{"id":538937,"date":"2026-01-26T15:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T15:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/538937\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T15:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T15:08:26","slug":"milwaukee-brewers-matt-arnold-talks-freddy-peralta-trade-new-acquisitions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/538937\/","title":{"rendered":"Milwaukee Brewers&#8217; Matt Arnold Talks Freddy Peralta Trade, New Acquisitions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 2022, Matt Arnold was working as the general manager of the <a href=\"https:\/\/roundtable.io\/sports\/mlb\/brewers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Milwaukee Brewers;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Milwaukee Brewers<\/a> under then-president of baseball operations, David Stearns. In late October of that year, Stearns stepped down from his role and moved into an advisory role within ownership; leaving Arnold to succeed him.<\/p>\n<p>Less than one year later, Stearns departed Milwaukee to become the president of baseball operations of the <a href=\"https:\/\/roundtable.io\/sports\/mlb\/mets\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:New York Mets.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">New York Mets.<\/a> Now, just over three years later, the two men who were once running a franchise together engaged in a seismic deal as the Brewers<a href=\"https:\/\/roundtable.io\/sports\/mlb\/brewers\/news\/breaking-brewers-deal-freddy-peralta-to-mets\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:traded;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> traded <\/a>two-time All-Star Freddy Peralta to New York.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>In exchange, the Brewers <a href=\"https:\/\/roundtable.io\/sports\/mlb\/brewers\/news\/see-how-milwaukee-brewers-graded-out-for-trading-freddy-peralta\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:received;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">received<\/a> two of the Mets\u2019 top prospects: Infielder\/outfielder Jett Williams (No. 3) and right-hander Brandon Sproat (No. 5). In the aftermath of the blockbuster trade, Arnold discussed the move with Curt Hogg of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/sports\/mlb\/brewers\/2026\/01\/22\/what-matt-arnold-said-about-milwaukee-brewers-trading-ace-freddy-peralta-to-new-york-mets\/88295001007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Milwaukee Journal Sentinel;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Milwaukee Journal Sentinel<\/a> and other reporters in a group call.<\/p>\n<p>The first question to Arnold was hardly a softball, as it made him answer honestly about why he would move on from Peralta in a way that adds to a trend for the Brewers. Not long ago, they moved off Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams after successful stints with the team.<\/p>\n<p>Arnold did not shy away from the question and responded candidly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reality is we have one year left with Freddy Peralta,\u201d Arnold said. \u201cHe\u2019s a free agent at the end of the season. That\u2019s always going to be a challenge for us.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve had to make these tough decisions. To add two players that we like and have them as a part of this group this season and well beyond, that is something that we felt is very good for the Milwaukee Brewers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arnold also openly discussed the importance of bringing back Brandon Woodruff, who accepted a $22.025 million qualifying offer to make him the second-highest paid player on the roster behind Christian Yelich. Woodruff is very effective on the mound, but a healthy campaign has alluded him for quite some time.<\/p>\n<p>It is certainly a risk to make Woodruff the centerpiece of the rotation if that is indeed Milwaukee\u2019s plan, but perhaps the organization is trying to make the best of the situation. In the spotlight of the media, Woodruff\u2019s salary for one season has<a href=\"https:\/\/roundtable.io\/sports\/mlb\/brewers\/news\/milwaukee-brewers-receive-discouraging-criticism\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:drawn skepticism;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"> drawn skepticism<\/a> given the Brewers\u2019 tight purse strings.<\/p>\n<p>In the end, Arnold made the move, and he had to have a poignant conversation with Peralta that served as a final stamp on the 29-year-old&#8217;s tenure with the only club he has known for the last decade.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe meant a ton\u201d Arnold said. Honestly, it was emotional for both of us. We both exchanged a lot of heartfelt thoughts. It\u2019s stuff you wish you say more often to people you care about.<\/p>\n<p>I think that\u2019s just a good reminder to all of us. We\u2019ve both cared about each other for a long time. Traded for him at 19 years old. I\u2019ve seen him grow up. I care so much about him and who he is and about his family. I reminded him that he\u2019s always going to be a part of our Brewers family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now, it is time to look ahead to the future with both Williams and Sproat, both of whom might make an impact on the team\u2019s major league roster sooner than later. Williams possesses the kind of tools manager Pat Murphy is familiar with, and Sproat already has experience on an MLB mound.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoth these guys are going to compete for spots on our team for opening day. In Jett\u2019s case I think he\u2019s a guy that\u2019s a gamer that\u2019s played everywhere. That\u2019s great. That fits our team. It fits [Pat Murphy}\u2019s style of player.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s a gamer. He\u2019s not that big but he plays with a ton of heart and he\u2019s got incredible tools. He\u2019s one of the fastest players in the minor leagues. I think that his versatility is something that\u2019s going to fit very, very well for this team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.<\/p>\n<p>Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2022, Matt Arnold was working as the general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers under then-president of baseball&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2401],"tags":[5,6303,127,136,1301,97,9411,83,753,12887,35391,843,59,6454,4280,4,61],"class_list":["post-538937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-milwaukee-brewers","tag-baseball","tag-brandon-sproat","tag-brandon-woodruff","tag-brewers","tag-christian-yelich","tag-corbin-burnes","tag-david-stearns","tag-devin-williams","tag-freddy-peralta","tag-jett-williams","tag-matt-arnold","tag-milwaukee","tag-milwaukee-brewers","tag-milwaukee-journal-sentinel","tag-milwaukeebrewers","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-mets"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115962033302559603","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}