With the 2025 MLB season nearing the July 31 trade deadline, fans of the Milwaukee Brewers may hear the name Freddy Peralta on the airwaves and interwebs involved in various transaction scenarios.
The veteran right-hander has been a fixture in Milwaukee’s starting rotation since his scintillating debut on Mother’s Day, 2018. All Peralta did that May afternoon in Denver was strike out 13 Colorado Rockies hitters over 5 2/3 innings and take a no-hitter into the sixth inning.
Since then, he has started 146 games, winning 62 of them, and registered a 3.69 ERA while reaching the 1000-strikeout milestone this season, the fastest Brewer to ever do so.
Despite the 29-year-old’s invaluable contribution to Milwaukee, recent rumors of the fan favorite being dealt this month only prove that baseball is a business.
The question True Blue Brew Crew fans want answered is, will Peralta still be a Brewer in August?
On June 30, CBS Sports reporter R.J. Anderson wrote a piece entitled, “Ranking top 25 MLB players who could move at the trade deadline, plus potential landing spots.” Anderson listed Peralta as the player with the second-most impact of any on his list, just behind the Rockies’ third baseman Ryan McMahon.
“While conventional wisdom suggests Peralta, the best starter on a playoff-caliber team, should remain in place, I think there’s reason to include him, if only just in case,” wrote Anderson. “Peralta’s name has populated the rumor mill dating back to the offseason before last, when the Brewers traded Corbin Burnes. He’s now under contract for just one more season, suggesting a move is probably coming at some point before Opening Day 2026.”
The market is not rife with starting pitching, and Anderson suggests that it could work in Milwaukee’s favor. He cites the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres as possible landing spots.
“Given the expected state of the market, Peralta could be the top available starter, creating the possibility that the Brewers could leverage other clubs to net an impressive return.”
MLB.com writer Thomas Harrigan believes “Fastball Freddy” could be on the move simply because the Brewers need to take a big swing to overcome the first-place Chicago Cubs. With one year left under Milwaukee’s control, Harrigan feels the time may be right for a trade now rather than to wait too long, especially with the Brewers chasing the Cubs in the standings.
“[T]he Brewers took a different path with shortstop Willy Adames last summer, opting not to trade the pending free agent,” wrote Harrigan on June 21. “But Milwaukee was in a much stronger position at that point, sitting comfortably atop the NL Central. This time around, with far less certainty in the standings, the Brewers could be more open to a significant move, and Peralta is the type of asset — a frontline starter with a year of team control remaining via an affordable $8 million club option in 2026 — who would command a sizable return.”
Loyal Brewers fans point to the 2008 blockbuster deal at the deadline that brought CC Sabathia to Milwaukee for three months, long enough to help Milwaukee to their first playoff appearance in 26 years. Sabathia went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA down the stretch for the Brewers.
He was traded for four players, and only one, Michael Brantley, went on to have a productive big-league career, and it is widely believed Milwaukee made the deal of the century.
While that 2008 trade was exemplary, their July 2022 transaction lives in infamy.
The Brewers dealt bullpen ace Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres on August 1, 2022, in exchange for four players. At the time, the trade was widely criticized because Milwaukee was very competitive and deeply in the postseason race. The situation three years ago was very similar to the Crew’s standing now; should the season end today, the Brewers would be a Wild Card team, and they are just four games out of first in the NL Central.
Another distinct parallel between the Hader deal and the possibility of Peralta being traded is that Hader had just one year remaining on his current contract in 2022. Some believe the Brewers may tread down that path once again and attempt to make a big splash with their roster.
Please don’t.
Milwaukee must take into account the year Peralta is having, which is arguably why the Brewers are revving up for another postseason run. Peralta, Milwaukee’s Opening Day pitcher the past two seasons, is 9-4 in 2025 and owns a remarkable 1.09 WHIP mark. He is on pace to surpass 30 starts in a season for the third straight year, making him one of the most dependable starters in the rotation.
If the Brewers’ front office personnel looked back three years ago, they would see that dumping Hader led to them missing the playoffs for the only time in the past seven seasons. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
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