Brewers' Freddy Peralta linked to three NL contenders in trade discussions as offseason approaches

The Milwaukee Brewers are known for not handing out huge contracts to their players. The Brewers are a small market team and get the most out of their young players before they hit free agency for their first big extension.

The lone outlier is outfielder Christian Yelich, who signed a seven-year, $188.5 million contract with the Brewers in 2020. However, even that in the modern day isn't huge.

With pitchers especially, the Brewers build them up and then usually lose them to either free agency or trade them in their final contract year to get something in return. The Athletic's Jim Bowden named Brewers' pitcher Freddy Peralta the No. 2 candidate to be traded this offseason.

Where will Freddy Peralta play in 2026?

Bowden named a bunch of potential fits for Peralta, including three National League teams who could be in playoff contention in 2026.

Peralta has played all eight years of his career in Milwaukee and he's developed into one of the best pitchers in the MLB and the Brewers' ace.

The Brewers' pitcher had a career-year, with a 2.70 ERA across 176.2 innings pitched and 204 strikeouts, and made his second All-Star game.

Similarly to pitcher Corbin Burnes a few years ago, the Brewers are expected to pick up Peralta's $8 million team option for 2026 and then trade him to get something in return before he hits free agency.

"Peralta is coming off the best year of his career as he’s really figured out how to use and mix his dominant stuff," Bowden wrote. "Fastball Freddy held opposing batters to a .209 average against his four-seamer, .173 against his changeup, .183 against his curveball and .157 against his slider. He’s a true top-of-the-rotation ace at age 29."

There will be plenty of teams interested in Peralta with his elite 2025 season and not even 30-years-old yet, including the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres.

All three teams have shown more than a willingness to pay up for players recently. Peralta would provide the Mets and Giants an ace to anchor their starting rotations.

For the Padres, Peralta could pair with pitcher Dylan Cease at the top of the rotation or if they move on from Cease this offseason, Peralta would become their bonafide ace.

Regardless, the Brewers' ace would be a major upgrade to all three pitching staffs of teams that figure to be in contention for at least the playoffs in 2026.

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