The Brewers' Freddy Peralta throws during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds on Sept. 28 in Milwaukee. (AP file photo)

NEW YORK — The New York Mets acquired ace pitcher Freddy Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers from Milwaukee on Wednesday night in a trade that sent two prized young players to the Brewers.

Milwaukee received pitcher Brandon Sproat and minor league infielder/outfielder Jett Williams. Both were rated among the game’s top 100 prospects by Baseball America.

Peralta gives the new-look Mets a frontline starter after their rotation faltered in the second half of a hugely disappointing 2025 season. The move came hours after New York formally introduced free agent addition Bo Bichette at a Citi Field news conference, and one night after the team obtained talented center fielder Luis Robert Jr. in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.

“Acquiring Freddy adds another established starter to help lead our rotation,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a statement. “Throughout the offseason, we sought to complement our rotation with another front-end pitcher, and we’re thrilled we are able to bring Freddy to the Mets.”

Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts last season, when he led the National League in wins and finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting. He struck out 204 batters in 176 2/3 innings and earned his second All-Star selection.

The 29-year-old Peralta hasn’t been on the injured list since 2022, when the right-hander was sidelined by a strained lat and later elbow inflammation. He is set to make $8 million this season and can become a free agent following the World Series. He is the latest former Brewers player acquired by Stearns, who ran Milwaukee’s front office from 2015-23.

Myers, 27, was 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA in 25 starts and two relief appearances as a rookie in 2024 before going 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA in six starts and 16 relief outings last year as Milwaukee won its third consecutive division title and advanced to the NL Championship Series.

Peralta’s departure marks the third straight offseason in which the cost-conscious Brewers have traded a star pitcher entering the final year of his contract.

Two years ago, they dealt 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to Baltimore for infielder Joey Ortiz and left-hander DL Hall. Last winter, the Brewers sent two-time All-Star reliever Devin Williams to the New York Yankees for left-hander Nestor Cortes and third baseman Caleb Durbin.

“These decisions are always tough,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said. “We loved having Freddy Peralta here and everything he meant to this franchise. I just had an emotional call with him.”

Burnes and Williams both spent just one season with the teams that acquired them from Milwaukee before signing elsewhere in free agency. Burnes agreed to a $210 million, six-year contract with Arizona before the 2025 season, and Williams signed a $51 million, three-year deal with the Mets last month.

Although the Brewers won’t have Peralta to anchor their rotation, they do bring back two-time All-Star Brandon Woodruff, who accepted the team’s $22,025,000 qualifying offer. Woodruff went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA last year after missing the 2024 season with a shoulder injury.

Hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski got called up last June and was quickly picked for the All-Star team as a rookie. He finished 5-3 with a 4.36 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 66 innings.

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AP Sports Writer Steve Megargee in Milwaukee and AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

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