Sources: 3 Teams Actively Interested in Freddy Peralta, Deal Could Come This Month

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros and San Diego Padres have emerged as the most interested parties in the Freddy Peralta trade market, league sources told Brewer Fanatic this week. During the MLB Winter Meetings, Washington Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore and Miami Marlins righty Edward Cabrera have been buzzier names, because each of them comes with multiple years of team control. Tarik Skubal remains atop the wish lists of many big-market dreamers, but so far, the Tigers have set a price tag that suggests they don't want to deal him, according to a source with knowledge of one team's conversations with Detroit.

Those three players might make for more tantalizing rumors, but Peralta is very much on the radar of contenders who want to stabilize their rotations without paying exorbitant prices in free agency or in trades for players with longer-term team control attached. Because Peralta will make only $8 million in 2026 and becomes a free agent thereafter, he's a perfect fit for several teams whose budgets are tight (be it because of limited resources or having already spent hundreds of millions elsewhere). His contract leaves so much surplus value, in fact, that one source suggested it will make a trade less likely: the Brewers won't trade Peralta unless they get a haul that reflects both his talent and that efficiency.

Houston, San Diego and Atlanta are all serious contenders coming off difficult seasons. None has an elite farm system, which could be an obstacle—but all three have shown flexibility and creativity in the past, to get deals just like these done. For all three, starting pitching is a major question mark, and spending on one of the top remaining free agents looks unlikely.

San Diego is even rumored to be shopping top starter Nick Pivetta, despite losing Dylan Cease and Michael King via free agency this winter. Why? Pivetta's salary for 2025 was $1 million, as the Padres served as his lifeboat in a stormy free agency. In 2026, though, that number jumps to $19 million, and there are player options for 2027 and 2028. Unlike other, similar deals, Pivetta's should be movable, in the opinion of employees in other front offices, because the contract contains language granting the team protection in the event of a major injury. Still, the cash-strapped Padres might need to move Pivetta to give themselves the freedom they need to make other upgrades. Peralta, a better pitcher at a much lower price, would be an ideal fit.

Injuries and age menace the rotation of the once-mighty Atlanta club, and as their team-friendly extensions with several position players reach their more expensive seasons, the team finds itself without much cash to splash around to shore up that group. Meanwhile, the Astros are losing Framber Valdez to free agency, and they're bumping up against the competitive-balance tax threshold; owner Jim Crane continues to fight to rein in their spending.

Those three teams are obvious suitors, and it's not surprising that they've already begun to hone in on Peralta. Three larger-market clubs have also checked in, one source said: the Mets, the Dodgers, and the Giants. However, those teams' interest is not believed to be as serious—or, at least, as developed. New York has the most glaring need for help in the starting rotation, and might best fit with Milwaukee in terms of a return, but their top priorities appear to lie on the offensive side for the time being.

Speaking of return, the Brewers are said to be setting a very high price for Peralta, on whom they're listening but not eager to make a move. A source familiar with one discussion said the team was asking for more than they got for Corbin Burnes, whom they traded to the Orioles in early 2024 for Joey Ortiz, DL Hall and a top-40 draft pick. Given that Peralta costs roughly half what Burnes did that year, that's no shock. Suitors understand that Milwaukee won't move Peralta without getting back a "plug-and-play guy," said a member of another front office, citing the examples of Ortiz, Hall, Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortes, whom the team acquired for Burnes and Devin Williams the last two winters. Trading Peralta would, in other words, have to mean getting back someone who helps the 2026 Brewers, in addition to offering longer-term value.

Constraining a market by specifying that majors-ready players be involved can ice over a market, but again, the Brewers don't feel cornered when it comes to Peralta. In addition to being cost-effective, he's one of their clubhouse leaders, and the relationship between player and franchise is much stronger than were the ones between the team and Burnes or Williams. The right deal has to come to them; Matt Arnold won't sell Peralta just to avoid losing him as a free agent next fall.

However, in a survey of people in other front offices, the majority believe Peralta will be dealt—and it could be soon. One source noted the lack of overlap in the markets for Gore, Cabrera and Skubal with that for Peralta. The Cubs and Orioles, among others, are locked in on acquiring controllable pitching, so their interest in Peralta is limited. San Diego is always proactive, but neither Houston nor Atlanta are believed to be players for any of the more talked-about names of this week. Quietly, while rumors swirl and Peralta's name lies low, the Brewers have been able to continue discussions with the real players in this game.

