Would you believe that there's new speculation around a potential deal involving Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta?

Where there's smoke, will there be fire this time?

Peralta's name has been bandied about in stories, including here on Brewers Roundtable, about potentially being moved during the offseason.

Things appeared to have quieted down a little bit about trading Peralta. But now? A new level of speculation has been tossed into the wind by MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. 

Rosenthal, in a collection of MLB notes leading up to the Winter Meetings that start Sunday in Orlando, Fla., offered some insights into what might be happening on the Peralta trade front.

"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," Rosenthal wrote for The Athletic.

"Both owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Matt Arnold said they were excited about their rotation after righty Brandon Woodruff accepted the team’s $22.025 million qualifying offer," Rosenthal wrote.

"But if the Brewers get a strong enough offer for Peralta, they believe the veteran presence of Woodruff and their numerous other rotation options still could leave them in position to contend in the NL Central."

Additionally, Rosenthal added, that he thought the Brewers would set a pretty high bar for another team landing Peralta. They'd probably want an MLB-ready starter in return for Peralta, which makes sense since the Brewers would need a new starter if Peralta is dealt.

"It is possible no team would meet their price," Rosenthal wrote. "But righty Dylan Cease commanded a seven-year, $210 million free-agent contract, reduced to $184.6 million in present-day value by deferrals, according to the Players Association. Peralta is the same age as Cease, 29, and is set to earn just $8 million in his final season before free agency. His trade value would be considerable."

Rosenthal also pointed out that a Peralta-less rotation would get led by Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski and Quinn Priester. Other candidates that the Brewers might consider for their starting rotation include Robert Gasser, Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson and Tobias Myers. Milwaukee has two relievers that could turn into starters in Aaron Ashby and DL Hall.

Then, of course, Milwaukee could add a new starter in a deal.

"The Brewers obviously are better with Peralta than without him," Rosenthal wrote. "Their best decision might be to keep him, try to build on their 97-win campaign and then make him a qualifying offer, ensuring draft-pick compensation. The $8 million they would save by trading him might not be especially meaningful. The greater impact, potentially, would be in the return."

Brewers fans know that Peralta is the ace of the pitching staff. Seeing Peralta go in a trade would really need to make sense overall. If Milwaukee trades him and doesn't get enough in return, Brewers fans are going to be really upset.

Let's see what happens at the Winter Meetings or even in the days leading up to them starting.

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