Should Red Sox Trade For Two-Time All-Star Amid Rumors?
The Boston Red Sox have not made a major signing yet, but have already pulled off a few big-time trades to add to their starting rotation. They added Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo, but have shown interest in another arm.
The Red Sox are reportedly still working on signing multiple impact bats, including Alex Bregman. However, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon recently tabbed the Red Sox as a team showing interest in Freddy Peralta.
Peralta is coming off a career year and will turn 30 in June. The Brewers picked up his $8 million club option for next season, but after that, he will hit the open market. His value figures to exceed what the Brewers have offered in the past, making him a potential trade candidate. In fact, his timeline indicates he will be traded this winter, and the Red Sox would be a great fit for him.
Peralta is a two-time All-Star and would be the clear No. 2 for Boston. Adding him would give the Red Sox a rotation of Garrett Crochet, Peralta, Brayan Bello, Gray and Oviedo. Peralta is one of the best pitchers in baseball, so why would the Brewers consider trading him when he’s only making $8 million?
Well, that is just how the Brewers operate. They are a small market team that knows they will not spend what it takes to keep an ace like Peralta around. They traded Devin Williams, Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes a year before they hit the open market as well.
The Red Sox may not want to add another starter, but if Peralta is available, he would be tough to pass up. He is not going to be a urden on the payroll, and with just one year of control left, he won’t demand a haul of prospects as Crochet did.
An underrated aspect of acquiring Peralta is that he will be a free agent at the end of the year. If any team acquires him, they would have the inside track at re-signing him, but also, they are not tied to him. That means they could still go after the potential prize of next offseason: Tarik Skubal.
Skubal has been the talk of trade rumors all winter, but teams may be hesitant to give up prospects and potentially lose him in the following offseason. However, teams will have no problem entering a bidding war for him next year. Acquiring a pitcher with multiple years of control, or an expensive deal, could complicate that.
Peralta would bring an elite arm to Boston’s rotation, but also allow the Red Sox to pursue Skubal next year, if that’s what they want to do. Peralta posted a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts last season and notched at least 200 strikeouts for the third straight year.