Williams went from the Crew to the Yankees two days after the end of last year's Winter Meetings. A similar thing could play out this year, though no deal is believed to be close as clubs pack up their suites and prepare to head home. If a trade happens, it will net Milwaukee their biggest haul in such a deal since they traded Carlos Gómez and Mike Fiers to the Astros in mid-2015. While losing Peralta would hurt, the motivation of the interested teams and the team-friendly deal Peralta signed years ago ensure that his departure would only push the Brewers even further forward in their pursuit of the team's first-ever World Series title.

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[nathanj42]

Ug, the Braves, Astros & Padres don't have much in their farm systems. No top 70 prospects between the 3 teams. A couple top 100 pitchers, Ethan Salas (catcher) that struggled last season. Not sure if any of teams could provide a deal worth Peralta.

[Trax]

The only way I trade Freddy right now is with a plus deal.

We can get a good deal for him in July, it must be a great deal now.  I'd be willing to risk not trading him then because of contention and accepting the comp pick when he signs elsewhere. 

[CheezWizHed]

Chourio (and perhaps Made) is the only player that is "untouchable" on this team.  But that doesn't mean it needs to be a firesale.  Peralta has a lot of value as a starting pitcher and for his contract.

We have every right to ask for a lot because he has every bit of value for our team also. 

[Brewcrew82]

Count me as still on the skeptical side when it comes to trading Freddy. There's a bit of an incongruency between the three teams you mention as being most interested in Freddy and the Brewers' asking price, which you describe as "greater than for Burnes".

First of all, the farm systems of those three teams all stink. Like consensus bottom 5 in baseball sort of stink. The only major league ready prospect that I'd have interest in is JR Ritchie, and why wouldn't the Braves just keep him and use him in their rotation instead of trading him for a one year rental in Freddy. Which means most, if not all of the value coming back to the Brewers in a Freddy trade is controllable pieces from their major league rosters.

All of the Braves'  controllable pieces are signed to contract extensions, which makes them more expensive. The only exception is Drake Baldwin and while we do need to start planning for life after William, I don't see them making him available. I will say Michael Harris is interesting from a Brewers perspective given his extension is on the cheaper side and he's still only 24. 

As for the Astros and Padres, seriously who is out there that makes a deal worthwhile Brewers? It's all aging, expensive vets, expiring contracts, and a steaming pile of yuck.

[Brock Beauchamp]

1 hour ago, nathanj42 said:

Ug, the Braves, Astros & Padres don't have much in their farm systems. No top 70 prospects between the 3 teams. A couple top 100 pitchers, Ethan Salas (catcher) that struggled last season. Not sure if any of teams could provide a deal worth Peralta.

I agree, all three systems are weak. But this is a good reminder that it's not about public perception, it's what the Brewers like in a player.

And if there's an organization I trust to pluck good-but-undervalued players from another team, it's the Brewers.

Also, welcome to the site!

[Matthew Trueblood]

1 hour ago, nathanj42 said:

Ug, the Braves, Astros & Padres don't have much in their farm systems. No top 70 prospects between the 3 teams. A couple top 100 pitchers, Ethan Salas (catcher) that struggled last season. Not sure if any of teams could provide a deal worth Peralta.

All true, but think a bit beyond prospects in places, too. Brewers could target young big-league talent (Cam Smith, to name one possibility), and/or a partner (SD with Pivetta, for instance, or Houston with Jake Meyers) could trade a player to acquire prospects they'd then use in the Peralta deal.

[SoCalBrewfan]

Beyond the news (which is kind of wait and see from my point of view), there is a bigger picture. Is this, as it seems to be,  original reporting by brewer fanatic as opposed to a cite of something published (or tweeted) elsewhere? If so, that's kind of cool for the site. 

Releasing news that teams are making offers or inquiries also can only help beef up the options the Brewers have in getting a good return. I would like hold onto Peralta, personally, but we do have a bit of pitching depth and I could see a trade actually improving the '26 team, as well as the future, if the return is good.

[TURBO]

Just saw something scroll on the bottom of the MLB channel, that the Yankees, Orioles and Red Sox are also pursuing Freddy.

I don't really want to trade him, but this is good news, the more teams interested, the higher the return could possibly be.

[jay87shot]

I like a couple of the Braves younger pitchers but I doubt they would trade them for a year of Freddy. As mentioned before, Michael Harris could be interesting. The Padres only have Jackson Merrill, Kruz Schoolcraft, and Mason Miller as an interesting pieces. Their system is horrific, Ethan Salas would be like a borderline top 10 prospect in our system (Jorge Quintana is their #7 prospect on mlb.com he was around 40 in our system). The Stris have better depth but the only centerpiece (Brice Matthews) is a MI which is ok but not a need for our system (edit= I forgot Cam Smith). They do have depth to make a solid 3 good pieces deal like 3 of Janek, Ullola, Melton, Alvarez, and Neyens but that doesn't really help this year.

