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Trade discussions centered around Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta “are about to resume in earnest,” according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon.
The MLB insiders reported Monday that the New York Yankees, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox have all shown interest in the right-hander. They posited he could be a target for the Baltimore Orioles as well given Baltimore’s stash of trade assets.
Peralta was an All-Star for the second time in 2025. He finished 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA and 204 strikeouts over 176.2 innings. He struggled a bit in the postseason, though, allowing 16 earned runs over his three appearances.
The free-agent talent pool at starting pitcher is pretty thin, and Dylan Cease is off the board after signing with the Toronto Blue Jays. The trade market is more robust as Peralta is part of a group that includes two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal and 2025 All-Star MacKenzie Gore.
Over his eight MLB seasons, Peralta has maintained a 3.59 ERA and a 3.66 FIP, and he logged 30-plus starts in each of the last three years. Beyond his track record on the mound, he’s due to earn a pretty modest $8 million in 2026 before he hits free agency.
The cost to acquire the 29-year-old is likely to be high. Rosenthal and Sammon reported the Brewers, who are fresh off an NLCS appearance, will probably want a “major-league-ready starting pitcher” as part of the deal.
From a financial perspective, though, teams with lower payrolls should have little trouble taking on Peralta’s contract, and that could work to Milwaukee’s benefit.
The Dodgers have rarely let money get in the way of a good deal, and the depth they already have in the starting rotation may not preclude them from being aggressive in that area.
Los Angeles can plausibly utilize a six-man unit comprised of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki, the last of whom should fare better with a full year in MLB under his belt.
But the Dodgers had just one pitcher (Yamamoto) start at least 30 games in 2025. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman may want to have a stronger firewall in place should injuries once again be a problem.
Adding Peralta to the mix would go beyond that and give L.A. an embarrassment of riches.