It is the season of the Winter Meetings as the apex of Major League Baseball's offseason will take shape in Orlando from Dec. 7-10. There are a lot of burning questions, many of which surround the future of Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. 

Milwaukee exercised Peralta's $8 million club option last month after the righty posted a dominant season (17-6, 2.70 ERA) but whether or not he remains in a Brewers jersey long term remains shrouded in uncertainty. In fact, a possible suitor for Peralta may be the New York Yankees. 

Recently, The Athletics' Jim Bowden proposed a scenario that sends Peralta to the Big Apple in exchange for pitching and infield play. 

Proposal: The Brewers trade Freddy Peralta to the Yankees for right-handed pitcher Will Warren and shortstop/utility player José Caballero 

Bowden's Reasoning: Peralta helps the Yankees weather the beginning of the season while some of their returning starters recover from surgeries and then gives them a dangerous arm down the stretch to pair with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and others. The Brewers get a young, controllable starter and a shortstop who can give them better offensive production than they received from Joey Ortiz in 2025. 

It was a no-brainer to pick up Peralta's option following his 2025 campaign that aided Milwaukee in its winningest season in franchise history. The 29-year-old's 2.70 ERA was good for seventh-best in the Majors; his 17-6 record was fourth and his 209 strikeouts were ninth. The Brewers made the choice that provided them with leverage, which they will need with a lower-tier payroll.  

As Bowden alluded to, adding a young arm in Will Warren could prove useful. He became a mainstay starter in the Yankees' rotation (33 starts) in just his second MLB season. He is also three years younger and is owed just $820,00 next season before entering pre-arbitration in 2027 and 2028. In adding Caballero, the Brewers receive a solid utility player who just led MLB in stolen bases (49). Caballero's $2.5 million salary in 2026 may also prove to be enticing for Milwaukee. 

During the GM Meetings last month, Milwaukee's president of baseball operations Matt Arnold touched on Peralta's future. 

"Look, I think in all these cases, it's a tough decision for all of us,” Arnold told MLB.com. “We've had to make tough decisions on the Haders of the world and Corbin Burnes and things like that, and Freddy is certainly in that conversation."  

"We’ll never close the door on anything, just because we're the smallest market in the league and we have to make tough decisions like that. But, you know, we think he can certainly help us next year.” 

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