Right-hander Freddy Peralta is in the final guaranteed year of his deal, though the Brewers have a club option to keep him around for 2026. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that Peralta has tried to get an extension done to keep him in Milwaukee longer but hasn’t yet been successful.
Peralta and the Brewers have already signed one extension. In February of 2020, they agreed to a five-year deal that guaranteed him $15.5MM over the 2020-24 campaigns. That bought out his remaining pre-arbitration and arbitration seasons. The club added two extra years of potential control via affordable $8MM club options for 2025 and 2026. They already triggered the first of those options.
Another extension would cost far more. At the time of the first one, Peralta wasn’t even established as a bonafide major league starter. He had 163 1/3 innings under his belt, over 22 starts and 33 relief appearances. His 30% strikeout rate was high but he had walked 11% of batters faced and was sporting a 4.79 earned run average. He was still two years away from qualifying for arbitration.
Things have certainly changed since then. Peralta has not only established himself as a starter, but he’s proven himself to be a great one. He stayed primarily in a relief role in 2020 but has been almost exclusively in the rotation since then, with just one relief appearance in both 2021 and 2022. On the whole, from 2021 to 2025, he has thrown 638 2/3 innings for the Brewers with a 3.40 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. He hasn’t been on the injured list since 2022. FanGraphs has credited him with 12.6 wins above replacement for that span, putting him in the top 20 of all pitchers in the majors.
He is at a point where he could rightly ask for a nine-figure deal. In the past five years, six other pitchers have hit the century mark on extensions as they neared free agency, as shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker. Zack Wheeler’s deal is a bit of an outlier in the group, since that was for his age 35- to -37 seasons. As for the other five, Garrett Crochet got $170MM over six years, José Berríos $131MM over seven, Tyler Glasnow $111.6MM over four, Luis Castillo $108MM over five and Joe Musgrove $100MM over five. In each case, the player was within two years of reaching free agency.
Crochet got to another level presumably because of his age, as he was slated to hit free agency just after his 27th birthday. Berríos also had youth on his side, as he was slated for free agency ahead of his age-29 season. Castillo and Musgrove were 30 in the first years of their respective pacts. Glasnow’s deal started with his age-31 season. Peralta is currently 29, so he’ll be 30 next year, the final club option on his current deal.
Peralta’s stats put him in a similar range to those guys. He doesn’t have Crochet’s youth but his major league track record is longer. Glasnow had a 3.03 ERA in the five years prior to signing his deal but obvious workload concerns. Berríos, Musgrove and Castillo were more reliable but had respective ERAs of 3.74, 3.61 and 3.64 in the five-year stretch leading up to their pacts, fairly close to Peralta’s 3.40 mark.
Assuming Peralta is looking for a similar guarantee to those players, it’s not surprising that the Brewers haven’t given it to him. They have only twice gone into nine-figure territory on a contract, doing so for position players both times. Ryan Braun got $105MM way back in 2011 and Christian Yelich got $188.5MM in 2020.
On the pitching side, they have been far more conservative. Matt Garza’s $50MM deal in 2014 is still the franchise record. In the past decade, Peralta’s first deal is actually near the top of the list. Aaron Ashby also signed an early-career extension, getting to $20.5MM, which is the most the Brewers have spent on a pitcher in the past ten years.
The lack of a deal will naturally lead to speculation about a Peralta trade. It’s well known that the Brewers aren’t afraid to trade players who are nearing the open market. Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes are two of the most notable examples. Hader was traded at the 2022 deadline, when he was 15 months from free agency. Burnes was traded going into the 2024 season, his final year of club control.
The Brewers also suddenly have a loaded rotation, despite dealing with a number of injuries earlier in the season. The current logjam is such that Aaron Civale, a solid veteran starter, got bumped to the bullpen. He asked to be traded and that request was granted, as he was flipped to the White Sox earlier today.
Trading Peralta now would be a much different matter, however. Civale is more of a back-end guy and he may not have been on track for being part of a postseason rotation. Peralta, on the other hand, is the club’s ace the most surefire postseason starter they have. Jacob Misiorowski has exciting stuff but has just one major league start under his belt. Chad Patrick and Quinn Priester are also fairly inexperienced. Jose Quintana is a veteran soft tosser at this point in his career. Nestor Cortes and Brandon Woodruff are currently on the injured list.
