Brewers right hand Freddy Peralta not a lock for sale but a number of other clubs are interested. He has already been linked to the Astros, Giants, Mets, Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Braves this offseason. Today, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes that the Padres have checked with the Brewers while The Athletic’s Katie Woo reports that the Dodgers remain engaged.
The widespread appeal is understandable since Peralta is good and cheap. Since the start of 2021, he has pitched 738 1/3 innings for the Brewers, allowing a 3.30 earned run average over nine. His 9% walk rate during that span was close to the league average while he struck out 29.6% of the batters he faced. He just put together a 2025 season in which he posted a 2.70 ERA with a 28.2% strikeout rate and a 9.1% walk rate.
Milwaukee signed Peralta back in 2020, before he was established as the league’s effective starter. That deal turned out to be a huge success for the Brewers, as it was only $15.5MM guaranteed over five years. It also included $8MM club options for 2025 and 2026. When those options came around, they were clear deals and picked up without hesitation.
That salary on a one-year commitment is very attractive to all parties. Top starting pitchers typically make the $25MM to $45MM per year range on multi-year deals. This offseason has seen it Dylan Cease, Guard Suárez again Michael King annual average prices in the $25-30MM range. In short, Peralta’s deal is a steal.
That makes him very attractive to all clubs. For big-spending teams, Peralta is a game-changing theory for developing without a big contract. Most high-spenders face huge tax bills, in many cases more than double the cost of signing any free agent. For teams with a fee, it’s also obviously helpful to be able to get a higher arm without a bigger price.
It also makes Peralta valuable to the Brewers, who never spend big. But the fact that Peralta is approaching free agency puts them in a tricky spot. Their low salaries often make it difficult for them to sign their players long-term, which can lead to them being traded as free agency approaches.
In recent years, players like it Corbin Burns again Josh Hader they were traded as their control windows narrowed. But with Willy AdamsMilwaukee decided to hold on to him until he hit the open market. They collected compensation in the form of additional draft picks after he turned down a qualifying offer and signed with the Giants.
Peralta could go either way. President of baseball Matt Arnold downplayed the trade in November but the club is reportedly concerned about its payroll. Earlier this month, they were one of nine teams that cut their broadcast deals with Main Street Sports. It’s possible they could negotiate a new deal or pivot so MLB can handle things but they’ll likely bring in less broadcasting revenue in 2026 compared to last year.
Trading Peralta wouldn’t save the Brewers a ton of money but it would allow them to shore up other roster spots without spending money on free agents. However, there is no offer to force them to pull the trigger yet, with pitchers and catchers scheduled to report to spring training in less than three weeks.
The Padres make a lot of sense as a place to stay for Peralta. Rotation depth was a concern for them throughout 2025 and they lost Cease and King to free agency at the end of the season. Soon after that, Yu Darvish underwent UCL surgery, sidelining him for the entire 2026 campaign.
They have since returned with the King, but continuing to strengthen the rotation will make sense. Right now, they plan to have the Lord, Nick Pivetta again Joe Musgrove in three areas, followed by a set of possible depth options including Randy Vásquez, JP Sears, Kyle Hart again Matt Waldron.
Even within that group, there are significant questions. King is coming off an injury-plagued season. Pivetta has been in some trade rumors because of his full back contract. Musgrove will return to the sidelines in 2025 to recover from Tommy John surgery. Vásquez had a good 3.84 ERA last year but a 13.7% strikeout rate. Sears, Waldron and Hart all had bad seasons.
Adding to that team makes sense but the Friars have seemed to struggle financially for a few years. Their salary increased significantly in 2023 but since then they have seen them trying to work with a lack of spending power. That seemed to encourage them Juan Soto trade two offseasons ago. Last winter, they managed to sign Pivetta but with an unusual structure. It was $55MM over four years but with a $3MM signing bonus and a $1MM signing bonus in the first year.
RosterResource projects to pay $220MM next year, slightly more than last year’s spending. The competitive balance tax figure was pegged at $262MM, above the base limit of $244MM. The Padres reset their tax status in 2024 but paid the tax last year. That means they will become second rate taxpayers in 2026, resulting in a 30% tax rate. Going over $264MM will increase the tax rate to 42% on spending over that line.
That makes the Padres at least less willing to spend big on a free agent like him Framber Valdez, Zac Gallen or Chris Bassitt. Rosenthal writes that their preferred spending range is $8MM to $12MM and floats Nick Martinez, Lucas Giolito again Justin Verlander like boys who can fall into that category.
While Peralta’s $8MM salary is undoubtedly attractive, especially if they move Pivetta and his $19MM salary in 2026, the Brewers could be looking for something significant. Relegation from the big league roster can be risky and the Padres have also traded a large number of prospects in recent years, including sending away top prospects. Leo De Vries in Athletics last year Mason Miller deal. Coming together on a deal with Milwaukee could be difficult.
Turning to the Dodgers, Woo notes that their interest reflects at least some level of concern from the club regarding the current mix of the rotation. The Dodgers have a good starting lineup on paper but questions with most people. Yoshinobu Yamamoto he’s the only guy still on the list with 91 innings pitched last year. Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Emmett Sheehan, Shohei Ohtani again Roki Sasaki they all come under that line due to various health conditions. The Dodgers may not expect the entire team to stay healthy in 2026.
They also appear to be better positioned than the Padres to give the Brewers the fresh, manageable type they want in return. Sheehan and Sasaki are both still in their pre-arb years. It’s the same with boys Ben Casparius, Ryan River, Kyle Hurt, Justin Wrobleski, Gavin Stone, Landon Knack and others.
Woo also floats the outfielder Ryan Ward as possible, and later Kyle Tucker a sign blocked his way. He writes that the Dodgers were considering Ward’s left-handed and righty team. Alex Call before Tucker’s arrival, so Ward could now be used. The Brewers pulled out of their outfield this offseason when they traded Isaac Collins Royals aside Nick Mears to find the left Angel Zerpa. They still have a decent team incl Christian Yelich, Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Blake Perkins and others.
Whether the Brewers can be forced to complete the trade remains to be seen. Without Peralta, their rotation will still contain an excellent team that includes Brandon Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski, Quinn Priester, Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Tobias Myers and others, and whatever they can get in return for the Peralta trade. But they can also just hold onto Peralta for another run in 2026. If Peralta is healthy a season from now, he could be the key to rejecting the QO, giving the Brewers some pick compensation if he signs elsewhere.
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
