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Ranking Brewers SP Freddy Peralta's Top 10 Landing Spots Amid MLB Trade Rumors
Two winters ago, the Milwaukee Brewers had one year of arbitration eligibility remaining on a 29-year-old starting pitcher, fresh off a dynamite season of 200-plus strikeouts and NL Cy Young consideration.
They traded that pitcher (Corbin Burnes) away, and there is a growing expectation they'll do it again this offseason with Freddy Peralta.
What they got for Burnes was a former first-round pick with six years of team control (DL Hall), a top 100 prospect who immediately became a key piece of the puzzle in Milwaukee (Joey Ortiz) and a Competitive Balance round A draft pick, with which they took Blake Burke. And it's probably going to take even more than that for them to move Peralta.
At any rate, USA Today's Bob Nightengale said after last week's GM meetings in Las Vegas, "(The Brewers) will listen, but considering Peralta is owed only $8 million in the final year of his contract, would have to be blown away."
Any club with even the slightest hopes of making the postseason in 2026 would surely love to add Peralta to their arsenal. But which teams are best suited to make it happen?
For prospects who appear in our Joel Reuter's top 100 prospects rankings updated this past Friday, their rankings are noted within each trade package. For players outside Reuter's top 100, their ranking in MLB.com's prospect pipeline is included.
10. Chicago Cubs
1 of 10
Trade Package: IF Jefferson Rojas (Reuter's No. 78), RHP Jaxon Wiggins (Reuter's No. 94) and OF Kane Kepley (CHC's No. 12)
Per Baseball Reference, these NL Central rivals have only made one "trade" in the past two decades, and even that was a case of the Cubs buying a player (Caleb Smith) on the same day that the Brewers took him from the Yankees in the 2016 Rule 5 Draft. (He never actually played for either Chicago or Milwaukee.)
So, if your gut reaction is to write this one off as an idiotic starting point because the Brewers would never even answer a phone call from the team that plucked Craig Counsell straight out of their dugout barely two years ago, you might be onto something.
However, if they can set the rivalry aside to make it to the negotiating table, they'd be pretty logical trade partners. Chicago is in relatively dire need of an ace-caliber pitcher but with enough MLB-ready or near MLB-ready top 100 prospects to pique the interests of a Brewers team that would be looking to add controllable pieces to help it remain a contender in 2026.
9. Los Angeles Dodgers
2 of 10
Trade Package: OF Mike Sirota (Reuter's No. 47), SS/3B Alex Freeland (Reuter's No. 58) and LHP Adam Serwinowski (LAD's No. 13)
If there's one team that the Brewers are probably even less inclined to help out than the Chicago Cubs, it's the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are basically the devil as far as Milwaukee is concerned, both breaking baseball with their limitless spending and sweeping the Brewers out of the NLCS one month ago.
As such, we've got them paying a considerable premium here in the form of two top-60 prospects and a bit of a lottery-ticket southpaw with great strikeout stuff. And if the Dodgers complain that the asking price is too high, Brewers GM Matt Arnold will probably just tell them, "Well, go buy another solution then" while hanging up the phone.
Could you imagine this 2026 rotation with Peralta, though?
Where exactly he would slot (maybe No. 3?) amid the already sensational quartet of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow would be a fun "problem" for Dave Roberts and Co. to solve.
8. Cleveland Guardians
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Trade Package: SS Angel Genao (Reuter's No. 41), 1B/OF Ralphy Velazquez (CLE No. 9) and C Jacob Cozart (CLE No. 17)
Even assuming Cleveland would refuse to entertain trading away the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, Travis Bazzana, there's little question the Guardians have the prospect capital necessary to put together an offer Milwaukee would have to consider.
There's also little question this rotation could use a Peralta-sized infusion of talent. Per FanGraphs, Cleveland's rotation has ranked 26th in WAR over the past two seasons, behind even the Chicago White Sox. And though it's played 13 postseason games over the past two years, its starting pitchers in those games had an 0-4 record to show for it.
The real question is whether they—for lack of a better word—care enough to pursue Peralta?
Historically, Cleveland has been the team on the prospects-receiving end of trades for less than two years of an established ace's services (see: Bartolo Colon, CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Trevor Bauer, etc.), and they're probably reluctant to part with several prospects for just one season of a pitcher without whom they've still made it to the playoffs in each of the past two years.
