Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta may be on the move, and six teams are reported to be interested in his services following the last day of the Winter Meetings. 

According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon, people familiar with the Brewers’ discussions are the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros. 

“Other clubs, such as the New York Mets, are also believed to be interested,” they wrote. “Though it’s unclear how willing some of those teams would be to meet the Brewers’ asking price. One Brewers official said “lots of teams” are calling, terming it “a good week.”’ 

“No deal appears close. Talks are fluid, and the teams interested in Peralta are also exploring free agents and trades for other starting pitchers. The Orioles, for example, have been among the teams pursuing Miami Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera.” 

The Brewers picked up Peralta’s $8 million club option after the 29-year-old came off a career-best season. Through 33 regular season starts, Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA, a 5.5 WAR and a 1.08 WHIP through 176.2 innings of work. 

“Peralta, who turns 30 in June, will earn $8 million next season before becoming eligible for free agency,” the article added. “Under similar circumstances two offseasons ago, the Brewers traded righty Corbin Burnes to the Orioles.” 

“Burnes was set to make $15.6 million, nearly twice as much as Peralta. His salary alone motivated the low-revenue Brewers to act, and they turned Burnes into shortstop Joey Ortiz, lefty DL Hall and the 34th pick in the draft, which they used on first baseman Blake Burke.” 

While Rosenthal and Sammon acknowledge that Peralta is not as accomplished as Burnes, they highlight Peralta’s lower salary may raise his trade value. Additionally, the return of right-hander Brandon Woodruff may influence the front office’s decision on Peralta. 

“Both Brewers owner Mark Attanasio and general manager Matt Arnold said they were excited about their rotation last month after righty Brandon Woodruff accepted the team’s $22.025 million qualifying offer. But the Brewers believe that if they trade Peralta, the veteran presence of Woodruff and their numerous other rotation options still could leave them in position to contend in the NL Central.” 

“Without Peralta, the Brewers’ rotation would be led by Woodruff, Jacob Misiorowski and Quinn Priester. Their other candidates would include Robert Gasser, Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson and Tobias Myers; two relievers who could start, Hall and Aaron Ashby; and possibly a pitcher they would acquire in the Peralta trade.” 

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