Passan: Mets and Cubs “line up nicely” for trades

It was only a pair of singles, but it’s interesting that the Cubs batted Ramírez in the two-hole with Seiya Suzuki out. Ramírez is hitting .350/.398/.500 in his last 30 games with one homer and four stolen bases, perhaps there’s a Maikel Garcia-type fantasy season in him if he gets enough playing time. This was his first career start anywhere higher than sixth in the order.

The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal reported earlier today that the Mets are asking teams for a top-100 prospect “and more” in their early conversations with teams about Freddy Peralta. It appears they’re close enough on terms with a team to consider scratching Peralta to make sure he can turn up to a new team injury-free. It would seem likely that a rested Kodai Senga will shoulder most of the load in a bullpen game tonight.

It would certainly seem like a stretch that the Mets will get anything like what they gave up to get Peralta, though perhaps desperation will take the reins at the deadline after some other dominoes fall. Peralta is 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 113 2/3 innings for the Mets this year, but other teams seem to believe they can fix him. The Cubs, Braves, Rays, and Phillies are among the clubs showing strong interest in Peralta per The Athletic reporters.

Murray notes that the White Sox, Dodgers, Rays, Rangers, Diamondbacks and Phillies were among teams in attendance for Holmes’ minor league rehab start for Low-A St. Lucie earlier this week. The 33-year-old, who is coming off a fractured fibula that put him on the shelf back in mid-May, tossed four scoreless innings while sitting in the low-to-mid 90’s with his fastball. There are a plethora of teams looking to upgrade their rotations at next week’s trade deadline and Holmes would make a ton of sense as a fallback option for clubs that miss out on the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes.

Hoerner grabs a seat on the bench with red-hot rookie Pedro Ramírez taking a turn at the keystone after connecting for his first round-tripper since April 21 earlier this week. The 29-year-old speedster has been phenomenal since the All-Star break, hitting .417 (20-for-48) across 11 games during that span.

There were scouts from multiple teams in attendance, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Holmes hit 94 mph on his fastball and struck out four while scattering three hits and a pair of walks during the 59-pitch outing. The 33-year-old should be an attractive trade target for contending teams searching for rotation help at next week’s trade deadline. He’ll likely make his next start in the majors, either with the Mets or somewhere else, later this week.

Expressing an interest and being willing to meet the likely high asking prices are two separate things, but it’s interesting to note that the Rays are looking to be aggressive, especially when it comes to pitching. According to Murray, any additional starter the Rays bring in wouldn’t necessarily mean Griffin Jax or Ian Seymour are out of the rotation. Instead, the Rays are looking for pitching depth to help offset innings and injury concerns surrounding Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen. The team could decide to use a six man rotation or occasionally skip starts in order to keep those guys healthy for the playoffs. Considering Peralta is a free agent at the end of the season, he would be the most likely target of the trio.

There’s a team out there that will be willing to take the plunge on Peralta given his track record, but Dorsey notes that Peralta will be difficult for New York to move as a result of his abysmal performance this season. The 30-year-old allowed two runs over four innings against the Dodgers last weekend and holds an uninspiring 4.99 ERA across 22 starts in his Mets debut. Ironically, Milwaukee might be his most logical landing spot since they’re looking to add pitching depth and would probably be willing to roll the dice with their former ace as a short-term reclamation project.

With abysmal weather expected to slam the northeast, Holmes will head south to make his likely final rehab outing in front of a plethora of scouts and evaluators from contending teams. The 33-year-old is expected to throw roughly 60 pitches in this outing and could return to New York’s rotation later this week. It’s also theoretically possible he’s on the move before that occurs. He’s been working his way back from a fractured fibular that put him on the injured list back in mid-May.

Peralta struck out three in the 93-pitch outing, lowering his ERA to 4.99. This might’ve been his last start with the Mets, but he hasn’t done himself any favors with his trade value lately. The impending free agent has his highest ERA and lowest strikeout rate since becoming a full-time starter in 2021. His next start lines up against the Marlins if he isn’t dealt or pushed back.