Brewers Get Glass-Half-Full Freddy Peralta Update

If the Milwaukee Brewers want to compete with the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2026, they're going to need some firepower.

That doesn't mean that the Brewers need to go out and hand out a nine-figure contract, but they need to be strategic. Milwaukee had the best record in baseball in 2025 at 97-65. The Brewers actually had four more wins than the Dodgers in the regular season, who finished at 93-69. Things didn't go the Brewers' way in the playoffs, but this team showed throughout the season that it was good enough to compete with anyone.

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The Brewers' starting rotation wasn't even fully healthy for the vast majority of the season as well. Despite all of the injuries, the guy who held down the fort in the rotation was Freddy Peralta. He had a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts and has been a workhorse for the organization. Imagine what this club could look like with a full season of him and a full season of Brandon Woodruff? They can contend on pitching alone. But Peralta has been the subject of endless trade rumors.

Milwaukee should keep Freddy Peralta

Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) pitches during the first inning of the National League Championship Series game against the Los Angeles Dodgers October 14, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. | Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On the bright side, ESPN's Jeff Passan dropped a column on Thursday in which he discussed all the comings and goings of the offseason so far and noted that Peralta "doesn't need to go anywhere."

"The Diamondbacks understandably want a huge return for Marte: major-league-ready talent, plus minor league upside," Passan wrote. "The Red Sox will want value for Duran, even if their outfield glut is untenable so long as Masataka Yoshida is in Boston. Peralta doesn't need to go anywhere for a World Series-contending Brewers team. Washington can hold onto Gore and Abrams for another year if need be. And while executives believe Donovan will get moved, the Cardinals have set specific terms for him and have no desire to waver.

"Trades will happen. Promise. They have to. Teams are talking right now, working through different concepts, perhaps one trade begetting another. There are plenty more avenues. Whether it's an acquiring team missing out on its top free agent and using the trade market to backfill or a dealing team reaching its preferred sell-by date, the mechanisms of the winter always win out. An offseason without multiple substantial trades is simply not something baseball does."

When you have arguably the top insider in the game saying a trade doesn't need to happen, that should give fans some solace that the idea of a deal isn't a guarantee, at least. The rumors have swirled all offseason, but if Milwaukee really wants to contend in 2026, it would be easier to do so with Peralta, than without him.

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