Report: Braves showing 'strong interest' in Freddy Peralta

It’s Friday, and it’s about time for things to get wild ahead of Monday’s trade deadline.

The mumblings surrounding the Braves — as per usual — are extremely minimal. They always operate quietly, and they’re extremely difficult to get a read on. However, Ken Rosenthal did have an exciting nugget for Braves fans in his latest piece for The Athletic, saying Atlanta is among a handful of teams showing “strong interest” in Freddy Peralta.

“The Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies are among the clubs showing strong interest in Peralta, according to people briefed on the situation. Rotation-needy teams are, however, casting wide nets in their respective searches,” Rosenthal writes.

I’ve said it probably fifty times over the last month, so why not one more: I have a hard time believing the Mets are going to do business with the Braves unless Atlanta is willing to pay a significant tax. They’re two of the biggest rivals in the sport.

That said, Peralta is an obvious fit for a Braves club desperate for starting pitching. He’s having a career-worst campaign after finishing fifth in the Cy Young race a season ago, boasting a 4.99 ERA over 22 starts — but most believe a lot of that has to do with the Mets. And as someone who’s watched that organization fall over itself continuously for the last 25 years, I’m not going to argue against that stance. The stuff is still there for Peralta to be a frontline starting pitcher at 30 years old.

Given Peralta is in the final year of his contract, he’s almost certain to be moved before Monday night. The asking price shouldn’t be astronomical, but again, the Braves are likely going to have to pay more than any other club.