He nearly helped the Brewers end the Mets’ season in 2024, throwing five scoreless innings with only two hits and five strikeouts in Game 3 of the NL Card Series. Myers is still under team control, and with experience as a starter and a reliever, he fills another need for the Mets.
“When you look at him, he fills up the zone and he goes right after people,” Stearns said. “He can zone up pretty much his entire arsenal. He’s not afraid. He’s pitched well in very big moments, as we saw firsthand a couple of years ago.”
In the last week alone, the Mets went from also-rans by once again missing out on a top player who went to the Los Angeles Dodgers, to filling out the rest of their roster with top talent. They signed Bo Bichette to play third base, traded for center fielder Luis Robert, and now have a top-of-rotation starter to stabilize the rotation, and another useful arm who can play a variety of roles. Patience was required for the Mets this winter, but in the end, it might have paid off.
