MLB Insider Drops Hints About Brewers' Impending Freddy Peralta Decision

Every Milwaukee Brewers fan remembers the infamous Josh Hader trade in 2022 with mixed emotions.

On one hand, the Brewers wound up getting a player in the deal (Esteury Ruiz) who eventually turned into All-Star catcher William Contreras in another trade. But Milwaukee essentially punted on the division race when they were in first place at the time, and that didn't sit well with players in the clubhouse.

In 2025, they have an analogous decision to make. Ace Freddy Peralta has 1 1/2 years of team control remaining, and the Brewers could make a killing if they traded him to a pitching-needy contender. But Milwaukee has been red-hot in June, and trading Peralta just as the team is trying to chase down the first-place Chicago Cubs would be crushing to morale.

On Friday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic discussed the Brewers' dilemma, and seemed to hint that owner Mark Attanasio wouldn't be too keen on making another version of the Hader trade his front office orchestrated three years ago.

"Attanasio is sensitive to perception. Peralta, on track for potentially his best season, is signed for a below-market $8 million salary both this season and next," Rosenthal wrote. "Trading him at the deadline –after an offseason in which the Brewers parted with Hader’s successor, Devin Williams, and lost shortstop Willy Adames to free agency – likely would not be received well, both inside and outside the clubhouse.

"Peralta is not quite an ace – his 3.74 expected ERA is above his actual 2.90. But at his salary, he’s also not the kind of pitcher a small-market contender should trade at the deadline. Not unless the return significantly upgrades another part of the major-league roster."

Though Rosenthal isn't reporting that Peralta won't be traded, or even that a trade isn't somewhat likely, there are few reporters around the game more tuned into what owners and front offices are thinking.

It would be sinful to many to see the Brewers trade Peralta after the hot month they've had. And it seems as though Rosenthal would be one of the many people who would be surprised if it happened.