What happened: Freddy Peralta, traded to the Mets by Milwaukee this offseason after a career year that saw him win an NL-best 17 games with a 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts, has instead been part of New York's NL East cellar slide. He's tied for the league lead with nine losses and carries a 5.01 ERA, and the Yankees are reportedly weighing a deadline look at him anyway.

Why it matters: The Mets dealt prospects for Peralta hoping for a playoff-rotation anchor; instead the same Freddy Peralta who entered trade-deadline focus just days ago has managed only four quality starts, fewest among qualified NL starters, undercutting what New York can recoup for him. For the Yankees, whose rotation is already a strength, a discounted swing at Peralta would be a bet on reclamation rather than a fix for their bigger needs at catcher and in the bullpen.

What to watch: Watch whether the Yankees, whose deadline needs run toward the bullpen and infield rather than rotation, actually follow through on a discount price for Peralta before the deadline.