February 28: The Brewers have officially announced the deal, which covers the 2020-24 seasons and contains club options for 2025 and 2026.
February 26: The Brewers are closing in on an extension with righty Freddy Peralta, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter links). It’ll be worth a guaranteed $15.5MM over a five-year term. Peralta, a client of Rep 1 Baseball, will also give the Milwaukee organization a pair of club options in the pact. They could tack on another $14.5MM in total value if exercised.
As Rosenthal notes, this is nearly the same contract as that reached recently between Aaron Bummer and the White Sox. But there are some notable distinctions.
Peralta wouldn’t have qualified for arbitration until 2022 at the earliest. (Bummer was on track to be a Super Two at the end of the season.) And Peralta owns only a 4.79 ERA through 163 1/3 career innings. (Bummer had a highly productive 2019 effort.)
At the same time, there’s arguably even greater upside here for the Milwaukee organization. Peralta is capable of working as a starter — or, perhaps, as a provider of bulk innings or roving high-leverage arm. He may not yet have ironed out all the kinks, but he was a well-regarded prospect who now owns a flashy 11.6 K/9 (versus 4.2 BB/9) in his young MLB career. Oh, and he is still just 23 years of age.
Peralta’s earned-run numbers dipped in 2019 when compared to his 2018 debut. Like many other hurlers, he struggled to contain the long ball in a season that produced record home-run levels due to the altered composition of the baseball itself.
In other ways, though, he made clear strides. Peralta upped his average fastball to the 94 mph level on the year; notably, it trended steadily up to the point that he was sitting 96 by season’s end. That primary offering continues to exhibit excellent spin rate. Peralta boosted his swinging-strike rate to 13.0%. He was also fairly stingy in terms of hard contact; Statcast credited opposing hitters with a .333 wOBA but only a .309 xwOBA.
For the Brewers, the downside in such an extension is minimal given the low cost of the deal. It’s always possible that Peralta simply doesn’t piece everything together and remains a fringe big league option, but the financial risk is negligible. If Peralta is able to emerge as even a serviceable fifth starter or reliever, the deal will be well worth it; anything more could turn the pact into a downright bargain for president of baseball operations David Stearns and his staff. That’s not to say that Peralta shouldn’t have signed the deal — turning down life-changing money at any point is extraordinarily difficult — but the upside outweighs the risk rather notably.
As for how Peralta will factor into the immediate plans, that remains to be seen. He’s battling offseason acquisition Eric Lauer and right-hander Corbin Burnes for the final spot in Milwaukee’s rotation this spring. Even if he doesn’t win the job off the bat, injuries always arise, and the Brewers’ rotation has enough uncertain names that it seems likely we’ll see Peralta make some starts in 2020. If not, the aforementioned bullpen role always remains a possibility.
It’s also worth highlighting the extent to which Peralta’s deal enhances the long-term potential for a cost-efficient rotation in Milwaukee. Josh Lindblom’s three-year, $9.125MM deal spans the 2020-22 seasons. Brandon Woodruff and Burnes are controlled through 2024 and Adrian Houser through 2025. Obviously, not all five members of that quintet are going to pan out as viable big league starters. But some combination of those arms should comprise a notable chunk of the rotation for the foreseeable future — and they’ll likely do so while combining to earn less than $20MM annually as far into the future as 2022.
Peralta is now under control longer than any of his teammates, though Milwaukee’s affinity for precisely this type of value-focused contract structure suggests that similar arrangements will be pursued in the coming weeks and in subsequent offseasons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Love this deal!! It helps out the hitters of the NL Central!! Thank you Brew Crew!!!
Any NL Central team would want him at that price.
Yeah, right. He’s horrible.
He was a better pitcher than Craig Kimbrel last year.
They’re not paying him for what he’s been. He’s 23 and they’re buying in on him taking a step forward, which isn’t hard to see.
I don’t recall comparing him to Craig Kimbrel.
I said the National League Central hitters that are not a member of the Brewers are loving this signing. Obviously.
And I said every NL Central team would gladly have him at that price, to which you said, “Yeah, right.” The only team that might not are the reds.
