Insider: Brewers ‘Open The Door’ on Trading Freddy Peralta

Ever since the season ended and people started speculating on whether the Milwaukee Brewers would trade their ace Freddy Peralta, the team was adamant that it would not be the case. Now? It seems to be a different story.

According to insider Ken Rosenthal in The Athletic, the Brew Crew are softening their stance on that, and they might indeed be willing to trade the two-time All-Star and Top 5 finisher in Cy Young balloting in 2025.

Perhaps this was inevitable, but the interest in right-hander Freddy Peralta is so significant, the Milwaukee Brewers are now considering “cracking the door open” for trade discussions, according to a person briefed on their situation.

One of the key developments to this change of heart by the Brewers, in addition to the simple fact that the offers have been tremendous, was when their other high-end starter Brandon Woodruff decided to accept the $22.5M qualifying offer and stay with the team for 2026 instead of heading to free agency.

"Both owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Matt Arnold said, at that time, that they were excited about their rotation" being headed up by both Peralta and Woodruff, writes Rosenthal.

Why the Brewers might decide to sell-high on ace Freddy Peralta

Now, he says, the Brewers seem to feel that the veteran presence of Woodruff, plus the other nice pieces in the rotation, leave them in a good place with their starting staff. Jacob Misiorowski and Quinn Priester would slot in at No. 2 and No. 3.

Woodruff had an exciting second half of '25, after completing his year-and-a-half recovery from shoulder surgery. The 32-year-old went 7-2 with a 3.20 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, with an equally sensational 83:14 strikeout to walk ratio in 64 innings. The rotation could be in good hands with their once and potentially present co-ace.

Peralta, 29, went 17-6 this past season with a 2.70 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, and recorded his third straight 200-strikeout year.

The Brewers would expect to get an MLB-ready starting pitcher back in any deal, says Rosenthal, as a starting point at least. Peralta is going into his final season of team control, with an $8 million salary. On the free agent market, where he could be headed next winter, he'd be able to fetch three- or even close to four-times that AAV.

The Brewers are coming off a 97-win season and the NL Central Division title—not to mention the best regular-season record in all of baseball. Peralta, of course, was a huge part of that.