Brewers Part with Freddy Peralta For Upside Prospect Package From New York Mets

[Jack Stern]

Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Freddy Peralta was not the first key player the Brewers traded away as he neared free agency; nor will he be the last. This is the established cycle of Milwaukee player development: acquire players before they establish themselves in the big leagues, enjoy the best years of their careers on bargain salaries, and restart the process by trading them away for young, controllable talent when they get prohibitively expensive.

It’s not the most exciting way to run a franchise, but this is the best way for the Brewers to utilize their resources. It allows them to assemble a competitive roster every year, which they believe puts them in the best position to win a World Series. Rather than putting all of their chips on the table for a potentially unsuccessful playoff run and then needing to do a complete teardown and prolonged rebuild, they accept the pain of dealing away cornerstones even as they mold new ones.

The media latched onto Peralta’s trade candidacy because the Brewers had done this before, with Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, and Devin Williams. Peralta’s case was different, though. Like Willy Adames, whom the Brewers kept until free agency, he was a respected clubhouse pillar. He’ll also make just $8 million in 2026, even after the best season of his career. Compared to Burnes or Williams, it was going to take more to pry Peralta away from Milwaukee.

The Brewers ultimately pulled the trigger on a return that wasn’t quite overwhelming, but they received a suitable package from the New York Mets, who sent more talent than the Baltimore Orioles did for Burnes two years ago. Utility man Jett Williams and right-hander Brandon Sproat were Baseball America’s Nos. 4 and 5 Mets prospects, respectively, and were both in the Top 100 overall. Both have six full seasons of club control.

“Jett and Brandon are two of the top up-and-coming talents in baseball,” president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said, adding that both players will compete for roster spots in spring training. “We are adding both a dynamic athlete and exciting arm to the organization that we see impacting the major-league team for years to come.”

Williams has the most prospect buzz and the highest ceiling of the two. At 5-foot-7, it may be tempting to think the 22-year-old is another Pat Murphy guy whose gritty style of play makes him an average big-leaguer without flashy athleticism. In reality, the speedster has legitimate power for his size, which he leverages well with an uppercut swing that consistently pulls balls in the air. He hit 17 home runs in 572 minor-league plate appearances last year, including seven in 151 Triple-A plate appearances.

There’s disagreement over Williams’s hit tool. While Baseball America and MLB Pipeline give his hitting a 55 grade, FanGraphs gave it a present grade of 30 and a future grade of 40 in June. His contact and strikeout rates were average in the lower minors, but his 78% in-zone contact rate in Triple-A ranked in the 19th percentile.

The Brewers have developed contact-oriented hitters like Sal Frelick, Brice Turang, and Caleb Durbin into capable big-leaguers, but they have not succeeded with more suspect bat-to-ball hitters like Williams. He’s a project worth taking on, though. Milwaukee has enough position players with high floors and needs hitters with more power potential.

Because his bat is still unpolished and he’s better suited for second base or center field than shortstop, Williams seems unlikely to be an immediate Joey Ortiz replacement. He’ll be best served by finishing his development in Triple A before reaching the majors in a multi-positional role.

While Williams received more love on most prospect lists, the Brewers are best equipped to get the most out of Sproat, who could become the true jewel of the deal. He developed an above-average sinker last year, which became his primary fastball instead of his four-seamer when he reached the big leagues in September. He throws three distinct breaking balls, each of which grades well.

Sproat’s 2025 results were below-average in Triple A and in four major-league starts, but he posted a 92 DRA- across the two levels, and his 112 Stuff+ after his callup ranked ninth among starters who threw at least 20 innings in September. He creates a wide range of shapes from a three-quarter arm slot, giving the Brewers plenty to mold to their liking. Chris Hook can also get to work optimizing his whippy delivery to clean up his inconsistent command.

Because his changeup has a similar shape to his sinker and a velocity difference of only 5 mph, Sproat will likely join the list of pitchers to scrap it in games upon arriving in Milwaukee. The Brewers may also turn his shorter slider into a true cutter to give him three fastballs. Based on their usual approach, a sinker and sweeper combination will probably become Sproat’s bread and butter against righties, while lefties will see more high four-seamers and curveballs.

The Brewers also sent Tobias Myers to the Mets in the deal. The 27-year-old posted a 73 ERA- as a rookie in 2024, but his lackluster peripherals caught up to him last year. Even if he rebounds a bit thanks to the split-changeup he added last summer, it’s still likely his career has already peaked, and he was buried on the Brewers’ pitching depth chart. Sproat profiles as a more impactful starter moving forward.

Time will tell how Milwaukee fares without Peralta, who averaged nearly 32 starts across the last three regular seasons, but it received a solid return and still boasts a deep rotation. Sproat, Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, and Coleman Crow are among the young pitchers set to make starts this year. Jacob Misiorowski and Chad Patrick also profile as breakout candidates, and the Brewers are also optimistic that Brandon Woodruff will be more durable in his second season after returning from shoulder surgery.

Trading away star players while remaining competitive is a delicate balance. The Brewers haven’t always struck it perfectly, but it seems they’ve done so nicely with Peralta.

