The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best rotation in baseball, one that could potentially expand to six in 2026 with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, and Emmet Sheehan.
Room for one more?
Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller believes Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman could force manager Dave Roberts to navigate a “fun problem” with Milwaukee Brewers ace Freddy Peralta.
At the same time, Miller shared the reasons why such a trade between the two-time defending World Series champions and a small-market team that’s become the poster child of having free agents signed away or trading them at the deadline, knowing they can’t re-sign them, the Milwaukee Brewers, isn’t all that likely.
"If there's one team that the Brewers are probably even less inclined to help out than the Chicago Cubs, it's the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are basically the devil as far as Milwaukee is concerned, both breaking baseball with their limitless spending and sweeping the Brewers out of the NLCS one month ago. As such, we've got them paying a considerable premium here in the form of two top-60 prospects and a bit of a lottery-ticket southpaw with great strikeout stuff,” Miller wrote.
"And if the Dodgers complain that the asking price is too high, Brewers GM Matt Arnold will probably just tell them, 'Well, go buy another solution then' while hanging up the phone. Could you imagine this 2026 rotation with Peralta, though? Where exactly he would slot (maybe No. 3?) Amid the already sensational quartet of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Shohei Ohtani and Tyler Glasnow would be a fun 'problem' for Dave Roberts and Co. To solve."
While the Brewers may not like the Dodgers, the two teams did business this past July. It was a small-scale move, LAD trading outfielder Steward Berroa to America’s Dairyland for cash considerations. It’s not like the 18-year trade cold war happening between the Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants.
Still, Friedman giving up any significant assets for another pitcher feels like overkill. The infield and the bullpen probably need more attention, and at least the latter is expected to get it in free agency.
Peralta is due a contract expected to exceed $150 million in 2026/2027 free agency. While he’d be a cheap investment for next season at $8 million, the Dodgers are not in a position to make such a move just yet.
If the rotation is worn down from multiple deep October runs, perhaps this can be revisited at the MLB trade deadline.