Freddy Peralta has a major ask in free agency

The New York Mets have Freddy Peralta on an inexpensive contract for 2026, but they will have to make a much longer commitment if they want to keep him beyond that.

Peralta, the new Mets pitcher, spoke this week to Jon Heyman of the New York Post. During the interview, Peralta revealed that he wants a new contract for “seven or eight” years and noted that he is hoping to stay in New York in order to get it.

“I’m really comfortable here,” Peralta was quoted as saying. “I’m not going to lie. I’d love to be here. And I’d love to stay a long time.”

Peralta, who turns 30 in June, is a two-time MLB All-Star who posted an NL-leading 17 wins for the Milwaukee Brewers last season to go along with a 2.79 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and 204 strikeouts over 33 total starts. He was acquired by the Mets via trade in January and is entering the last year of his contract this season at $8 million.

Given the sizable haul that the Mets gave up for Peralta, they are obviously confident in their chances of retaining him beyond the 2026 campaign. But for Peralta to be targeting a contract that runs through his late-30s is a pretty hefty ask.

Though the likes of Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor are on contracts of 10 years or more, the Mets’ longest contract for a pitcher is the five-year, $75 million deal that they gave to Kodai Senga before the 2023 season. If New York is not willing to go longer than that for an older (at the start of the deal) pitcher in Peralta, it may be time next winter for Peralta to consider one of his other major suitors instead.