Hopefully David Stearns and his wife had an early anniversary dinner Wednesday night.
Brewers president Matt Arnold claimed the two friends completed their blockbuster Freddy Peralta transaction on the day of the Mets’ president of baseball operations’ wedding anniversary to his wife, Whitney Ann Lee.
“He knows the players well. He and I have worked very well together for many years. Obviously we care about him a lot,” said Arnold, according to Sentinel magazine. “(Wednesday) is his anniversary and I was at his wedding. We go way back. I think I may have ruined his anniversary dinner. He’s a good friend and hopefully these are the types of transactions that work out well for both parties.”
The life of a baseball affiliate can be difficult because of the long hours and endless seasons and off-seasons, with holidays, anniversaries and birthdays sometimes taking a backseat.
Stearns and Lee married in 2017, when he was general manager of the Brewers, and at least one child togetherdaughter Nora, born in 2018.
We’re assuming Arnold and Stearns made a lot of progress before finally pushing this trade past the finish line Wednesday night.
In need of a frontline pitcher, the Mets acquired Peralta, who posted a career-best 2.70 ERA last year across 33 starts.
Peralta has one year left on his contract and the Mets have benefited from Milwaukee’s small market operation, which has largely kept them from signing star players to nine-figure contract extensions.
That’s not to say Peralta was cheap.
The Mets parted ways with MLB.com’s No. 30 prospect in infielder Jett Williams and starter Brandon Sproat, who Baseball America ranked No. 81.
Milwaukee also sent swingman Tobias Meyers to the Mets.
“The reality is that we have one more year left with Freddy Peralta. He will be a free agent at the end of the season. That will always be a challenge for us,” Arnold said. “We’ve had to make these tough decisions. To add two players that we like and have them as part of this group this season and well beyond is something that we felt was really good for the Milwaukee Brewers.”
For the Mets, the move likely marks a bow to their offseason after a January rush that included Bo Bichette, Luis Robert Jr. and now Peralta.
“The acquisition of Freddy adds another established asset to help lead our rotation,” Stearns said in a statement. “Throughout the offseason we have been looking to supplement our rotation with another front-end pitcher, and we are pleased to bring Freddy to the Mets.”
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