The Milwaukee Brewers have been here before. Matt Arnold traded Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles ahead of a contract year in 2024. Freddy Peralta, who is scheduled to make just $8 million next season, could be next.

The Brewers haven’t kept any secrets about their strategy. Peralta is valuable, and Arnold will listen to offers. He’s likely to leave Milwaukee should he put together another season like 2025, anyway, in which he had a 2.70 ERA, 5.5 bWAR and finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting. Unfortunately for the rest of baseball, there’s only one real suitor that makes sense, and it won’t help the health of the sport.

What should the Brewers look for in a Freddy Peralta return?

This isn’t all that hard. The Brewers have been here before, when they dealt Burnes to the Orioles in exchange for infielder Joey Ortiz, left-handed pitcher DL Hall and a competitive balance pick. Both of those players were MLB-ready at the time, no matter how they’ve played since. Ortiz is a utility man at best who has fallen upon hard times. Hall has made just 33 appearances with Milwaukee, but had a 3.49 ERA, mostly out of the Brewers bullpen.

Peralta would cost more. I don’t doubt that, since his price tag should be lower and (from what I can tell) he’s more likely to re-sign than Burnes ever was.

As great as the Brewers pitching staff is with Peralta and Jacob Misiorowski leading the way, the vast majority of their top prospects are not pitchers. Thus, that’s an easy area to target for Milwaukee if they hope to rebuild their farm on the fly when trading a player of Peralta’s caliber. Logan Henderson and Bishop Letson are the only pitchers in the Brewers top-14 prospects. They can do better.

What Milwaukee is really lacking is power. Never was that more evident than in their postseason series’ against the loaded Chicago Cubs lineup, and their eventual defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. They could address some of those concerns in free agency, but why not turn Peralta into some pop why they’re at it?

Which teams could be interested in Freddy Peralta?Freddy Peralta

Freddy Peralta | Michael Reaves/GettyImages

Peralta will be paid just $8 million next season. This isn’t a question of which teams can afford the right-handed ace financially, but who can sign him to a long-term deal. That list is a lot smaller, and is likely limited to far larger markets than Milwaukee, assuming Peralta isn’t willing to take a hometown discount.

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox want a No. 2 starter to Garrett Crochet, you say? Look no further than Peralta, who would be that and then some on this Boston roster. The Sox are already expected to add to their lineup in a big way, perhaps pairing Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, or bringing Kyle Schwarber back to Waltham. Trading for Peralta, even if it’s just for one season, would be a cheap alternative to testing the free-agent pitching market, which will cost Craig Breslow more than he’s comfortable with.

New York Mets

No team needs starting pitching like the New York Mets. And if we’re talking big spenders, Steve Cohen will throw in his checkbook if necessary — you can add that to the list of New York’s top prospects. The Mets failed to make the postseason in 2025 thanks in part to their starting pitching. It just wasn’t good enough, and in an offseason where they could lose Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, Cohen and David Stearns could use a win. Sure, they’ve been linked to Tarik Skubal, but he’s more expensive. Why not settle on Peralta?

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers should be interested in Peralta for several reasons. First, Los Angeles’ rotation, while capable, is oft-injured. Los Angeles has won back-to-back World Series so it’s tough to find flaws as a whole, but the rotation depth has been a question mark for the better part of two years. Clayton Kershaw is retiring, and Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell can really only give you half a season. Ohtani isn’t about to win another Cy Young anytime soon. So, why not add Peralta? The cost would be great, but no team has ever been in win-now mode more than the Dodgers.

Which team could offer Brewers the best trade package for Freddy Peralta?

I’ll lean heavy on the Red Sox. If Boston is serious about winning a World Series in the next few years, then trading for and keeping a player like Peralta could go a long way. He’s just 29 years old and would serve as a perfect No. 2 starter behind Crochet. Boston has a litany of top pitching prospects, including several who are nearing the majors or already have MLB experience. They also have a surplus of outfield talent, which Milwaukee could pluck from. I will warn you, this trade is probably an overpay:

Are my DMs open? Yes. Do I plan on keeping it that way? Probably not!

Red Sox fans love to hoard their prospects. I’m sure they’ll be rational, considering this is a fake trade and not a real one! That being said, Boston will have to be willing to part with a couple top-100 prospects if they want a player of Peralta’s caliber on the cheap. Tolle is a top-30 prospect, and Garcia is also in the top 100. Both have proven they can perform at the MLB level, or are close.

From my perspective, a trade scenario is an impossible position to be in. There is no winning. Either Brewers fans will be upset that my trade doesn’t give them enough for Peralta, who could contend for next season’s Cy Young award, or Red Sox fans will protest my existence at my local Dunkin Donuts. I’m willing to take that chance.

Just in case you’re wondering, I’ll take a large chai latte.

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