The Boston Red Sox were able to return to the postseason in 2025 for the first time in four years. However, while the team made improvements over previous seasons, the Red Sox still have a long way to go before they are legitimate championship contenders again.
The Red Sox made a bold move before the 2025 season when they acquired starting pitcher Garrett Crochet from the Chicago White Sox. Crochet had flashed his talent while pitching for a team that had a worse regular-season record than the 1962 expansion New York Mets and the Red Sox had high hopes for him.
Crochet turned out to be even better than the Red Sox expected and he was a legitimate ace on the pitching staff. He vaulted himself into Cy Young contender status, and he is likely to be in a close race with Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers for the award. As good as Crochet is, one brilliant starting pitcher is not enough for an elite team.
The Red Sox need to get better in that area. They need to make a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire Freddy Peralta, the ace of that team's staff.
Peralta is about to enter the final year of his contract with the Brewers before becoming a high-priced free agent. The Brewers may be in a position where they need to trade Peralta in order to get some value for him because it is unlikely that this small-to-medium market team will be able to generate an offer that would allow him to remain with the Brewers on a long-term basis.
Peralta is coming off a sensational year
The 29-year-old Peralta has been a two-time All-Star with the Brewers, and that includes his selection this year. He had a remarkable season for the Brewers that saw him finish with a 17-6 record, a 2.70 earned run average and 204 strikeouts in 176.2 innings. He had better than a 3-1 strikeout to walk ratio, and Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy knew he would get a solid effort from Peralta every time he took the mound.
No team likes the idea of trading its best pitcher, but the Brewers would benefit by trading Peralta to a contending team that is willing to part with key players rather than just lose him through free agency. Peralta signed a five-year, $15.5 million contract and the 2026 season will see him earn $8 million in the final year of the deal.
The Red Sox could entice a deal that may be palatable for the Brewers. Milwaukee was able to win the National League Central Division and earn the best record in the NL even though the Brewers are a team that does not have superstars.
One player the Red Sox can send to the Brewers is first baseman Triston Casas. The Red Sox had hopes that Casas would blast 35-40 home runs per season. However, he has been hit with injuries in each of the last two years.
He had a rib injury in the 2024 season that limited him to 63 games and 243 plate appearances. Casas had 13 home runs and 32 runs batted in his limited season.
The first baseman tore his Achilles in May and missed the rest of the 2025 season after playing in just 29 games. His numbers were poor as he slashed .182/.277/.303 with 3 homers and 11 RBI prior to the injury.
With two seasons like that, it doesn't seem likely that he would be acceptable to the Brewers. However, he was healthy in 2023 when he blasted 24 home runs and drove in 65 runs in 132 games. Casas is also known for having and excellent eye at the plate.
Red Sox could also send a pitcher or two to the Brewers
In addition to Casas, adding relief pitchers to the deal would make it more attractive.
The Red Sox could also send relief pitchers Greg Weissert and Zack Kelly to the Brewers. Both were productive relievers for the Red Sox last year and they could mitigate the loss of Peralta.
Weissert had a 6-6 record while appearing in 72 games and pitching 67.0 innings. He had a 2.82 ERA and was able to finish 11 games last season. Kelly was not as consistent as Weissert, but he showed improvement in the second half of the season. He had a 4.58 ERA with 35 strikeouts in 35.1 innings and proved to be a workable reliever for Cora.
Casas, Weissert and Kelly are not equal to Peralta in terms of value. Both teams know that. However, Casas has potential to be a key long ball contributor and Peralta will be out of the team's control after one more year, so it's a deal the Brewers can consider.
