PORT ST. LUCIE — Fastball Freddy, as new Met Freddy Peralta is sometimes still called, earned that moniker for coming right at you. What you expected was what you got — it was 96 fastballs in 98 pitches in his memorable MLB debut by Fastball Freddy’s own unofficial count. And what the Mets got in Peralta appears to be the near-perfect* pickup. 

(*Terrible timing is the one issue for both parties. He’s a free agent after 2026, and Fastball Freddy lived up to his nickname, telling The Post he’d like a deal for “seven or eight” years. But while he may well deserve that off his fifth-place Cy Young season of 2025, teams are operating without knowing future rules since the CBA also expires after this season, making long-term deals dicey.) 

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It certainly would be nice to fulfill his wish and keep him around long term. But for 2026, anyway, Peralta was a Mets necessity. 

Eight years after his first MLB foray, he’s mostly outgrown that sobriquet, adding deception and forming a full repertoire. He arrives here not quite 30 but in his prime, bringing maturity and ace-level performance to a team that desperately needed a boost following its disastrous 2025.