Rival Front Offices See Path To Fixing Mets' Freddy Peralta

[Steve Drumwright]

 

While the New York Mets can't get rid of Freddy Peralta fast enough, other teams see the right-handed starter as someone who can be fixed before the postseason.

At least that is the opinion of several executives who spoke with The Athletic's Will Sammon.

From Sammon's piece, which was published Wednesday:

"Multiple evaluators who scouted Peralta’s most recent outings reported no questions about his stuff or health. Execution and controlling counts, however, are problems. Compared to his previous seasons, Peralta is losing early count leverage more often, and it’s hurting him.

"Whether it’s arrogance, desperation, a commentary on modern pitching or a combination of all three, high-ranking officials from multiple teams see Peralta as a puzzle they can solve with usage changes or pitch shape adjustments."

Others feel it might not be quite so simple to correct the problems afflicting Peralta, who has a 4.47 FIP (4.99 ERA) and posting a 3.64 FIP (2.70 ERA) last year with the Milwaukee Brewers.

"Beyond that, though, as the same evaluator put it, 'the metrics are the metrics.' And some of those metrics are not great. Peralta’s extension is down nearly half a foot, which is not something, generally speaking, that is easily fixable during a season. Peralta’s average velocity on his four-seam fastball is also down from 94.8 mph last year to 94.2 mph. Evaluators said Peralta can change some movements for, perhaps, modest improvements. But it’s tough to draw up a clear path toward regaining his fastball."

Peralta is still a highly sought-after pitcher, although his performance with the Mets has brought on some questions that could linger into his free agency.

 

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[Edgy MD]

I can fix Freddy Peralta in 10 minutes.

[Centerfield]

I really think the Mets inability to the most of the talent they have is our biggest issue. 
 

The Hire Backman crowd are sure this is because the Mets feature analytics. I don’t know what it is, but until this problem is addressed nothing will get better. 

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is there still a "Hire Backman" crowd?

[Centerfield]

I don’t know if they actually want to hire Backman. But there are a ton of old school fans who think analytics are ruining the game. 
 

I looked up how David Peterson has done since joining the Cubs. He had one terrible start that has skewed his numbers, but four of his five starts have been good, including his last three. 
 

It’s his best stretch of games this year. 

[smg58]

Teams have been using analytics, and successfully, long before the Mets started using it.  Perhaps "old school fans" want the Wilpons back?  Then again, the Wilpons had their best success when Sandy Alderson -- who had been part of the front office that started analytics -- was running baseball operations.

All these data still need to be interpreted properly, though, and I think a lot of teams are blowing it in that regard.  On a very basic level, Peralta had consistently been a 3.50 or 3.60 ERA pitcher with the Brewers, until he had a very lucky BABIP last year.  People with a 100-level understanding of analytics would know better than to make an offer for him like he were an ace.  In general, teams have adopted the Rays' approach to handling pitching (maximizing speed and spin rate), which was basically designed to eke value out of AAAA pitchers before their arms blow out, and applied them to good pitchers who are now pitching five innings a game and still can't stay healthy.  And if there's clear evidence that pitching is better as a whole for it, nobody has presented it.

On the bright side, the Mets' rookies are doing fine.  McLean had a stretch of adversity, but that was inevitable and he overcame it.  Scott is doing well, and Thornton has been an unexpected surprise.  Plus Manaea seems to be putting it back together.  Holmes' injury may have killed the Mets' season even more than Soto's trips to the IL, but it was a freakish in-game injury that had nothing to do with his right arm.  I'm not about to take it out on Willard for Peralta not meeting expectations that he wasn't a good bet to meet anyway.

And honestly, if other GMs want to overpay for Peralta, I'm cool with that.

 

[Edgy MD]

If the Mets have to take egg on their face by sending Peralta back to Brewers for less than they sent for him, maybe they can also trnasfer Brazoban back to the Marlins for more than they sent for him.

I kid there, but I mostly agree smg58 the above.  Folks jump on the next big thing in analytics while never having philosophically absorbed effectively applied the last big thing.

If you can't get your players to not go up there swinging when the tying run is behind them in the ninth, then I don't want to hear no shit about no launch angles.  We have space-age data available to us while we are ignoring stone-age cause/effect relationships.

Richness won't protect you from this.  It could, in fact, make you more prone to fad chasing.

[ashie62]

Richness like the fine Cafe Peralta I just put through the Keurig 

[smg58]

Something tells me the Cafe Peralta was not nearly as good as you hoped.

[ashie62]

43 minutes ago, smg58 said:

Something tells me the Cafe Peralta was not nearly as good as you hoped.

Well played

[Frayed Knot]

10 hours ago, Edgy MD said:

I can fix Freddy Peralta in 10 minutes.

Rick Peterson called to echo your claim.

[ashie62]

Freddy Peralta is primarily a victim of pitching on a very bad ball club and expecting him to do the work of an ace

His metrics are largely unchanged from prior seasons