Then again, continuing to do things the same old way is part of why they haven't won a World Series since 1948, so maybe they'll switch things up?
7. Philadelphia Phillies
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Trade Package: SS Aidan Miller (Reuter's No. 36), 1B Keaton Anthony (PHI's No. 15) and RHP Wen-Hui Pan (PHI's No. 16)
Ranger who?
Trading for Freddy Peralta would be one heck of a way for the Phillies to backfill Ranger Suárez's spot in the rotation for one more year until Andrew Painter is ideally ready for the big leagues.
There was hope heading into 2025 that Painter would've already had a good taste of the majors, but their top prospect stalled out at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in his return from Tommy John surgery, making 22 starts with a 5.40 ERA.
Could Painter still be their No. 5 starter in 2026? Maybe. And if they believe he can handle that job, they're probably not going to part with their top position player prospect for a stop-gap solution.
But how desperate are they to win it all right now?
With Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola each well into his mid-30's while Jesús Luzardo, Alec Bohm and several others are entering their final season before free agency?
Next season may well be the final year of a closing window for this team, and it might decide it's worth parting with Miller to have maybe the best rotation in baseball.
6. Detroit Tigers
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Trade Package: C/1B Josue Briceño (Reuter's No. 38), RHP Jaden Hamm (DET's No. 10) and IF John Peck (DET's No. 16)
Say, wouldn't this be fun?
Instead of trading away their one remaining season of one of the best pitchers in the business (Tarik Skubal), what if the Tigers traded for Freddy Peralta and ended up with both the best and second-best pitchers in the 2026-27 class of free agents?
If the Tigers aren't going to trade Skubal away, they better be planning on adding to the rotation so he's not trying to do it all by his lonesome for a third straight year. And with Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Javier Báez and (if he accepts his qualifying offer) Gleyber Torres clocking in at a combined sum of around $90 million, that addition might just about need to be Peralta for $8 million.
There's no chance Detroit would give up Kevin McGonigle to make it happen. Max Clark and Bryce Rainer might be near-untouchable, too. But even Detroit's fourth-best prospect could be quite the main attraction of a trade package after Briceño clubbed 20 home runs in 100 minor league games played in his age-20 season.
(Side note: What if they trade for Peralta this winter and still end up as sellers at the trade deadline? Could you imagine what a team sitting at something like 57-53 with a loaded farm system would give up for a rental package of Skubal and Peralta? It would almost certainly more than make up for what we have the Tigers giving up in this proposal.)
5. Arizona Diamondbacks
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Trade Package: OF Ryan Waldschmidt (Reuter's No. 74), SS Kayson Cunningham (Reuter's No. 97) and RHP Daniel Eagen (ARI's No. 13)
With Corbin Burnes destined to miss most, if not all, of 2026 while recovering from Tommy John surgery, who better to take his place in Arizona's rotation than his former teammate?
There has been talk of the Diamondbacks trading away Ketel Marte this winter, but it almost certainly wouldn't be in a deal for Peralta—unless we're talking about some sort of three-team extravaganza involving another team that plays in a big enough market to pay the more than $100 million remaining on Marte's deal.
Rather, if they do manage to trade for Peralta exclusively from their farm system, you can probably go ahead and remove Marte from all subsequent trade block speculation. That's especially true if they also manage to retain Zac Gallen, either via the qualifying offer or a long-term re-signing.
Long story short, there's quite a bit of work to be done on a rotation that presently consists of Ryne Nelson, Eduardo Rodriguez and Brandon Pfaadt. Getting an $8 million ace to headline that group would be huge.
4. Baltimore Orioles
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Trade Package: OF Dylan Beavers (Reuter's No. 88) and 1B/3B Coby Mayo
The Corbin Burnes-to-Baltimore exchange worked out reasonably well for both sides two years ago.
Why not go back to that well once again?
The Orioles could surely use an ace-caliber pitcher in their rotation. And though they've said they're willing to spend more money than usual this winter, they've also said the same thing early in each of the past several offseasons and have yet to show a serious willingness to invest in free-agent pitchers.
The problem for the Orioles is that what was a ridiculously loaded farm system a couple years ago has now mostly made its way to the majors.
But with both Coby Mayo and Dylan Beavers under team control through 2031, they're basically still prospects who have already cut their teeth in the majors a bit and could immediately become key contributors for the Brew Crew.
