Will Brewers trade Freddy Peralta this offseason? It may not matter.
They lost their president of Baseball Operations, David Stearns, to the Mets. They lost their manager, Craig Counsell, to the Cubs. They traded their two elite closers, Josh Hader (to the Astros) and Devin Williams (to the Yankees). They traded their ace, Corbin Burnes, to the Orioles. And they lost their star shortstop, Willy Adames, to the Giants in free agency. None of it mattered. No matter how many times the Milwaukee Brewers are forced to move on from star players, managers, or executives (for one reason or another), they come out on the other end unscathed. So what’s one more ace, right?
Freddy Peralta Back on the Trade Block
At the outset of the offseason, there were some rumors of the Brewers’ willingness to trade ace Freddy Peralta, as he has just one more year of team control. But those faded quickly. Or rather, the Brewers signaled some believable pushback, especially because Peralta is set to make just $8M in 2026.
But then Brandon Woodruff accepted the ~$22M qualifying offer and things changed.
While the Brewers continued to insist that one decision didn’t impact the other, it wasn’t as convincing with Woodruff on board. The money just doesn’t add up.
Last week, Brett dove into Milwaukee’s finances, discovering that with Woodruff on board, the Brewers’ 2026 CBT payroll was already touching the upper bound of where they’ve been over the past ten years. So something will probably have to give. And while Peralta’s $8M salary won’t provide a ton of relief, he is a legitimately significant trade asset – in no small part because that tiny cost opens up his potential suitor list to even the smallest market teams.
And what do you know, the Brewers are now changing their tune:
“Perhaps this was inevitable,” writes Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic, “but the interest in right-hander Freddy Peralta is so significant, the Milwaukee Brewers are now considering ‘cracking the door open’ for trade discussions, according to a person briefed on their situation.”
Oh, wow…No kidding.
© Michael McLoone-Imagn ImagesRosenthal concedes that the Brewers might be able to keep Freddy Peralta if they’re able to sign Woodruff to a multi-year extension at a lower average annual value, but the general tenor of his report is that this is something they’ll seriously consider. He even indicates an ideal return from the Brewers’ perspective, a young starting pitcher, which is the sort of detail typically sourced directly from the team (though Rosenthal’s sources remain anonymous).
Strictly speaking, the Brewers *should be* considerably worse without Freddy Peralta, at least in 2026, with the point of the trade being long-term value. But given the way things have gone for them historically, no one can say that with a straight face. Cubs fans know it as well as anybody.
And that leaves us in a tricky position of what to root for.
On the one hand, Peralta, 29, is still young and was as dominant as ever in 2025, continuing a level of success he’s had for five straight seasons:
2021: 27 starts, 2.81 ERA, 4.0 WAR* 2022: 17 starts, 3.58 ERA, 2.0 WAR 2023: 30 starts, 3.86 ERA, 3.0 WAR 2024: 32 starts, 3.68 ERA, 2.3 WAR 2025: 33 starts, 2.70 ERA, 3.6 WAR**All-Star season
He’s also generally dominated the Cubs to the tune of a 3.21 ERA over 22 games — Cubs batters are hitting just .167/.284/.308 vs Peralata all-time. Woof.
But on the other hand, historically, the Brewers’ entire model of success has been predicated on successful trades of star players just before they hit free agency. It’s a lot like the Rays model, and the Brewers are arguably just as good at it, even if they don’t get quite as much national recognition for those efforts.
I think, given how competitive the Cubs figure to be in 2026 (the final year of control they have over a large number of key contributors), I do want the Brewers to trade Freddy Peralta, even at the expense of what is certain to be a substantial return. And I think that because – in theory – it should make them worse in 2026. But like I’ve mentioned a few times throughout this post, that has simply never slowed them down.
Last year, the Brewers finished with the best record in baseball, and they’ve won the division in four of the last five seasons (five of the last eight). All while hemorrhaging talent – from all phases of the organization – pointed out above.
So I’m stuck. My brain tells me it’ll be better for the Cubs next year if he’s dealt. My heart tells me that might not even matter, AND ALSO they’ll likely get something significant in return.
The only solace we can take is that, despite Freddy Peralta’s obvious attractiveness as a trade target (particularly given the tiny financial component), there are a LOT of starting pitching options available this offseason.
Even with Shane Bieber, Jack Flaherty, Shota Imanaga, Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce, Sonny Gray, Alex Manoah, and Brandon Woodruff off the board, the free agent options are many and significant: Framber Valdez, Ranger Suarez, Michael King, Merrill Kelly, Tatsuya Imai (etc.).
And the same goes for the trade market, where starters like MacKenzie Gore, Edward Cabrera, Sandy Alcantara, Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, Kris Bubic, Tarik Skubal, Hunter Greene, Mitch Keller, Brady Singer, and others have all been mentioned as possible movers.
Maybe, with all those options, the Brewers won’t find quite as desperate a buyer as they would in a different offseason. But I really don’t know. Either way, he is seemingly available, and the Brewers do have the motive to move him. I suspect we’ll know a lot more by the end of the Winter Meetings next week just how seriously they’ll pursue that path. And we’ll take it from there.
Hence then, the article about report brewers changing their mind on a potential freddy peralta trade was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( REPORT: Brewers Changing Their Mind on a Potential Freddy Peralta Trade )
Also on site :