Jonah Tong Talks Goals For 2026, Peralta Trade

The calendar officially flipped to February Sunday, which means spring training is on the horizon.

Pitchers and catchers aren’t due to report until February 13, but still, some have gone early. Their reward has been record setting freezing temperatures in Florida, and our reward has been quotes from players ahead of the season.

For the Mets, a good portion of the starting rotation have reported. Nolan McLean, Clay Holmes, and the newest Met Freddy Peralta are all in Port St. Lucie throwing. So is Jonah Tong, who took time to speak with the media about his offseason and goals for 2026.

“I’m just going to be where my feet are and let everything else take care of itself,” Tong told reporters when asked about his goals for 2026. “I’m looking forward to having fun along the way.”

Development, patience, and a calm approach would certainly help Tong. In spurts last season, he looked like dominant pitcher who led all minor leaguers in strikeouts. Tong had a dominant debut against the Marlins on August 29, where he struck out six over five innings, and then punched out eight Padres over five innings on Setptember 18 to lead the Mets to a 6-1 win.

Yet despite some success, Tong finished the year with a 7.71 ERA in five starts. Two of which he didn’t pitch past the second inning. It was clear that Tong was rushed to the majors in 2-25 to save a sinking ship, and getting himself acclimated at his pace would be benefical to his development.

One pitcher who could help with said development is Peralta. The righty acquired from Milwaukee is at Port St. Lucie early with other Mets, and while Tong hasn’t had time to dissect his approach, the Canadian is excited to learn more from one of the best pitchers in the majors.

“Just did,” Tong replied when asked if he’s met Peralta. “He’s awsome. Haven’t got a ton to talk to him about just yet, but I’m excited to learn from him.”

Peralta’s knowledge as an ace will be beneficial to all of the young pitchers in the Mets’ organization. But for Tong, he has the potential to evolve his game. Peralta’s pitch mix is almost identical to Tong’s. He primarily throws a four seam fastball 53.5% of the time, then mixes in his changeup 21.2% of the time, and a curveball 15.8% of the time. Peralta also throws a slider at 9.4% clip, but survies on three pitches, which many have critized Tong for and alluded his struggles to.

Of course, Peralta being with the Mets means former Met Brandon Sproat is now in Milwaukee. Tong and Sproat came up through the minors together, and reporters asked Tong what it was like to see his friend traded.

“He’s a great friend of mine. I just wish him nothing but the best along the way I know he’s always going to have a fan in me and im really excited to see how he progresses the rest of his career. But, ya, I love that guy.”

With his feelings on his former friend being traded and goals stated, Tong was also asked about how his offseason was and the cold weather down in Florida. The 22-year-old had a fun offseason, and also had pointed some blame for the cold on his teammate.

“Cold. But it was filled with a lot of fun memories expeically just being able to see the family. I blame Nolan. I got down and it was really nice, sunny, and beautiful. All of sudden, he gets down here, and it’s really cold. I blame him.

The post Jonah Tong Talks Goals For 2026, Peralta Trade appeared first on Metsmerized Online.