Honestly, it's probably the Orioles who say no here, as Mayo and Beavers look like their long-term plan at 1B and LF heading into next season. They'd be forced to bank on Ryan Mountcastle at the former and probably Heston Kjerstad finally figuring things out in year No. 4 at the latter, and good luck with that.
However, it's a package that could get Milwaukee to the table, given the Brewers' uncertainty at 1B. And for the O's, it's a whole heck of a lot cheaper than investing nine figures in one of the marquee arms available in free agency.
3. New York Mets
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Trade Package: RHP Jonah Tong (Reuter's No. 34), OF Eli Serrano III (NYM's No. 12) and C/1B/OF Chris Suero (NYM's No. 15)
Over the final 105 games of the regular season, Juan Soto had 35 home runs, 31 stolen bases and a 1.014 OPS. Francisco Lindor had 21 dingers and 21 swipes en route to finishing top 10 in the NL MVP vote for a fourth consecutive year. Edwin Díaz had a 1.23 ERA, pitching his way into opting out of the final two years on his contract.
And the Mets went 49-56.
Improving this starting rotation is simply non-negotiable this winter.
And while the Mets can find the money to go buy at least one of the top arms out there right now, they also have the farm system necessary to trade for what could be their Opening Day starter in 2026.
Jonah Tong struggled (7.71 ERA) in his initial five-start foray into the majors, but only after an outrageous 22-start run through Double-A and Triple-A in which he almost amassed 10 times as many strikeouts (179) as earned runs allowed (18).
Nolan McLean was the rookie who made his presence felt for the Mets, but Tong's stuff has been just plain filthy and he could be the yin to Jacob Misiorowski's flame-throwing yang in Milwaukee's rotation for the next six years.
But because Peralta is exponentially more well-established as a multiple-time All-Star with a 3.30 ERA over the past five seasons, New York might be not only willing but straight up eager to make this proposed swap.
2. Seattle Mariners
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Trade Package: 2B Michael Arroyo (Reuter's No. 56), RHP Ryan Sloan (Reuter's No. 80) and RHP Michael Morales (SEA's No. 18)
At first blush, Seattle trading for a starting pitcher doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The M's already have all of Luis Castillo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller and Logan Evans under team control through at least 2027 and would instead figure to focus their offseason efforts on the holes in their lineup.
But...if they trade for Freddy Peralta, it becomes much easier to subsequently trade away Castillo.
If they make that swap, they'd be turning what is effectively a three-year, $73.3 million contract at this point into a one-year, $8 million deal—a.k.a. saving over $65 million and probably even improving the rotation in the process, with all due respect to Castillo.
And that's how they could retroactively justify re-signing Josh Naylor on a five-year deal with their somewhat limited budget.
Now, they would probably need to send Milwaukee two very good minor leaguers in order to set that train in motion. But with eight top 100 prospects in what is arguably the best farm system of any club, that's surely something the Mariners could afford to do.
1. Boston Red Sox
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Trade Package: OF Wilyer Abreu, RHP Hunter Dobbins and LHP Hayden Mullins (BOS' No. 18)
The headliner of Boston's package to Milwaukee is very much open to debate.
Top prospect Franklin Arias (Reuter's No. 35) could be the centerpiece, as a promising middle infielder who turns 20 on Wednesday.
It could be starting pitcher Payton Tolle or Connelly Early, both of whom made their MLB debuts right around Labor Day after skyrocketing through the minors this past season.
Triston Casas to the Brewers would also make a ton of sense, especially if Boston is as legitimately in the running for Pete Alonso as some of the early scuttlebutt would have us believe.
Or if Milwaukee does want an outfielder but would rather have team control through at least 2031 instead of acquiring Wilyer Abreu who is already just one year away from arbitration eligibility, Jhostynxon Garcia (Reuter's No. 85) could be the main attraction.
But we're suggesting Abreu, because Boston is likely willing to part with either him or Jarren Duran this offseason for outfield logjam reasons.
It's probably a bit of an overpay by the Red Sox, but it's one they could be willing to make as a team that is one top-half-of-the-rotation arm away from possibly becoming the American League team to beat.
And if they can get that arm at a dollar cost of just $8 million instead of spending upwards of $200 million on Framber Valdez or Dylan Cease in free agency, that's a "savings" they can instead invest in either Alex Bregman or Munetaka Murakami at third base—to become even more of a potential wrecking ball in 2026.