And your point makes no sense of course. If National League hitters are going to light him up, which they will of course, why would any national league central team want this guy as part of their roster?
So you can see the future on how Peralta pitches the next 5 years?
So you can see the future and know that it won’t be per his usual track record? I think I will take my chances and watch the balls fly off the bats as his numbers continue with the same trajectory.
No I am going to that a chance at 3M per year for a guys prime who has an 11.2 K/9 rate and his HR/9 is just about league average. You think he’s going to regress as he ages and added another pitch?
You don’t know his “usual track record” yet. He’s 23 with less than 200 major league innings under his belt.
What bridge did this troll crawl out from under?
Not sure which bridge he crawled out from, but this is an excellent signing by Milwaukee. $3 million a year for a 23-year old with a great K-rate and loads of potential. Great job by Stearns.
What is your point Frank. Everyone was better than Kimbrel last year. So that is how you judge signing a stiff?
The Cubs would not be interested nor would the Cardinals or Reds (as you mentioned). Maybe the Pirates would bit so what?
You can add all the pitches you want but until you can show you have a new pitch that is effective who cares?
im with this guy, everyone other post is just hating. bunch of E-tards
Just admit your fault. You saw someone criticizing your pitcher and immediately assumed it was a Cubs fan, so you tried and failed for the insult about Kimbrel.
Frank there are teams that would not take that stiff if he played for free!
David Stearns has been right more often than not. Somehow I’m going to trust his opinion on the value of this kid over yours
Can’t wait to see him in a neck brace from all of the whiplash he’s going to have.
Right, league average hr/9 over his career.
Can’t wait to see you with a knife and fork, eating crow.
Enjoy 4th place. Peralta will help you get there.
Troll alert
There are lots of bridges in Chicago.
Idiot alert
Your mom is here?
Exhibit A on how low the comments sections have sunk here.
Vtadave I have to agree. Both points of view have merit and are worth mentioning but in an adult fashion and with facts. Show some class. Saw a comment by LouisianaAstros the other day about an Angels player that said just give him opioids referring to someone who was deceased. I don’t complain about the questionable editing here nor what they choose to write articles on while leaving out others but we are rapidly approaching a need to police the message boards especially with hateful and downright awful stuff like the Skaggs reference. The opioid crisis is a big deal and I admit it’s near and dear to me I lost a 19 year old employee because he got hurt and next thing you know pills weren’t enough and heroin eventually took his life before he was old enough to buy a beer. I don’t find it funny in the least
He’s going to break out this year
Why would you do this?
Because if he has a bounce back season this deal will become a tremendous value!
Why would you not do this? If he reaches his potential this is a steal for the Brewers. If he doesn’t, his contract won’t been an albatross to the franchise.
Am I missing something or is this the most the friendly extension ever signed?
Considering Freddie hasn’t cemented himself as a starter and could just as easily wind up being a late innings reliever, I think the deal is fair value for an early career extension. Even if the Brewers pick up both options, he will be heading into free agency for the first time at the age of 30. Meaning he can still land a big payday after earning close to $30MM to start his career. .
Ozzie Albies on Line 1
Interesting deal
This is surprising!
It is but I guess they want him around to see if he can deliver on his perceived talent level.
Its a good move. Get him for cheap so if the player breaks out and becomes a star they will have more control
Yup like this deal now go ahead and go ahead and get Woodruff,Houser,Burnes, Hader, Rasmussen, Huira and William’s. I have really liked how the White Sox has been locking up a lot of their young guys.
Think if the Brewers do the same it can help them be set up to compete for the next 4 to 5 years plus if they do this with like 5 players it helps them handle giving Yelich his extension he deserves. Plus Braun is coming off the books. Guys that enjoy where they goes a long way for an organization
I can see offering extensions to Woodruff, Hiura, Hader and Houser but Burnes and Williams (I’m assuming you mean Devin) are a bit premature.
Yeah your probably right but then again I also think if Erceg fails at his long look at third this spring that Gatewood could rebound this year into a platoon at third by July and Bickford will contribute substantially in the bullpen in second half.
