The Milwaukee Brewers are in one of the weirder positions in baseball. They have dominated the National League Central for the last few years. They've won the division three of the last four season with the St. Louis Cardinals stealing the title from Milwaukee in 2022. They also won the division in 2018. But after all this success, the Brewers could be on the verge of a full-blown rebuild this season.
The Brewers have been hot recently, winners of seven straight, but they're still 5.5 games back of the Chicago Cubs in the division. Just over a week ago, they were a few games under .500. Now the Brewers could look to trade a few of their most valuable pieces before the trade deadline including one surprise trade candidate.
FanSided's MLB insider, Robert Murray, recently suggested the Brewers could use their ace, Freddy Peralta, as a trade candidate this season.
"The Milwaukee Brewers traded Josh Hader with 1.5 years remaining on his contract. They traded Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams with a year left on their contracts," Murray wrote. "So it’s not out of the question that the Brewers could entertain the possibility of moving Peralta, who has a very affordable $8 million club option for the 2026 season."
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MLB insider suggests Freddy Peralta as a 'surprise' trade candidate
The Brewers have been willing to trade their most important pieces over the last few years. It's always been the Brewers reloading their roster instead of rebuilding it. Trading Peralta could be the Brewers looking to capitalize on his incredible trade value as they look to reload, not rebuild.
The righty has been excellent the last few seasons, but he's especially been great this year. In 12 starts, Peralta holds a 5-3 record with a 2.77 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He consistently strikes out over 10 batters per nine innings due to his dominant fastball.
The biggest piece of the puzzle with Peralta as a trade chip is the fact that he's under team control next year. If Milwaukee opts to deal him away, the team that's acquiring him would be getting one and a half years of control of a top level ace.
But all this value makes him quite a risky option for the Brewers to deal. At the end of the day, he's on a very team-friendly contract with a club option that's set to pay him much less than his production would indicate. The Brewers traded Hader to the San Diego Padres a few years ago, and the lefty has been magnificent with his new team, the Houston Astros. Trading Peralta could result in the Brewers kicking themselves in the behind if they don't land a solid enough return.
Teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and Boston Red Sox could make sense as potential suitors for Peralta. They're all expected to be ultra-aggressive at the trade deadline while hunting starting pitching.