The Mets could offer the Blue Jays a smarter trade deadline solution than Tarik Skubal

After experiencing several injuries to their main starting pitchers to begin the 2026 MLB season, the Toronto Blue Jays could very well be looking for rotation insurance when the trade deadline rolls around. Without question the top candidate available would be none other than Detroit Tigers’ ace Tarik Skubal. After all, the two-time Cy Young winner has been one of the premium starters in the league for pretty much the past three seasons.

But to add someone with the calibre of Skubal, it would likely cost the Jays a king’s ransom of prospects to get any deal done. As a result, the Blue Jays should turn to the New York Mets, who could potentially offer Toronto a way smarter trade deadline solution than the Tigers’ ace. That solution is none other than the Mets’ Freddy Peralta. In fact, even FanSided’s Christopher Kline predicted the Blue Jays to be the dream landing spot for Peralta in the coming months.

The Blue Jays would be wise to explore alternative options other than Skubal at the trade deadline

Peralta has been one of the most reliable and consistent pitchers in the league ever since becoming a full-time starter during his 2021 campaign with the Milwaukee Brewers. Since then, the 30-year-old right-hander has posted double digits in wins in four of the past five seasons while maintaining an ERA below 4.00 and registering a 14.8 bWAR throughout that same time frame. Not to mention that Peralta has also topped 200 strikeouts while accumulating at least 165 innings in each of his past three seasons in the majors.

Skubal obviously has the far more superior numbers than Peralta. But keep in mind that after all of the injury woes that the Blue Jays have endured so far this season with their pitching staff, the last thing that they need is someone that potentially isn’t at 100% full health during their stretch run. Currently, Skubal has also been sidelined due to a procedure to remove loose bodies from his left pitching elbow, but has undergone a rehab stint in recent days. The question will be about how quickly he can regain his elite form this season.

But at the same time, Peralta has shown to be quite durable in recent years, having made at least 30 starts each season since 2023. More impressively, he has been tough against American League hitters throughout his career, holding them to just a .200 batting average and .636 OPS with 294 strikeouts in 51 interleague starts. Most importantly, Peralta shouldn’t cost the Blue Jays their entire farm system to acquire him while providing a massive boost to their front end of the rotation at the same time.

As a result, if Toronto were wise, they could get the best value without jeopardizing all of their top young assets by pursuing the Mets ace instead of Skubal, whose price will likely get even higher with a potential bidding war to materialize at the trade deadline.

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