The Brewers understandably felt they could survive without Civale. Woodruff could be back in the mix soon. They also have Logan Henderson, who pitched well in the majors earlier this year, on optional assignment. Tobias Myers, who had a good year in 2024, is in Triple-A as well.
But subtracting an ace would be much more of a white flag for the season. The Brewers are currently just 2.5 games out of a playoff spot and probably wouldn’t consider a Peralta trade unless they fell further back in the standings. Heyman writes that there is belief in the industry that the Brewers will hold Peralta and pick up his option for next year, though it’s always possible they are compelled to change their minds by an offer that is too good to pass up.
The Brewers did deal Hader when he was at this stage of his club control, though the short-term results on that deal were bad. It was reported that the move didn’t go over especially well in the clubhouse and the club faded down the stretch. In the long run, it worked out well, however. The Brewers got Robert Gasser and Esteury Ruiz in that deal, later using Ruiz to get catcher William Contreras.
Perhaps a Peralta trade becomes more likely in the offseason when he’s a year away from the open market, as that was when they flipped Burnes. By that time, perhaps they feel better about Misiorowski, Patrick or Gasser stepping up to replace Peralta at the front of the rotation.
There are many variables at play, but with a new contract unlikely, Peralta rumors are likely to swirl until he is traded.
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
In theory that’s why you bring up Misiorowski now, to see if he is a top of the rotation player, if he shows he is, at the deadline you trade Peralta, if he needs more seasoning you send him down and hold on to Peralta. But in reality Peralta should be kept and eventually tagged with a QO.
Nah, they’re not making this decision based on Misiorowski. They have no intention on signing Peralta to an extension.
The way the Brewers should be using their money should be signing Misiorowski to an 8-year 45M extension right now with 2 option years and incentives. Top 5 Cy Young+2M, Cy Young +5M, etc…
You give him 10M SB and see if he’ll sign.
He’s got one start. He probably won’t sign, but Chourio wasn’t likely to give up 10 years of team control.
The Brewers are also the best team in Baseball at developing pitching. Not saying they’ve got the best… but no team has a bigger difference in ERA when a pitcher goes from another MLB team to the Brewers. The Dodgers are up there.
The Brewers also have Chad Patrick, one of the NL ROY candidates who may get sent down, Logan Henderson who has an ERA of ~1.70 in his first 4 starts, Quinn Priester who they traded a lot for and who has started to turn it around, they have Tobias Meyers who had a full season with a 3.00 ERA in 25 starts once brought up and he can’t stay in the rotation.
Bishop Letson is just outside the top 100 on BA, they have Knoth who was on that trajectory. Bjorn Johnson, KC Hunt, they’ve got a ton of arms. Tyson Hardin is throwning in the upper 90s late into games.
And …as importantly as anything, they DON’T have money. Giving Peralta a 5-year extension at this point would be foolish. He’s going to be 31. So 31-36 as his velocity starts to come down and injuries start to become more of an issue, you’ll pay him yearly what his whole salary was.
I love Freddy and I’d go 3 years 60M, but that’s it. He can and will get more…unless he has an injury(as Woodruff did) but that’s the life of a small market team.
You’re definitely HI if you believe Miserioski would extend for so low. His ceiling is way up there. That floor is elite Closer. You want 8 seasons, pay him with options that total 96M.
Cool.
I wouldn’t trust Arnold to make a good deal for the crew based upon the returns for Burnes and Williams
Geeze. No kidding. He’s getting hosed on trades. Embarrassing.
I mean, the two SPs that he got in both trades both got serious injuries before they could really pitch for the Brewers. Devin Williams got pulled from his closer role, so they sold high on him and don’t need him in their bullpen this year. In return, they got a mid-rotation SP that unfortunately got hurt, the jury is out on Durbin, and $2 million, which they used to pick up Quintana ($2 mil salary for this year). Really not a terrible trade.
Ortiz looked decent last year, so there is hope, DL still hasn’t reached the point of failure yet, and they still got a first round pick in Brock Burke that we don’t know enough about yet. Gotta wait at least two more years to see how the trades really turned out
Yeah, but for those particular players, the trades should have netted more slam dunks, not have the jury still be out on, really, all players received.. A Cy Young winner and one of the best closers in the league for years and thats it? Pretty terrible return that I was disappointed on from the get go.
