Jon Morosi thinks that the Milwaukee Brewers could trade All-Star hurler Freddy Peralta this offseason, and he thinks the Red Sox could be in the market for him.
After finishing third in the American League East and losing to the New York Yankees in the wild card round of the playoffs, the Boston Red Sox should be in prime position to make a big improvement in 2026.
A full season of Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer should help them do that, but there are still questions that need to be answered.
Will the Red Sox bring back Alex Bregman on a new, multi-year deal? Will they lock up Pete Alonso to play first base? Could they make a run at Bo Bichette or Kyle Tucker? And how about the pitching front, where they just let Lucas Giolito go without a qualifying offer? Could the team go out and sign Framber Valdez? Dylan Cease? Could they trade for Joe Ryan or Pablo Lopez?
Or how about Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers, as Jon Morosi of MLB Network brought up on Monday afternoon?
What he's saying
And one team I'll mention, I alluded to them briefly a moment ago in the (Kyle) Schwarber conversation. The Red Sox. The Red Sox. When you think about Garrett Crochet and you consider what they've been able to build there with the Red Sox getting back to the playoffs in 2025, they're, I think, one starting pitcher away from making a real run at this. And we know they've got an excellent farm system. They even have some position players that could move from the major league club if they had to with (Jarren) Duran and (Wilyer) Abreu. So I think that's an interesting fit to watch going forward.
The Peralta file
Now 29 years old, Peralta is headed into the final year of his contract. A two-time All-Star, Peralta helped lead the Brewers to the National League Central title this past season, going 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA. He made 33 starts, striking out 204 batters in 176.2 innings. He had a WHIP of just 1.075.
Lifetime, he's 70-42 with a 3.59 ERA. He led the National League in wins this past season.
Why would the Brewers trade him?
As noted by Morosi, this is what the Brewers do. They traded away Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams, rather than extend them to big-money deals.
The ability to trade for useful prospects and young players has helped sustain Milwaukee for several years and they are one of the best player development organizations in the sport.
However, they did keep Willy Adames when he had one year left on his deal, so it wouldn't be unprecedented for them to keep him.
Should the Red Sox be interested?
Of course, but it will cost the Red Sox real prospect capital to get him. Is it worth trading that away when they could just spend money on a free agent pitcher? There's two sides to the coin. Spending big money on a free agent pitcher comes with long-term risk and bigger financial investment, but trading away future resources for a rental pitcher comes with pressure as well.
What if they split the difference and traded for a guy like Ryan, who has multiple years of team control remaining?
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