Padres can’t let Diamondbacks bait them into a Freddy Peralta trade deadline disaster

We don’t need another deep statistical dive or a press conference to figure out the Padres need another starter. They’ve spent too much of this season asking its bullpen to cover for an injury-ravaged rotation. That explains their interest in Freddy Peralta. But it doesn’t justify chasing him at any price.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Padres and Diamondbacks have both been keeping a close eye and scouting the Mets right-hander. Peralta is widely expected to move before the deadline, and the Mets have plenty of teams calling in a thin market for starting pitching. The D-backs checking in is where this gets tricky for San Diego.

Padres cannot let the Diamondbacks dictate Freddy Peralta’s trade price

We know how quickly the temperature changes when an NL West rival enters the room. A reasonable pursuit can quickly become a bidding war. That is the kind of pressure the Padres should steer clear of.

Peralta is entering the final days of the deadline with a 5-9 record and a 4.99 ERA across 113 2/3 innings. He’s got the name recognition of a frontline starter, but he hasn’t pitched like one this season. His strikeout rate has declined, and there are concerns involving his fastball, arm angle and secondary offerings.

The Padres would be trading for the possibility that Peralta finds himself again, and not acquiring a pitcher who has already done so. That gamble makes sense at a modest price. Peralta posted a 2.70 ERA with 204 strikeouts last season, so the upside is easy to see. Maybe pitching coach Ruben Niebla spots something fixable. Or maybe escaping a disastrous Mets season is exactly what he needs.

Those are all possibilities. The Mets should not be paid as if they are guarantees.

The market is clearly moving, though. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that the Mets scratched Peralta from Friday night’s scheduled start because interest from contenders was picking up. That’s a strong indication that a trade could be close. It’s not a reason for the Padres to panic and meet an inflated asking price.

Peralta is also an impending free agent. San Diego would be acquiring two months of a pitcher carrying an ERA near 5.00. That profile doesn’t warrant one of the Padres’ premium prospects, regardless of how many scouts Arizona sends to watch him.

The Diamondbacks landing Peralta would be irritating. Watching him rediscover his old form in Arizona while the Padres continue scrambling for innings would be worse. But neither outcome should scare San Diego into making a bad deal.

Set the price. Hold the line. If the Diamondbacks want to overpay, let them.

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