View full article

[Underachiever]

I know nothing about Jett Williams except he’s another guy who needs a booster seat in a restaurant, but describing him as a “utility man” in this article made my stomach churn. 

[jay87shot]

25 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

I know nothing about Jett Williams except he’s another guy who needs a booster seat in a restaurant, but describing him as a “utility man” in this article made my stomach churn. 

I dont think he is a utility player, he should eventually be a starter. But because the Mets have Lindor he has played 2B and CF quite a bit so is floor is being a high end utility guy.

Looking at Sproat's pitch movement chart I think there are a lot of small tweeks the org. will make to unlock his potential. Getting a little vertical drop on the changeup instead of just horizontal movement seems obvious. Watching clips his sweeper and slider really are the same pitcher just the slider is a bit harder with less movement. I almost guarantee they combine that pitch and try and add a harder cutter.

As I do more research I am liking Sproat more and more. Williams is going to need to improve his hit tool but I see a more versatile Caleb Durbin with a better balanced swing leading to much more consistent power (58 xbh hits at age 21 last year). I do believe that Williams has been rushed up the ladder a bit as his 2024 was almost a lost year. His AAA numbers last year were pretty bad so there are some adjustments to make. However at some point he has been ranked in the top 30 overall prospects by BA, mlb, and baseball prospective.

[Frisbee Slider]

1 hour ago, Underachiever said:

I know nothing about Jett Williams except he’s another guy who needs a booster seat in a restaurant, but describing him as a “utility man” in this article made my stomach churn. 

Pedroia Paradox: When team roster decreases in terms of inches but franchise success soars to new heights.

Eckstein Effect: The relationship of aggregate scrappiness to unexpectedly favorable in-game outcomes.

The Brewers are just testing solid hypotheses. 🙂

[Underachiever]

20 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Pedroia Paradox: When team roster decreases in terms of inches but franchise success soars to new heights.

Eckstein Effect: The relationship of aggregate scrappiness to unexpectedly favorable in-game outcomes.

The Brewers are just testing solid hypotheses. 🙂

I’d prefer the Altuve Axiom. An undersized infielder hits above his weight and helps his team to a WS win even if it means cheating

[wallus]

This is the first article/thread I have read, out of many, that said Williams isn't a shortstop. If he can't play there, my view changes a bit.

[Frisbee Slider]

7 minutes ago, wallus said:

This is the first article/thread I have read, out of many, that said Williams isn't a shortstop. If he can't play there, my view changes a bit.

Williams started 70 games at SS in 2025 and 53 combined games between 2B/CF. It could be a small omission from the article or a quiet acknowledgement that we have several blue chip SS prospects in our system for the long-term.

[mudbutt]

Everything I have read so far makes it sound like he only started playing other positions due to Lindor, not due to his own ability or struggles.

[long ball]

1 hour ago, wallus said:

This is the first article/thread I have read, out of many, that said Williams isn't a shortstop. If he can't play there, my view changes a bit.

On the BF pod last week when Jack and Spencer were discussing a theoretical Mets trade package, Spencer said it looks like Williams could stick at short stop. Take that for what it’s worth. 
 

In my opinion, ultimately I think it’s only super duper relevant that he could play SS in 2026 or possibly 2027 for the brewers if needed. Since we all hope Made or Pratt is  our long term future at SS I’m not that concerned if he doesn’t stick at SS beyond 2027. 
 

CF is also an immediate and long term question mark so if he ends up in CF that wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize. 

[Trax]

SS is the natural position for Jett but long term he may become our starter in CF.   I would bet he'll start the year at AAA but if Ortiz's struggles at the plate continue Jett will be brought up to start at SS if his bat is connecting there.  He is a patient hitter who walks and steals bases.  He also has some real power, in MLB it should be plenty of gap power and maybe more HR production than expected.  I've seen it said at the plate he's a right handed Sal. 

 

Sproat has a real chance to be really good and soon.  Both players with long term control and we'll see both with the big club at some point this year. 

It simply was all we were going to get for Freddy, although too bad we had to include TM.

 

 

[CA John]

ABS/Robo ump favors small hitters. In 2027, getting a called strike on Jett Williams and Calib Durbin will be like hitting a carnival 3-pointer. #Eddie Gaedel

[GasserFace]

I have seen a lot of people on both sides of the trade stating that TM is either a big loss or big add.  He had 50 IP last year for the Crew.  Pretty sure Henderson, Gasser and Coleman Crow will surpass more than cover up those 50+ IP.

I see Sproat as a Freddy replacement, if not this year, then by 2027.  I think it is reasonable to believe that he pitches 100+ IP with the Crew this year.

I'm not sure what we got in Jett Williams, but I think I will like it.  Power/speed combo that has defensive versatility...count me in.  I trust the team will figure out where he fits best.

 

[MattK]

Really liked seeing Fangraphs have Sproat & Williams with 50 FV. Possibly means Sproat rivaling Henderson as the top pitching prospect in the system, and Williams being with or ahead of Pratt for future projection.

 

All of course while mourning Peralta leaving.  :-(

[BarremlensTSSC]

I'm a little concerned about Williams' hit tool....