The Boston Red Sox have a lot of boxes to check on their offseason to-do list, but finding a clear No. 2 starter to pick up some slack behind Garrett Crochet should be near the top of it.
The Red Sox have a logjam in their outfield and one of the strongest farm systems in the league to potentially trade with, and last winter's Crochet trade has reporters and fans expecting another massive move from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. Boston has been named a fit for a fair few top pitcher trade candidates, including the Minnesota Twins' Joe Ryan, the Detroit Tigers' Tarik Skubal, the Cincinnati Reds' Hunter Greene, and most recently, the Milwaukee Brewers' Freddy Peralta.
During an October 21 appearance on the "Foul Territory" podcast, Cyrt Hogg, Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, noted that it isn't certain that Peralta will be traded this winter, but he's heard from various sources that it's a possibility. The 29-year-old will be a free agent before the 2027 season, and it's highly unlikely that the Brewers will be able to meet his asking price. They could trade him this winter to get a return for him before his likely departure in free agency.
Peralta has spent all eight seasons of his big league career in Milwaukee and posted a 3.59 ERA, 1.132 WHIP and 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings over 211 appearances in that time. In 2025, he clocked a 2.70 ERA, 1.075 WHIP, 204 strikeouts, 66 walks and a National League-leading 17 wins over 176.2 frames. He also earned his second career All-Star appearance.
Brewers may be willing to trade ace Freddy Peralta and the Red Sox could capitalize
While it will take a significant package to entice the Brewers into a trade for Peralta, it could take less than potential deals for Skubal, Ryan or Greene would. Skubal is a Cy Young Award winner, and he's about to win his second one for his body of work in 2025 (2.21 ERA, 241 strikeouts in 195.1 innings). Ryan just earned his first career All-Star nod, and he has two years of team control remaining. Greene was an All-Star and received Cy Young votes in 2024, and his contract runs through the 2029 season.
Trading for Skubal or Ryan would be huge risk because of their respective prices and their proximity to free agency. Skubal has been the best pitcher in the AL for the last two seasons and he's a Scott Boras client, which means he's unlikely to sign a contract extension anywhere he lands. If the Red Sox give up, for example, a big league outfielder and four top prospects for Skubal and they don't win the World Series next year, the deal will be a loss. It also wouldn't be worth it to trade a massive package for Ryan only to fail to extend him.
Peralta will still be a pricey trade candidate, but he doesn't have any awards on his résumé and he'd come with just one year of control, so his price would be lower than Skubal, Ryan or Greene. He's also not represented by Boras, so Boston could have an easier time trying to extend him, but the trade would still be a huge risk since an extension isn't guaranteed.
This year's free agent market is rather underwhelming for both pitchers and position players. The Red Sox have a fair few top-tier trade candidates to choose from, but each one comes with different risks, as all trades do. Crochet is already a true ace, and Peralta would be an excellent No. 2 to back him up, probably for the most reasonable price among Boston's other trade options.