Milwaukee Brewers On SI

Insider's Yankees, Red Sox Trade Proposals Show Brewers' Best Freddy Peralta Play

Would this really be the best the Brewers could do?
Aug 17, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) reacts after striking out Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) in the sixth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Aug 17, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) reacts after striking out Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) in the sixth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

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The idea that the Milwaukee Brewers could trade Freddy Peralta is unlikely to ever fully go away.

Heading into his ridiculously cheap ($8 million) final year of control, Peralta is getting swept up in every trade rumor this winter, especially because Brandon Woodruff accepted his $22 million qualifying offer last week to jack up the Brewers' payroll.

Knowing that the Brewers have traded lots of big names in the past when they approached free agency, we shouldn't discount the idea that Peralta will be moved just because the Brewers are saying publicly that they aren't itching to do it. But if they are going to make the move, it needs to be due to an overwhelming trade haul.

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Why Brewers shouldn't give up Peralta for most hypothetical packages

Will Warren
Oct 3, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; New York Yankees pitcher Will Warren (98) throws the ball during workouts at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

On Monday, insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic pitched five potential trade packages for the Brewers to part ways with Peralta, one each for the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants.

And although one never knows what the Brewers are thinking internally, if these are the best offers that could hypothetically be out there, Peralta shouldn't throw a pitch for any team but Milwaukee until 2027 at the earliest.

"The Brewers have identified young, controllable starting pitching and shortstop as their two biggest areas of need, so look for those areas to be the focus of any trade return discussions. Peralta’s status as a one-year rental does minimize what they can expect in to get in return to some degree, but if they can get at least a solid starter back and another option at shortstop, they might have to consider the offer."

Feel free to peruse Bowden's article for yourself and read through all five proposals, but candidly, none of them should be anywhere near enough to get the job done.

In the Red Sox's case, Bowden has Milwaukee acquiring Payton Tolle, a high-ceiling lefty with a reliever floor and less than 20 big-league outings to his name, and Anthony Eyanson, who was drafted in the third round in July and hasn't yet thrown a professional pitch.

In the Yankees' case, Bowden has Milwaukee landing Will Warren who had a 4.44 ERA as the Yankees' No. 5 starter this year, and Jose Caballero, who led the league in stolen bases, but came off New York's bench in the playoffs.

Again, we're not fortune-tellers, so maybe there's a chance the Brewers would take an offer similar to one of these. But they really shouldn't settle for anything less than a package that includes at least one slam dunk, either a guaranteed everyday position player or a starter with higher upside than Warren currently offers.

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Jackson Roberts
JACKSON ROBERTS

Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding Milwaukee Brewers On SI please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org