There’s no doubt that the Boston Red Sox want another ace-level starting pitcher to pair with Garrett Crochet.

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has said as much this offseason. He specifically noted during the general manager meetings that the team likely isn’t going to spend “a ton of time trying to add a No. 4 or No. 5 starter” and is focused on the top of the rotation.

If the Red Sox want to go the free agency route, the top options out there right now are Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Dylan Cease, and Michael King. If the Red Sox were to look to the trade market, guys who have been floated as fits for the team have been Joe Ryan of the Minnesota Twins, MacKenzie Gore of the Washington Nationals, and Sandy Alcántara of the Miami Marlins, among many others.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden threw another name out there on Monday: Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers. Bowden made five mock trades involving the two-time All-Star and one was a two-for-one swap with Boston.

Should the Red Sox consider this mock trade?

“Proposed trade return: LHP Payton Tolle and RHP Anthony Eyanson,” Bowden wrote. ” The Red Sox have seen early success from their revamped pitching development program and have some talented arms they could dangle in a deal, specifically southpaw Payton Tolle and right-hander Anthony Eyanson. Tolle doesn’t have a ceiling anywhere close to Peralta’s, but he could fit immediately into the Brewers’ rotation, and they would have Tolle under team control for six years. A second-round pick in 2024 out of TCU, Tolle climbed from High A to the big leagues in his professional debut season in 2025.

“He posted a 6.06 ERA at the major-league level with Boston in just 16 1/3 innings, but in the minors put up a 3.04 ERA over 91 2/3 innings. A big-bodied left-hander, Tolle gets outstanding extension down the mound in his delivery — ranking in the 99th percentile in MLB in 2025, according to Statcast — and averaged 96.6 mph on his fastball in his first taste of the big leagues. He has five pitches but mostly threw his fastball and cutter in his big-league debut.”

This package arguably is a bit too high. Tolle is the Red Sox’s No. 2 prospect with years of control ahead of him. Anthony Eyanson is the team’s No. 13 prospect, but is much further from the big leagues than Tolle right now.

The reason this mock trade is a bit too high is because Peralta has just one year of control. If Boston could guarantee an extension, that’s another story. But, at face value, this would be the Red Sox trading their top overall pitching prospect with years of control along with a third-round pick from the 2025 MLB Draft for someone who could easily leave in a year.

This is the type of move to win now, but without adding one or two big bats, this trade wouldn’t guarantee that Boston would dominate in 2025. Peralta would be a good target, but only if the Red Sox could guarantee an extension or a smaller trade package than this.

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