The Yankees need rotation help and a lot of rumors have swirled about the team potentially adding a starter, especially in the trade market.
Freddy Peralta’s name has popped up a ton in the rumor mill for big trade targets, and while it is still uncertain if the Brewers will ultimately trade him or not, the odds have certainly increased in the past few weeks.
Thanks to their outfield and pitching depth, the Yankees might be able to compete with other rivals for his services, and while there’s not guarantee they get him, he’d be a massive addition.
Breaking down what the Brewers’ roster lacks, what the Yankees can offer, and why Peralta is ultimately such a strong fit, here’s our official Mock Trade for his services.
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What Would the Brewers Want From the Yankees In a Trade?
Evaluating the Brewers’ roster, their weaknesses lie at first base, shortstop, and the rotation, with their outfield having some concerns as well.
The Yankees lack a reliable shortstop right now and Ben Rice is not a player the team should entertain trading for one year of Freddy Peralta, so outfielders and pitchers are the areas where these two sides match up best.
Jasson Dominguez makes sense as a starting left fielder on the surface, but the Brewers prioritize good defense so there are some concerns about whether he’d be that appealing for them.
As for Spencer Jones, he’s a more apt defensive outfielder and could provide some of the power they lack, but he’s a risky player and some organizations would be completely out on him as a prospect.
Where I’d think the Yankees would be able to generate some buzz in a deal is with their pitching prospects, with names such as Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, Ben Hess, Carlos Lagrange, and Bryce Cunningham coming to mind.
How about MLB pitchers such as Luis Gil or Will Warren, who are both young and affordable, that can slot into the Brewers’ rotation and provide them with some firepower?
Analyzing these needs, the Yankees could put together this three-player package that I believe would be a strong offer for the Brewers (depending on what their evaluations of these guys is):
- Luis Gil
- Brendan Jones
- Ben Hess
In this deal, the Brewers would land two pitchers, one for their Major League roster in Luis Gil who could rebound with them next season due to their strong pitching development program.
As for Ben Hess, he’s a good Minor League pitcher who is outside of the top-100 but certainly has value on the market due to his good fastball, strong breaking ball, and newly-developed changeup.
Brendan Jones is the sweetner in this trade because he has the excellent bat-to-ball skills, improving game power, and defensive abilities that could attract the Brewers in a deal.
He could be ready for MLB action in 2026, and while this deal doesn’t have the flashy names inside the organization, I have a weird feeling this could work the same way the Brewers made a weird deal for Devin Williams but got great value.
Freddy Peralta Could Be The Missing Piece For the Yankees’ Rotation
I want to start by talking about everything I don’t like about Freddy Peralta and his outlook for the 2026 season because that’s an important part of this conversation.
Peralta had an 85.5% Left On Base% which is unsustainable, it’s the highest mark he’s ever had in a single season and there’s a near-zero percent chance he repeats that again.
For context, the average LOB% for a starting pitcher in 2025 was 72.7%, so while some pitchers can stay above that market because they’re good pitchers who get outs more effectively than others, this is a luck-fueled number.
He also does allow a good bit of loud contact, his Barrel% against (9.3%) and low GB% (37.5%) would lead to a worse-than-average HR/9 rate in all likelihood.
Finally, Peralta does not pitch deep into games, and while he doesn’t have completely terrible numbers third time through the order, I would hope there’s a vision to improve his start-to-start volume.
With all of that out of the way, let’s talk about why Freddy Peralta would be an excellent get for the Yankees’ rotation.
The Yankees would be adding a pitcher with four plus pitches who has learned to command all of them incredibly well, attacking all different quadrants of the zone effectively.
Freddy Peralta was in the 82nd Percentile in K-BB% when looking at starters who tossed at least 100 IP in the 2025 season, this is a pitcher who excels in a metric that is incredibly important for projecting future ERA.
Over the last three seasons, Peralta’s 20% K-BB% is ahead of pitchers such as Blake Snell and Bryan Woo and in the same realm as pitcher such as Gerrit Cole and Hunter Greene.
As I mentioned earlier I’d hope there’s some wiggle room to help him pitch deeper into games, and I think this is a good candidate for a sinker.
You don’t want to mess with success, but Freddy Peralta’s development of a changeup over the last few years would be a good indicator that he can spin the ball into righties reliably.
This is a pitcher who is almost always a top 20-25 pitcher and might be even better with the right adjustments, and there’s also the fact that he will cost just $8 million for the 2026 season.
A combination of Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Freddy Peralta, Carlos Rodon, and Cam Schlittler inside the rotation would be devastating, and it would leave plenty of payroll for a return of Cody Bellinger.
This could be one of the best pitching staffs in the game if the team properly reinforces its bullpen, and the Yankees should be all over this if the prices match up.
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