Freddy Peralta and the Blue Jays could become a real July story if the Mets keep sliding.
That is the opening Toronto has to watch right now. Peralta is not available today, but the Mets' ugly start is starting to push that conversation into the daylight.
Peralta is one of the better arms who could even sniff the trade market this summer. Through 8 starts, he owns a 3.12 ERA with 43 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.
That kind of profile gets every contender's attention, and it should get Toronto's too. The Blue Jays do not need another back-end patch. They need a playoff-caliber starter if they are going to make a serious push.
Peralta also fits the moment better than a rental depth arm would. He is 29, misses bats, and gives a rotation a different kind of edge the second he steps on the mound.
The Mets are still the key here. If New York steadies itself, there is no reason for David Stearns to even entertain moving one of his best starters.
But if the losses keep piling up, Peralta becomes the type of name that can reset a deadline market in a hurry.
Toronto would be chasing more than rotation depth
This is why the Blue Jays make sense in the conversation. Cody Ponce is already out for the season, Shane Bieber is still working his way back, and Toronto has spent too much of the year asking its staff to survive instead of dominate.
Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease give Schneider real front-end weapons. Trey Yesavage has also helped firm up the picture. But a club with October hopes never has enough high-end starters, especially in the American League East.
Peralta would not just cover innings. He would raise Toronto's ceiling. A postseason setup led by Cease, Gausman, and Peralta is a much tougher look than one built around hoping the fifth-day questions sort themselves out.
There is also the contract angle. Peralta is set for free agency after the season, which means the Mets would have to weigh extension talks against the value of moving him at peak demand.
That does not make a Blue Jays deal likely yet. It just makes the logic easy to see. If the Mets fall further back, Toronto should be one of the clubs making that call.
And the Blue Jays have reason to stay aggressive. The offense has shown more life lately, Kazuma Okamoto has helped change the lineup, and this roster still looks built to chase more than a Wild Card fringe spot.
So this is not a move Toronto needs to force in May. But it is one the Blue Jays should be tracking closely. If Freddy Peralta reaches the market, he is exactly the kind of arm that could change the shape of Schneider's season.
Should the Blue Jays push hard for Freddy Peralta if the Mets become sellers?
Also read on Blue Jays Insider :
Blue Jays veteran expected to hit the trading block