You seem to have significantly more confidence than most in prospects who currently project to be fringe MLBers at best. I’m not convinced any minor leaguers not on the 40 man roster will see significant PT in the bigs thus season.
True but remember that the Royals three headed bullpen never made prospect list coming up in the minors either now that being said it’s not like they really lasted for many years of being dominate either.
Relievers tend to be much more volatile a difficult to project than positional players. Bickford is along ways down the pecking order to be counted on this season.
There is so much wrong here I don’t even know where to start. Erceg doesn’t have a long look at 3b. He’s been average at best and is in camp because he’s a former top prospect and in AAA. Gyorko, Holt, Healy are all ahead of him and quite easily. Gatewood has been even worse and isn’t an option for anything at the MLB level this year. He sucks. Bickford hasn’t thrown one pitch above A+…a great year for him is actually making it to AAA. This is all crazy talk
Spike?
Smart move by the Brewers. Think similar plans for Houser and Burnes? It’s too late to get Woodruff dirt cheap.
You can still lock up Woodruff to an affordable deal with a couple club options similar to how the Rays extend their young pitchers. It still gives the player some insurance against injuries (i.e. Nelson) in exchange for some cost certainty for the team.
Buys out arbitration years and maybe a pair of free agents years. Gives the Brewers financial control over Peralta. I don’t know if the Brewers even know what role Peralta is best suited for.
Peralta has add a slider over the winter that has been looking very good addition, so far through spring and winter ball. I think they are feeling very good about him starting continuously this year.
It doesn’t appear they do but a $3MM AAV over the first 5 years isn’t crippling if he winds up in the bullpen.
he’s not that good, but he’s got a pitch mix that presents some serious upside. great deal for the brewers.
He’s actually pretty good!
With the slider he added, and the early results in winter ball, he seems to be getting better.
And supposedly the metrics showed he was better than the results he got over the last couple years.
Taking advantage of a rough season and signing him at a massive discount or so they hope!
Fastball Freddy added a slider to the curve/hardstuff rerpetoire he already had over the off-season. There’s a change-up, too, although that needs some work. If they’re wrong, it isn’t a huge investment. They haven’t gotten much wrong with their analytics, though.
Can someone send Adam Lind and the Seattle Mariners “thank you” cards? He was one of the first players Stearns traded for after taking over in Milwaukee.
And just think, Peralta was considered a “lottery ticket” at the time.
Good scouting by the M’s- (not the trade lol) Peralta and Luis rengifo signed about the same time….. Enyel de los Santos too – all traded out of SEA
Peralta, 23, has logged over 163 mlb innings- to write him off is short sided and lacks understanding of how brewers pitching operates.
Brewers continue to make smart moves. This is a well
ran franchise!
how many championships they got? prior to 2008 they had 27 years without reaching the playoffs. right, well run franchise.
Pretty sure hes talking about currently. You won’t get a lot of argument about how well the organization was run from roughly 1985 through the early 2000’s…
But if championships are all that count to be considered well run, guess that means the cubs were atrocious for 108 years, had 1 successful season, and are now irrelevant again..?
Under Stearns they are 344-304 (86-76 per avg) and made the playoffs 50% of those seasons. Not sure what else is needed to be considered a well run franchise under his tenure.
All of this while going into what many thought would be a 5 year rebuild that he pulled off in just 2 seasons.
Prior to 12 years ago?
Okay, that’s pretty weak.
Prior to 2017, the Astros had never won a title either. Both are still relatively “young” franchises. Up until 2016, the Cubs hadn’t won a championship in over 100 years. The Red Sox also has a long drought. So, yeah, up until new ownership came in, the Brewers had a good run of being bad. It’s what happens when you have bad ownership. But they’re still showing improvement under the new owners.
My mind can’t even begin to wrap around how ignorant this comment is.
Championships are hard to win, man. Look how long it took the Cubs, Red Sox, and White Sox. The Dodgers haven’t won it all since 1988, the Orioles since 1983, the Pirates since 1979, and the Tigers since 1984. The Braves have only one since 1957. The Yanks won it all once since 2000. The Phillies have but 2 going back to 1915. And the Indians haven’t won a Series since 1948. This is the a silly take, judging a current front office for a team’s lack of titles for many years. The Brewers are one of the best-run teams in the majors.
