What Would it Take for the A's to Land Freddy Peralta From the Brewers?
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Less than 24 hours after the Milwaukee Brewers were eliminated from the postseason by the LA Dodgers, there is a report from Andy McCullough of The Athletic that the Brew Crew may be willing to listen to offers on their ace, Freddy Peralta.
Given that the club has traded Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams before they reached free agency the past two offseasons, this is certainly a scenario that could take place this winter. There will be a number of clubs that will be interested in acquiring Peralta, if he's truly available, and the A's should be in that mix of teams.
Across eight seasons with Milwaukee, Peralta, 29, has gone 70-42 with a 3.59 ERA with a 1.132 WHIP. He's also held a 117 ERA+ across that span. This past season was one of his best, holding a 2.70 ERA and racking up 17 wins with a 1.075 WHIP, all of which landed him in the All Star game for the second time of his career.
A's Have the Pieces to Make a Deal
Peralta has an $8 million club option for 2026, which is a fantastic price for a pitcher of his caliber. The A's could also stand to upgrade their rotation this offseason, and adding another veteran to the mix would hopefully help them avoid any more 1-20 stretches next year.
But what would it take to land Peralta? The Brewers received Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin from the Yankees in exhange for Williams last winter, and the previous offseason the Baltimore Orioles sent over DL Hall and Joey Ortiz for one year of Burnes. In both cases, the Brewers have acquired one pitcher and one bat.
The Brewers would likely be choosing between one of these A's pitchers in a potential exchange: J.T. Ginn, Joey Estes, Osvaldo Bido, Brady Basso, Luis Medina, Gunnar Hoglund or Mitch Spence.
All of them have time in the big leagues, and boast some areas fro potential growth that Milwaukee could certainly help them with. Developing pitchers is kind of their thing. Estes in particular could excel with Milwaukee.
As for the position player, that could depend on what position they're after. Joey Ortiz was a glove first player for them at shortstop this past season, and if they're open to a change, perhaps Darell Hernaiz would be of interest. He's terrific on defense at short, his natural position, but isn't likely to play there with the A's with Jacob Wilson there now and Leo De Vries looming.
Hernaiz also showed growth at the plate this season, grinding out at-bats.
The A's could also be willing to move third base prospect (No. 7 in the system) Tommy White, who has already reached Double-A and could be in Triple-A before long. He's more of a bat-first prospect, but the A's saw room for growth on defense when they selected him in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft out of LSU.
That's the general framework for a trade here and some potential names that could be on the move, given recent history.
Should the A's Make This Trade?
As fans, everyone wants their teams to acquire the best players each and every season in order to put the best product on their field and give their team the highest chances for success. That said, the asking price may be a little too steep for the A's at the moment.
The Athletics went 76-86 this season, and while they have loads of talent to be excited about for the future, they aren't necessarily one piece away from being legitimate World Series contenders. The Brewers held the best record in the regular season and were just swept in the NLCS after all.
If the A's weren't playing in a minor-league park in Sacramento this coming season, you could see a scenario where perhaps the team would be able to re-sign Peralta for a longer stretch, which would make a trade make more sense.
Given where the team is right now—which is an exciting spot roster-wise—it may not be the time to add a player like Peralta for just one season just yet. It's still important for the club to have their depth options, and including either Hernaiz or White may not be the best move for a player that will most likely only be around for one season.
Maybe Next Winter?
While Peralta has been a terrific pitcher over his career, he's fairly similar results-wise to Jack Flaherty, who has been struggling to get a long-term deal the past two off-seasons. Peralta has been the better pitcher of the two overall, but they're the same age and the results have mirrored each other at times.
While Pealta shouldn't struggle for a free agent deal in 2026, he may not be as costly as some would imagine. Given that he's set to enter his age 30 season in 2026, he'd be entering his age 31 campaign in his first year with a new club. That could limit the years, and the risk.
Depending on how the A's finish in 2026, perhaps they take a look at signing him to a deal next winter and have him serve as the ace of the franchise for their planned arrival in Las Vegas in 2028.
Jason has been covering the A’s at various sites for over a decade, and was the original host of the Locked on A’s podcast. He also covers the Stanford Cardinal as they attempt to rebuild numerous programs to prominence.
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