By Eric Katz
All offseason, Milwaukee Brewers’ starting pitcher Freddy Peralta has been the subject of trade
rumors. The national media is seemingly rooting for the Brewers to trade him to either the
Yankees or the Mets. While the team picked up his $8 million team option for 2026, the 29-
year-old is set to hit free agency after this season. Baseball Operations Head Matt Arnold has
indicated that the team hasn’t been impressed by any offers for Peralta. Given the value Freddy
Peralta brings to the team and despite him being a free agent after this season, I don’t see
Milwaukee trading him this offseason.
Freddy Peralta is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. Last season, the 29-year-old
went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA, 204 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.075. His 17 wins were a National
League best, and he made his second career All-Star appearance. From August 12 th until
September 10 th , the 29-year-old put together a scoreless inning streak of 30. He also became
the third Brewers pitcher, behind Corbin Burnes and Yovani Gallardo, to have at least three
seasons with over 200 strikeouts.
During the offseason, the Brewers made the easy decision to pick up his $8 million team option.
However, after this upcoming season, Peralta will be eligible for free agency. Typically, the
Brewers trade away players nearing free agency for prospects. We’ve seen them do this with
stars like Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams, and Josh Hader. However, they did make an exception
by keeping Willy Adames for his final season in Milwaukee before he ultimately departed. This
was due to the impact that Adames made both in the clubhouse and on the field. Freddy
Peralta makes the same impact on the team.
Recently, the Baltimore Orioles acquired starter Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays. To
acquire the 26-year-old, Baltimore was forced to part with four prospects, three of whom were
ranked in the top 15 inside the Orioles organization. While Baz is still young and won’t be a free
agent until 2029, he’s been mostly a disappointment. He had an injury-plagued three years with
Tampa and is coming off a disappointing 2025 season.
Unlike Baz, Freddy Peralta is a highly accomplished starting pitcher. The two-time all-star is
owed only $8 million this season. This is a bargain for an All-Star caliber starting pitcher that
every team in baseball begs for. Given what it took to acquire Shane Baz, it’ll basically take a
king’s ransom to acquire Freddy Peralta from the Brewers. While there are pitching-needy
teams that have the prospects to acquire Peralta, none of them are likely willing to mortgage
their future like that.
If the Brewers were to trade Freddy Peralta now, they wouldn’t have a reliable ace inside their
starting rotation. Brandon Woodruff has been an ace in the past, but is very injury-prone. Jacob
Misiorowski is next in line to be the Brewers’ ace, but isn’t ready just yet. By trading Peralta
now, Milwaukee would be taking a big gamble on Woodruff’s health and Misiorowski living up
to his potential. The odds of this plan paying off are stacked against the Brewers.
If the Brewers were knocked out early in the postseason again, fans would understand trading
Freddy Peralta. However, Milwaukee won a franchise-best 97 games and advanced to the NLCS
last year. Teams that are serious about winning don’t trade their all-star ace after a season like
that. It would be sending the wrong message to the fans. It should be noted that after the
Brewers won 96 games and made it to the NLCS in 2018, they didn’t trade any major players
that offseason.
If the Brewers are out of the postseason hunt, they’ll have an easier time trading him at the
deadline. There is no shortage of contenders looking for starting pitchers at that time.
Milwaukee will have more suitors and given that he’ll be just a rental, teams won’t have to give
up as much for him. Players who demand a higher return than teams are comfortable with are
mostly traded at the deadline anyway.
While the national media continues to want the Brewers to trade Freddy Peralta, it isn’t
happening this offseason. To win in this league, a team needs a reliable ace, and if Peralta is
traded now, Milwaukee wouldn’t have one. It’ll take significantly more prospect capital that
teams are unlikely to be willing to part with. They’ll have a much easier time trading him at the
deadline. Given the impact he’s made both on and off the field, I can see Milwaukee making the
same exception for the two-time all-star as they did with Willy Adames. It’s safe to expect
Freddy Peralta to be starting for the Brewers on Opening Day against the White Sox.