They also got yelich for a price any team in Major League Baseball could have afforded. Signed several players for below market value like moose and grandel. And have drafted decent. They obviously want to win and have a plan to win vs making emotional based decisions and overpaying for players
bold. better hope he bounces back
curious what this says about his chances at the #5 spot
I really think he’s more important in the pen, but there may be a need for consideration of what Peralta wants. Maybe start him in the pen until Knebel comes back and is effective. Admittedly, that could be all season.
@ Eddie before adding the slider this winter I probably would have agreed. However, I think the team has seen enough improvement overall or they wouldn’t have made this deal right now..
Along with that, it gives them a little more flexibility with Burnes. He seems more suited for the pen at this point, than Peralta.
He’s in the mix w/Lauer for 5th spot.
I’ve always assumed Lauer was a lock in the rotation. Who’s 1 thru 4 then?
Woodruff, Anderson, Lindblom and Houser…in some order
It is extension season, and I’d say this is a good one. There is a lot of upside with Freddy, but I just hope he can reach his full potential.
It will be interesting to see which of the Bummer/Peralta conratcs provides the most value. Peralta.
Bummer’s extension was based on 1 excellent season, with some analytic red flags, while Peralta has superior saber stats which have not yet translated to on-field success.
cite your evidence, don’t just make claims.
pshaw. It’s the American way.
Sorry. Thought their differences were obvious. Didn’t want to write a novel.
The red flags for Bummer are the low BABIP, defensively reliant ground ball tendancies and low (for a 7th-9th inning guy) K rate. Not glaring or scary, but present.
Peralta has the velo and movement that translates to a high K rate, had terrible BABIP luck in 2019, xFIP vs. ERA, fly ball vs. line drive, fixable BB rate and questionable usage by the Brewers all show the potential to put it all together.
PS- “Peralta” at the end of my first sentence is a typo. Wasn’t guaranteeing his was the better deal
Peralta and Pablo Lopez are high up there on the “Man, I really wish Dipoto didn’t actually trade those two pitchers I’d never heard of for veterans I actually approved of them acquiring back in 2016 and 2017” list.
Hope he invests in a quality neck brace. Whiplash can’t feel too good.
I really like this extension, for both Freddy and the Brewers. Every Brewers’ beat writer has been raving about Freddy’s winter, and it looks like Stearns agrees. Peralta has been a one pitch pitcher up to this point in his career, but this winter, he added a slider that he “already feels like he can throw in any spot”. That’s a pretty big deal for a player that has thrown pretty much only fastballs to this point in his career, and the timing of this deal suggests that the Crew has seen enough of that slider to agree that it will be usable in game.
Really looking forward to this season, the team is relying on their young players to pick up the slack of departing veterans. They may not end up with the prettiest win total, but this season is going to set the team up for years to come with the youth and financial flexibility they gained.
Jeff, you state that the baseball was “altered” rather matter-of-factly; however, has this ever been proven or admitted to by MLB? I understand the evidence is there and many people agree that the ball was juiced, but is it a fact?
If Milwaukee gets into the playoffs yet again this season, Stearns should win Executive of the Year. He has made wholesale changes to this team this offseason and has managed to put together a relatively deep team on a shoe string budget. It will of course come down to the success of their pitching staff and locking up a promising arm like Peralta at these affordable numbers could prove to be an important step towards yet another unexpected run at a playoff berth. Stearns has already proven that he’s a Top 5 executive in MLB. I wonder what he could do with a deep pocket organization like Boston, Anaheim, Chicago, etc. If Anaheim fails again this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if they fire Eppler and go after Stearns for 2021.
Good scouting by the M’s- (not the trade lol) Peralta and Luis rengifo signed about the same time….. Enyel de los Santos too – all traded out of SEA
Whatever happened to waiting until a guy established himself at the Major League level before handing him a long-term deal? This could be a bargain, but it could also easily turn into a bunch of lost money if Peralta turns out to be nothing but a AAAA hurler.