🤫 Mets 'clandestinely' met with Jhonny Peralta

Hello fellow Mets fans! Welcome to today’s edition of “Almost A Met.”

Today, we’re going back to the early Sandy Alderson-era — yes, a bit of a jump scare, I know — but specifically, we’re looking at a time where the Mets were finally thinking about spending some money.

We’re talking about the Mets and how they “clandestinely” met with free agent shortstop Jhonny Peralta.

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Let’s get into it.

Andrew Wyrich

As the 2013 season came to a close, many people linked the Mets and Peralta as a potential fit.

The Mets were looking to spend some money after finishing 74-88 and had multiple holes to fill on the roster.

One of the most glaring holes was shortstop: SS Omar Quintanilla finished with the most games started at the position, 95, and finished the year with a -0.9 WAR. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Ruben Tejada also played in 57 games but similarly didn’t produce all that much, finishing the season with a -0.6 WAR.

So yeah, an upgrade was clearly favorable.

Meanwhile, Peralta was coming off a pretty good season. He had a 3.0 WAR for the Detroit Tigers, hit 11 HRs, knocked in 55 RBIs, and had an OPS+ of 121. The veteran had played for 10 seasons so far, and averaged 2.2 WAR over that time.

However, there was some belief that Peralta would be a “bargain,” thus the connection to the Mets.

The reason? His connection to Biogenesis — the Florida clinic at the center of a performance enhancing drug scandal that embroiled superstar Alex Rodriguez and other players — and served a 50-game suspension for his connection in early August 2013.

But PED scandals never seemed to faze Alderson, especially with the Mets where he was trying to squeeze every penny.

The year prior, the Mets signed OF Marlon Byrd, who was suspended for 50 games in 2012, to a very cheap contract that far exceeded anyone’s expectations. Also, as the New York Daily News noted at the time, Alderson’s very-first Mets contract he gave out was to C Ronny Paulino, who was still serving a 50 game suspension.

Oh, and don’t forget, Alderson was the GM of the Oakland A’s during the “Bash Brothers” years with Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire.

All of this is to say that Alderson clearly wasn’t going to let a PED suspension get in the way of a bargain contract. However, Peralta returned from the suspension and had a very visible postseason (including a dramatic home run) so there was some suspicion about just how much of a bargain he’d ultimately end up being.

Those early predictions of a Mets-Peralta potential match seemed to be prophetic in November 2013.

The GM Meetings in November 2013, the Mets “clandestinely” met with Peralta, according to Jon Heyman, then of CBS Sports. The shortstop traveled to the annual meeting to meet face-to-face with teams.

“No Mets person would admit there was a meeting with Peralta, but sources on other teams said he did meet with them,” Heyman wrote on Twitter, according to NBC Sports.

However, about a week later, the Mets seemed less hopeful about landing their “primary target” Peralta at a discount. In fact, they were reportedly the first team that contacted him.

Things changed quickly. The team had “sticker shock” at the shortstop’s asking price, a source told the New York Post.

The Mets thought they could lock up Peralta with a two-year deal in the neighborhood of $20-25 million, according to the Post. However, the free agent “made it clear” he wanted at least a three-year contract worth at least $45 million.

Later in November, it became very evident that the Mets weren’t able to get anywhere near the price it would take to get him. Peralta eventually landed a four-year contract worth $53 million from the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Yankees reportedly offered him a three-year contract.

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“The Mets talked to my agent, but the offer they made was not really good,” Peralta said, according to the Post. “But they were really serious. The Mets came in first and they offered only two years and the Yankees offered three, but I decided to come here to the Cardinals.”

The shortstop added that the Mets seemed to have a “little problem” with Tejada manning the position moving forward.

After Peralta signed with the Cardinals, the Mets quickly pivoted and signed OF Curtis Granderson to a four-year $60 million contract. Personally, I loved the move at the time and Granderson quickly became one of my favorite Mets.

(Coincidentally, he is also one of my wife’s favorite players. Perhaps that’s why we’re a good fit together).

Peralta would go on to have a great 2014 season, hitting 21 HRs, 75 RBIs, and having an OPS+ of 117 and a WAR of 5.8. However, things would peter out after that. He had a decent 2015 season, but his final two years in the majors would have negative WAR.

Maybe Alderson was onto something by only offering a two-year deal, huh?

Tejada would stay with the Mets and would the victim of one of the most dirty plays I’ve seen on a baseball field.

However, I was there when Chase Utley first came to Citi Field after that play… and I don’t think I’ll ever forget how that crowd sounded. It felt gladiatorial in the stadium that night.

Would have signed Peralta if it required a four-year deal?

Next newsletter we’ll share the results of the poll! So stay tuned.

Last newsletter’s answers: 60% of Almost A Met readers said they have signed Norihiro Nakamura, while 40% said they wouldn’t have.

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