Will Brewers Cut Ties With $15.5 Million Fan-Favorite?

The Milwaukee Brewers are about to wrap up potentially the best regular season in team history.

Right now, the Brewers have a 91-59 record with 12 games left in the regular season. Currently, the Brewers' record for wins in a season is 96. All it would take for the Brewers to tie that record is going 5-7 in its final 12 games. If the Brewers go .500 over the final two weeks, they will set a new franchise record.

It's been a phenomenal season with plenty of bright spots. No bigger, though, than All-Star starting pitcher Freddy Peralta. The 29-year-old is having the best season of his career so far. He's made 30 starts so far this season and has a 16-6 record, 2.69 ERA, 185-to-63 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 163 2/3 innings pitched. He also has 5.2 wins above replacement. Simply put, Peralta has been incredible.

Plus, he's on an affordable deal for the Brewers. Peralta signed a five-year, $15.5 million deal with Milwaukee that had club options for 2025 and 2026 valued around $8 million each. Now, the Brewers have one more option on him and it makes a lot of sense to keep him around. That's the understatement of the century. He's a Cy Young Award-level pitcher. Obviously, keeping him on a cheap deal makes sense.

But, the Brewers have been known to trade a player a year early rather than a year late which is why there has been a lot of noise out there about the possibility of trading Peralta. Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly is the latest to talk about the possibility in a story in which they previewed each team's biggest offseason decision.

What will the Brewers do?

Sep 4, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) reacts after striking out Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (not pictured) with the bases loaded in the fourth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

But the bottom line is that as players have gotten more expensive in recent years, the Brewers have generally either traded them or let them walk," Kelly said. "Devin Williams and Corbin Burnes were dealt before their contract years. Willy Adames walked in free agency last offseason. Could Freddy Peralta be the next star to leave Milwaukee? Peralta was an All-Star, and is headed for a top-five finish in NL Cy Young Award voting. It will be the biggest no-brainer of the offseason for the Brewers to pick up Peralta's $8 million club option for 2026. What general manager Matt Arnold does after that will be a much tougher decision.

"Do the Brewers trade Peralta before his contract year, getting a nice return and handing over the keys in the starting rotation to Jacob Misiorowski and Quinn Priester? All of this is further complicated by the fact that Brandon Woodruff will be a free agent after the season. Milwaukee could keep Peralta for 2026, knowing they could either trade him at the deadline or offer him a qualifying offer next offseason. But they won't get a better return for him than they would in the offseason."

There were rumors about Peralta around the trade deadline, but the Brewers didn't budge. Now, that chatter is already starting.

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