Most times big name players get traded for big name prospects, which more often than not fizzle out. The Brewers are trading for major league-ready guys. These guys are providing actual innings in the majors. Durbin has played in the majors for like a few months. Are we already judging every player the White Sox got in the Crochet trade as failed? These guys have barely played.
Also, this is a reliever we are talking about, it’s not like they traded away prime Scherzer or Verlander
Yeah, that closer had given up like 8 ERs in about 3 innings in the post-season and then collapsed when he got to New York.
And they got two top ~60 prospects from Baltimore. What “slam dunks” do you propose they get for ONE year of a pitcher?
It’s all moot as the Brewers have by far one of the top farm systems in Baseball, so they’re not trading for prospects and they’re not trading Peralta at this point.
Arnold has done an incredible job with this team and taking over for Stearns.
in fairness one just blew out his arm and needs TJ and the other is awful….
but I do understand your point. he could have got more than he did when he traded them.
It would be shrewd to trade him to not offer him an extension and trade him at the deadline next season. It would be one of the all-time shrewdest deals in MLB history.
But if I’m Peralta, Im dragging up if I don’t get an extension in the off season. 80% effort, taking it easy on the arm.
You’re going into your FA year giving 80% effort?
That’s a…terrible idea.
Pretty sure Freddy’s going to be traded at some point either this offseason or at the deadline next year. Brewers will get some young pitching, develop them, bring them up and become quality arms at the big league level. That’s what they do, it’s just the ability to have a great player development allows them to play within their budget.
They don’t have to. They have SO many arms that are either ready or on their way up. Just in AA, Hardin and Wichrowski are both power righties with plus stuff.
They have Gasser coming back from TJ(won’t be 100% until next year) but you’ll have Misiorowski, Henderson, Gasser, Patrick, Myers, Hardin, Wichrowski, you have Letson, Knoth coming behind him…and that’s assuming Ashby/Hall don’t ever become starters.
They are also just LOADED with up the middle young, premium talent and they have 5 picks in the top 68 this year.
Oh, and I forgot about Priester, the former 1st rd pick they got from the Red Sox who has been dealing as of late. 7IP, 1H 11Ks in his last outing.
The former “first round bust.” No team takes other teams pitchers and sees a bigger improvement in ERA than the Brewers.
That’s over the last several years and among EVERY team in baseball. They’re also good about finding good bargins to get innings out of guys like Wade Miley and Jose Quintana most recently.
One wonders if small market teams aren’t intentionally keeping budgets low in case of an extended lockout coming after the 2026 season…
I understand the want for an extension from Peralta – he already took a below market deal for the security, he’d probably do $20 mil/year or something if they extended him right now. The problem is the Brewers don’t want to spend more than $10 million on any pitcher, which will keep them focusing on prospects. Doesn’t make a good look for your young pitchers though, they know they won’t make anything unless they get trade to a big market team.
Burnes got traded to Baltimore but didn’t need to stay there, he went where he wanted and got the big contract of his choice in the offseason. A trade is just a trade, free agency is free agency.
The clearer message is that if you’re a top pitching talent the Brewers will not pursue you in free agency because they can develop their own. and as you approach your prime you will probably get traded to a larger market to showcase your skills. Not a bad deal at all
Right…they develop them better than pretty much any other team right now…and they have so many young, controllable arms, prospects and guys on the way up, they don’t need to do anything.
I don’t know that Peralta gets traded. The Brewers “need to get something back,” isn’t as urgent.
Their window is really starting to open up next year. Pratt, Quero Wilken, Adams, Henderson, Hardin, Wichrowski, Yoho as well as 3-4 hard throwing relievers will all be added to the mix in the near future with a bunch of guys like Burke,…Bitonti, Boeve, Black should work is way back into the mix, Lara…and then 2-3 years for Made, Pena, Letson, Knoth…
If they’re any good they will get paid when they hit free agency.
I hate to say it, but as a Brewers fan I’d be fine if they flipped him this offseason. The reason they’ve been able to stay in contention for almost a decade now as a small market team is they make those hard decisions with Burnes, with Hader, with Williams. Keep resupplying the farm system. They have a glut of starting pitching. I’m not saying having Freddy isn’t a massive bonus but if they can flip him to fill other areas of need or keep the farm system stocked, I’m for it. A front of the rotation guy on a rental deal making just $8 million next year? Any team in the league would sign up for that.
