Sep 4, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Freddy Peralta (51) reacts after striking out Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm (not pictured) with the bases loaded in the fourth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Freddy Peralta-Mets Stunner Explained For Brewers Fans

Originally posted on Milwaukee Brewers on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Jan 21, 2026 10:35 PM ET

The Milwaukee Brewers, unfortunately, will not employ Freddy Peralta for the 2026 Major League Baseball season.

Peralta has spent his entire eight-year big league career as a member of the Brewers but will call the New York Mets home for at least the 2026 campaign. ESPN's Jeff Passan broke the news of the deal after Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the talks were ongoing between the two sides.

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"Breaking: The New York Mets have acquired All-Star right-hander Freddy Peralta in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, sources tell ESPN. Deal is done. Top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat are headed to Milwaukee. One more big league pitcher will head to the Mets."

The Brewers made yet another big-time trade

It's a tough pill to swallow. Peralta became a star in Milwaukee. He developed from a hurler bouncing around the rotation and bullpen to someone who is now a clear-cut No. 1 starter. He was the best starter on the top regular season team in baseball last year. Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts across 176 2/3 innings of work. That's not common and he finished fifth in the National League Cy Young Award voting. Unfortunately, he is now the latest star on the way out of town by way of trade.

While retaining Peralta for the 2026 season would’ve been great, deals like this have become a trend for Milwaukee. The Brewers operate with a much lower budget than teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers or Mets, and sometimes that leads to difficult trades. Last offseason, it was Devin Williams. The year before it was Corbin Burnes. This time, it's Peralta. This one certainly fits that description.

For Peralta, he is going to be a free agent next season. He'll make just $8 million in 2026, which is affordable for any big league team. But he's already projected for much more in his next deal. He'll be a free agent next offseason and Spotrac already has his projected market value at over $152 million over five years.

Milwaukee has never given out a deal of that size in free agency. Christian Yelich landed a larger extension, but the price tag simply is too high and so it made sense to bring in two legit prospects to town that can help the team as soon as 2026.

It's the unfortunate side of baseball. It's hard to find a star like Peralta and even more difficult to keep them around in the long run.

This article first appeared on Milwaukee Brewers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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