Why Brewers traded Freddy Peralta away to the New York Mets

Billy Heyen

•
Why Brewers traded Freddy Peralta away to the New York Mets image

The rumors had been there most of the offseason, but it wasn't a sure thing that the Milwaukee Brewers would trade away Freddy Peralta.

Now it has happened. They dealt Peralta on Wednesday night to the New York Mets.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Brewers get two prominent prospects in return, Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat.

It's still a bit of a surprise to see the team that just had the best record in the National League trade away their ace who just had a 2.70 ERA.

Here, we'll make some sense of it.

MORE: How Trent Grisham's decision ruined the Yankees' offseason plans

Why did the Brewers trade Freddy Peralta to the Mets?

This all comes down to club control.

The 2026 season will be Peralta's last under his current contract. 

If he puts together a solid campaign, it's unlikely the Brewers could win a bidding war for him in free agency.

Instead, they get two promising young players to have for the next half-decade or more.

MORE: Bo Bichette comments exhibit clear hyprocrisy

Williams is a shortstop and ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 30 prospect in all of baseball.

Sproat was the No. 5 prospect in a strong Mets system, and he pitched his first 20.2 innings with 17 strikeouts as part of his MLB debut season in 2025.

A team like the Brewers has to make moves like this at times to stay relevant in the long haul.

Getting Williams especially, with Sproat as well, is a great combination for a guy they would've lost after the season anyway.

More MLB news:

Editorial Team