[wallus]

From those teams listed, Cam Smith and Michael Harris would have some value to us. It is good that there are more than a couple of teams interested in our guys.

[MattK]

22 minutes ago, wallus said:

From those teams listed, Cam Smith and Michael Harris would have some value to us. It is good that there are more than a couple of teams interested in our guys.

So to get Cam Smith, who is a season older than Chourio - which I think is a good cycle to be on - it would be a year of cheap Freddy, plus ??? Not a top prospect, but maybe one or two of the sub 20 year old pitchers?  Or is that not enough?

[Scooterfletcher]

1 minute ago, MattK said:

So to get Cam Smith, who is a season older than Chourio - which I think is a good cycle to be on - it would be a year of cheap Freddy, plus ??? Not a top prospect, but maybe one or two of the sub 20 year old pitchers?  Or is that not enough?

You can probably get Cam Smith for Peralta given Fred’s apparent market.

[brewmann04]

Arnold needs to be blown away 

[MattK]

3 hours ago, Scooterfletcher said:

You can probably get Cam Smith for Peralta given Fred’s apparent market.

I'm not getting that. To my mind, 1 year of control, even for a top 5 pitcher in the league, at a super low salary number, is not worth a young player with a ton of tools who played a solid season in the league at age 22. That seems like something teams would've learned from Jeff Bagwell & John Smoltz that it doesn't make sense. 

[Branyanisthegoat]

Cam Smith becoming an all-star for us right after Tucker leaves Chicago would be pretty hilarious.

[Secret Stadium Sauce]

10 hours ago, MattK said:

I'm not getting that. To my mind, 1 year of control, even for a top 5 pitcher in the league, at a super low salary number, is not worth a young player with a ton of tools who played a solid season in the league at age 22. That seems like something teams would've learned from Jeff Bagwell & John Smoltz that it doesn't make sense. 

Throw in someone else?  Not sure who that would be (Collins or some lotto ticket).

Cam Smith could be a good get

[TURBO]

14 hours ago, Scooterfletcher said:

You can probably get Cam Smith for Peralta given Fred’s apparent market.

HIGHLY doubtful.

[CheezWizHed]

22 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I agree, all three systems are weak. But this is a good reminder that it's not about public perception, it's what the Brewers like in a player.

And if there's an organization I trust to pluck good-but-undervalued players from another team, it's the Brewers.

Also, welcome to the site!

Good point... especially since Freddy himself wasn't high on Seattle's prospect list when we acquired him. 

[narwhalattack]

I kinda cringe when I read “looking for plug and play guys.” Ortiz, Hall, and Cortes hasn’t exactly worked out that well for us. 

[Team Canada]

That deal was for both Cortez and Durbin, so it mostly worked out fine cumulatively.

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, narwhalattack said:

I kinda cringe when I read “looking for plug and play guys.” Ortiz, Hall, and Cortes hasn’t exactly worked out that well for us. 

Ortiz (4.5 WAR) and Hall (0.6 rWAR) have already exceeded the value Burnes (4.5 rWAR) put up in his lone season as an Oriole. Blake Burke looms on the horizon too.

Many were clamoring for power hitting 3B Coby Mayo from the Orioles instead and he has 340 PA of 81 wRC+ (with a 31.2 K%) shaking out to -0.3 WAR so far. He has somehow managed -4 DRS and -2 FRV in only 87 innings at third base.

[eddiemathews]

Jarren Duran interests me.

[TURBO]

On 12/13/2025 at 10:24 AM, eddiemathews said:

 

 

On 12/13/2025 at 10:24 AM, eddiemathews said:

 

 

On 12/13/2025 at 10:24 AM, eddiemathews said:

Jarren Duran interests me.

Duran played primarily in LF in 2025, so I doubt he can be penciled in as our CF.  Wondering if Chourio will just take over there fulltime?

Duran's numbers weren't that great this past season.  In fact, his stat line was down in almost every category.

Worse in hits, homers, doubles, runs, stolen bases, OBP, OPS, and slugging.  Batting average took a major hit down to .256 from .285 the year before.  Also, he struck out more with fewer at bats than 2024.  2025 he struck out 27%, 2024 he struck out 23%.  

Be nice to get a guy in the OF that has 30 HR potential, and I don't think Duran is that guy hitting only 16 in 2025.

Of course, he'd be better than Perkins, Baddoo, and Lockridge, so it wouldn't be all bad.  His contract is decent too so I can see this happening, I just don't want to throw anymore prospects into the mix from our side, as I think Duran for Freddy is good enough.