Be quiet Freddy. You are not going to like pitching for the White Sox.
Matt Arnold has the David Stearns philosophy that Stearns brought to the Mets. SP long term contracts are just too risky — look at Burnes for starters.
Unfortunately Peralta will probably be traded and the lame “small market team” can’t afford excuse will be used once again. Of course they can afford $18mil for Hoskins or pay Woodruff while he’s injured. But that’s supposedly different correct?
Milwaukee will probably hold onto Peralta @ $8m in 2026 and QO him. Burnes and Hader had poor relationships with the FO and Williams was expensive/often injured and a less valuable bullpen arm. Different circumstances.
Extend 3 years, next season and 2 more so he hits FA at 32. It’s nice to see he likes and wants to stay here.
That would never get done unless those 2 new years were for $40M+ each, so again, that would never get done.
You believe Peralta is getting 40mil a year after another year pitching?
Quick browse on Bref has Jack Flaherty as a similar pitcher. Jack has a 3/49M ongoing contract.
Freddy is asking Milw, like he did the first extension. Look at Woodruff. He doesn’t want that to become him. It’ll be 8M next season, but they could as suggested make a 3 year offer wiping next year’s 8mil and replacing it at 15M a season for 45M overall. Maybe 3/54 overall.
No I don’t believe Peralta will get $40M per year. I think he’ll get a 4-6 year deal around $22-$25M per season as a FA because he’s been more consistent and reliable than Flaherty. If MIL wanted him to accept 2 years, they’d have to significantly overpay in AAV to get him to accept.
Okay you created an amount he’d need to stay with the team 2 additional years. He’s asking the team.
The Brewers generally dont let high profile pitchers play out their last year, and I’d expect that to continue with Freddy despite his modest salary.
They won’t trade him in season if they are in contention though, Stearns talked about how the Hader deal impacted the clubhouse, and I’d imagine Arnold is wary of risking that.
Brewers set up pretty nice rotation wise even without Freddy next year, so hopefully they can get a major league ready slugger with control back for him this off-season
I wonder if the Dodgers try and trade for Peralta during the trade dead line, what do you guys think the brew crew wants for him?.
Dodgers don’t trade with Milw for Milw prices to complete a trade. They can afford players in FA.
Mark A is too cheap
So are wisconsin people. And the biggest cry babies. Don’t want if you dont like Yooper
This is the risk of an early extension
The upside: Your career doesn’t pan out, but you’ve secured $12M-$15M after taxes/agents for yourself and your family by the time you are 30 years old, which is a lifetime of income for even high earning individuals in The Real World.
The downside: Relative to your profession, you’ve locked yourself in to lower level salaries and are locked into a *well* below market option at the exact moment you’d otherwise be cashing in for guaranteed multiple years and *tens* upon *tens* of millions of dollars- which, in this sport/field, a year younger or older and a career walk year or a *very* below market option pushing that FA cash-in back a full year, risking injury, risking regression, etc. is a massive gamble that could cost you those tens upon tens of millions.
This is why I feel like players should ask teams to meet them more in the middle where these ‘below market’ club options are still a much higher percentage of their true market value, with buyouts that represent that cheaper version of the option, so that these high risk/high reward early extensions don’t deny the player of their potential market value and the team isn’t stuck with too much of an extra financial commitment.
In hindsight, a contract like this should have probably been the same overall guarantee and progressively larger salaries, but the option(s) should have been for like $16M and $17.5M w/ an $8M buyout (equalizing the option value) on the first year and a $4M buyout on the second year (making that first option equivalent to a 1 year/$20M club option, which would represent market value minus the extra years of commitment and expense) because I think, psychologically, that would make the player more comfortable giving up the free agent years and it engenders more loyalty to the club and all of those price points are still quite reasonable in today’s market.
Except early extension contracts for baseball are guaranteed. Not like the Packers waiving Alexander and a decent chunk of money in Alexander’s contract is lost. Peralta wasn’t a Mil plus draft of intl contract signee. He secured that he’d be set for life when he agreed to it.