Series Preview: Mets-Brewers Trade Comes Full Circle

Baseball is back in full swing!

After a series win against the Phillies, the Mets head to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers. It will be a homecoming for Freddy Peralta, while Brandon Sproat, dealt to Milwaukee with Jett Williams in exchange for Peralta and Tobias Myers, will face the Mets for the first time.

There is plenty to dive into with this series and the Mets as a whole. Without further ado, let us get started!

Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Monday: Freddy Peralta (5–8, 4.66 ERA) vs. Jacob Misiorowski (10–4, 1.62 ERA)

Peralta, like much of this season, did not have a very good outing in his last appearance. Facing the Boston Red Sox, the righty only lasted 4.1 innings pitched, walking five batters and allowing two runs in the process. Peralta struck out six batters, but when combined with the other aspects of his start, it wasn’t enough to cancel them out. 2026 has seen Peralta struggle in a variety of ways. His command has been spotty, his arsenal has been hit much more frequently, and he has not been able to last long in his outings. It feels, compared to his successful tenure with the Brewers, that everything is going wrong for Peralta. Ahead of the trade deadline, a start in his former home ballpark could be what the starting pitcher needs to right his ship. On the other hand, the outing could continue to solidify 2026 as a poor season for Peralta. Either way, Monday will be an interesting game to follow.
An ace in every sense of the word, Jacob Misiorowski should be in store for another quality start to begin this series. The Brewers’ ace is mowing down batters at a ridiculous 39.6% rate, and he already has 167 strikeouts this season. Misiorowski’s fastball is arguably the best in baseball, and his other offerings (cutter, curveball, slider) have been really good as well. New York has its work cut out against one of the Cy Young favorites.

Tuesday: Zac Thornton (0–1, 2.60 ERA) vs. Brandon Sproat (3–4, 5.16 ERA)

Thornton, in a short number of starts, has been very solid for the Mets. Outside of his first blow-up outing, the southpaw has gone at least six innings and struck out at least five batters in his last two starts. He has given up one total run and only walked three batters in this time frame. And while it is a small sample size, Thornton sports a chase rate of 34.1% and a walk rate of 7.5%. Attacking batters well with a four-pitch mix, Thornton has been a nice addition to a Mets rotation that badly needed consistency.
Facing his old team for the first time, Brandon Sproat will be looking to turn around his rocky 2026 season. Sporting a 5.16 ERA, Sproat only lasted three innings in his last start, giving up two earned runs in the process. He has struggled with the walks, is not avoiding hard contact (42.7% hard-hit rate), and is not getting batters to chase or whiff. If Sproat can locate his arsenal correctly, he should have a chance for a quality start. If not, though, New York will likely make him pay for falling behind in counts consistently.

Wednesday: Christian Scott (3–1, 2.87 ERA) vs. Logan Henderson (3–1, 2.97 ERA)

Christian Scott, in a season with a lot of strife for the Mets, has been a breath of fresh air. In his last outing against the Phillies, Scott spun 5.2 innings of shutout baseball. He struck out seven batters, did not walk a hitter, and only allowed three hits. Mainly relying on his four-seam fastball, sweeper, and cutter, Scott has continued to find success in outings. He is attacking batters at a much better rate and is starting to avoid hard contact. Scott is mixing his pitches well, too, which is allowing him to strike out batters consistently.
Henderson already has 38 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched and has struck out at least four batters in all but one of his starts. He is rarely walking batters, is avoiding hard-hit baseballs, and has done a solid job of generating whiffs. Mainly working with a fastball, change-up, and cutter, Henderson has kept hitters off balance with his pitch movement and location. It will be very interesting to see how he pitches against the Mets, especially with how aggressive their lineup can be.

The Main Storyline

Ahead of this series, my main storyline… well, it should be obvious at this point. My main storyline is about who will be on the Mets past the trade deadline.

No, the group of players in question does not include Francisco Lindor. If you think he should or will get moved, I have a van down by the river that I would love to sell you.

The same names discussed in previous weeks still apply this week, especially with the deadline approaching rapidly. Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes either have been or will be popular names, solely based on the limited quantity of starting pitching available. Luke Weaver could be one of the best relief pitchers on the entire market. Players like Tyrone Taylor, Brett Baty, or Luis Torrens could even be players that contenders are interested in.

Ultimately, the fate of the Mets’ post-trade-deadline roster will be determined by how they want to approach 2027 and beyond. Some players could contribute to future iterations of the Mets; however, they are also the players who could help bolster the team’s farm system.

The next few weeks will be very interesting, and as a result, my main headline will continue to revolve around the trade deadline.

Francisco Lindor by Berto Carlo

Player to Watch

In the latest early-week series for the Mets, I am concentrating on Francisco Lindor.

Despite his struggles at times this season, Lindor broke out at the plate in a big way on Sunday, reaching base five times and hitting a monster two-run home run. He looked comfortable at the plate and put the Mets on his back, allowing them to secure the win in Philadelphia.

I am very intrigued to see if this is the point of the season where Lindor will hit his stride. He looks much healthier than at any other point this season, and it seems that his power has returned at the plate. Even in a lost season, Lindor mashing baseballs and playing at a high level would be a great way to head into the back half of the 2026 season and set the tone for 2027.