MLB Rumors: 4 Top Trade Destinations For Brewers' Freddy Peralta

The Milwaukee Brewers currently have a slim hold on the third and final Wild Card spot in the National League, with only three games in the loss column separating five teams clamoring for that berth. If the Brew Crew somehow fall out of the race, ace starter Freddy Peralta could become a trade candidate.

Why? The Brewers have been known to do this before—trading players who are getting closer to free agency, knowing they will not be able to match the big-money offers. They did it with Josh Hader three seasons ago when they were still in the playoff hunt, though that blew up in their faces as they missed out on the postseason by one game.

Peralta has just one year to run on his contract before he'd become a free agent in 2027, but with an $8 million club option for the 2026 season, that's extremely good bang for the buck. Peralta, with a 2.76 ERA and a 90:34 strikeout-to-walk ratio, is one of the top pitchers in the NL this season, and has consistently been a top starter for Milwaukee for five years now. He would have huge trade value.

Insider Mark Feinsand of mlb.com has listed these four teams as logical fits for Peralta on the market:

Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Blue Jays
New York Yankees
Atlanta Braves

The most desperate team on this list for a legit ace like Peralta are the Orioles. With Corbin Burnes having departed in free agency, and Grayson Rodriguez not expected to return this season until August, the O's need to patch up their staff with a top-of-the-rotation kind of guy.

The Yankees are always in the market for the latest big-time starter that becomes available, particularly with their perennial Cy Young candidate (and 2023 winner) Gerrit Cole out for the year.

The Blue Jays will always throw their hat in the ring on any star player, only to come up short.

And as for the Braves, they might be getting things together, as they're 7-3 in their last 10 games, and despite being 7.0 games out of a Wild Card spot, GM Alex Anthopoulos is never shy about throwing caution to the wind and taking a big swing.