Grading 4 NY Mets trade packages for Brewers ace Freddy Peralta

Six of us from the Rising Apple team have taken our shots at predicting the New York Mets' offseason, diving into everything from free-agent signings, contract predictions, departures, and trades. To that end, we're going to be following up on those predictions throughout the offseason.

One of the most common predictions was the Mets landing ace Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers, with four of us coming up with mock trades. As one of the few who isn't projecting Peralta to land in Queens, I have no dog in this fight and therefore can evaluate these packages objectively.

All are within the realm of possibility, but some feel more likely than others, and some would sting a bit, even if it is what is necessary to land a cost-controlled front-of-the-rotation pitcher from a rival National League contender.

One more note, for the purposes of this exercise, we'll be evaluating any prospects based on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 for the Mets.

Tim Boyle's package to bring Freddy Peralta to the Mets: RHP Will Watson (No. 11), C/OF/1B Chris Suero (No. 15), OF/2B A.J. Ewing (No. 7)

Tim's package is the heftiest for Peralta, which might make it the most likely to get done. That said, as Joel Sherman pointed out when discussing the Tarik Skubal trade drama, aces in their walk years don't go for much.

A point of reference is what the Baltimore Orioles sent the the Brewers in exchange for Corbin Burnes. In that deal, infielder Joey Ortiz and lefty DL Hall went to Milwaukee, and they were ranked seventh and eighth on Baltimore's top-30.

At the time, Burnes had the more impressive resume compared to Peralta. With a Cy Young award under his belt, four other top-10 Cy Young finishes, and a 3.11 ERA in Milwaukee compared to a 3.59 mark for Peralta, he is a cut above.

Aside from the raw talent exchanging hands, Tim's package has everything the Brewers could want. First on their list is likely a high-potential young arm to develop. They're getting that in Will Watson, though, they'd likely prefer more major league-ready hurler like Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, or Brandon Sproat. Peralta isn't enough to fetch one of that trio, however.

Chris Suero and A.J. Ewing give the Brewers positional flexibility, something they covet as they proceed through their cycle of selling off pieces nearing the end of their team control to restock for the next run. Having that versatility allows them to more easily reconfigure the roster each year.

Ultimately, Tim's package is potentially a tad more than it should take, meaning it's not a slam dunk for the Mets but would be for the Brewers

Grade for the Mets - B / Grade for the Brewers - A-

Josh Mayer's package to bring Freddy Peralta to the Mets: OF/2B A.J. Ewing (No. 7), LHP Jonathan Santucci (No. 14), C/OF/1B Chris Suero (No. 15)

Josh agrees with Tim on sending out Ewing and Suero, but subs out Watson for southpaw Jonathan Santucci as the pitching part of the package.

The good here is that Josh included a hurler, as that will be essential to closing any deal between these two clubs. While Watson outranks Santucci a tad on MLB Pipeline's list, it's possible that Santucci leapfrogs him soon.

The 2024 second-round pick began his year at Hi-A Brooklyn, logging 67.2 innings with a 3.46 ERA, earning him a promotion to Double-A Binghamton, where he made 10 starts and tossed 50 innings, striking out more batters and lowering his ERA to 2.52. He has more Double-A experience than Watson, who logged just 18.2 innings at the level in 2025.

That might make the difference for Milwaukee. The extra reps at the higher level could allow Santucci to make it to the bigs faster, even making an impact in 2026. The Brewers will need to fill the hole left by Peralta, and while it's not fair to ask a prospect to replace an ace, they'll need big league innings regardless.

Grade for the Mets - B / Grade for Milwaukee - A

Noah Wright's package to bring Freddy Peralta to the Mets: OF/2B A.J. Ewing (No. 7), LHP Jonathan Santucci (No. 14)

Noah breaks are trend of three-player packages, offering up just Ewing and Santucci to Milwaukee in exchange for Peralta. With that, though, he sticks to the trend of giving the Brewers a high upside starting pitching prospect and a versatile young position player.

With that, it makes sense to talk a little bit more about A.J. Ewing. Ewing is presumably the Mets prospect most likely to be dealt this winter, in part thanks to his similarities with the more highly regarded Jett Williams.

Like Williams, Ewing has the athleticism to find a home somewhere up the middle, and his calling card is blazing speed. The 21-year-old swiped 70 bags across three levels in 2025, showing off some crazy wheels. The question is whether or not he'll hit enough. He managed just three homers in 2022, and once he hit Binghamton saw his K-rate spike to 22% while his walk rate fell to 5.3%.

For the Mets, he's expendable, but for the Brewers, he could be lethal. Milwaukee likes speed, and the club ranked second in the league with 164 steals in 2025. Ewing fits that mold, and his positional versatility will make it easy for them to find a home for him.

This isn't a slam dunk deal for the Brewers like the others due to the lack of a third piece, but with the Burnes deal as a blueprint, it feels like the right value.

Grade for the Mets - A- / Grade for the Brewers - B

John Wolff's packge to bring Freddy Peralta to the Mets: 1B/OF Ryan Clifford (No. 8), RHP Will Watson (No. 11)

John agrees with Noah that it will only take two players, but these two are completely different. Continuing the theme, a pitcher and a versatile position player are going to Milwaukee in exchange for Peralta, but this is the first time we're seeing Ryan Clifford's name thrown out.

And with that, Clifford could be the most tantalizing name for Milwaukee that we've seen thus far. The Brewers are moving on from Rhys Hoskins, and the plan now is to fill the void with breakout darling Andrew Vaughn at first base.

Here's the thing, though, while Vaughn might not be as bad as he looked in the first half with the White Sox, he's probably not the same superstar caliber player that he appeared to be once Milwaukee picked him up. After all, this is a guy entering his age-28 season with a career 101 OPS+, not exactly a proven slugger at first base.

Clifford's ability to play the outfield also gives them an option to hedge against Jake Bauers in the outfield. The 30-year-old has been a replacement-level player the majority of his career, and Clifford brings corner outfield versatility.

He's also the only prospect of all that have been mentioned to not only reach, but hold his own at Triple-A. That matters as he can likely contribute in 2026, while the rest are looking more like 2027 arrivals.

That probably puts this package over the top for Milwaukee, but we still see the Mets only shedding prospects who are (likely) blocked in the bigs, assuming they bring in a star first baseman, be it a reunion with Pete Alonso or another free-agent option.

Grade for the Mets - B+ / Grade for the Brewers - B+

A few key takeaways

All of our writers agree the Mets won't need to part with a top-five prospect, which is a win and seems right from a value perspective. They all also agree that it will take a combination of at least one arm with starter potential and one versatile position player, which aligns perfectly with the Brewers' needs.

As mentioned before, A.J. Ewing seems like the most tradeable prospect. Everyone except for John Wolff had him included in their packages, and the reasons all make sense.

With that said, Ryan Clifford feels like a better fit for what the Brewers need. First, he's the furthest along, which matters because Milwaukee still wants to compete. Secondly, frst base and/or an outfield corner are their weakest spots. The infield already has a budding star in Bryce Turang at second, which eliminates Ewing from contention for that spot, while Jackson Chourio is the long-term answer in center.

For that reason, I believe the Brewers will prefer Clifford to Ewing, though Clifford hurts the Mets a bit more. There's a world where the strikeout on reuniting with Pete Alonso and signing either Josh Naylor or Japanese imports Kazuma Okamoto and Munetaka Murakami, and instead go with a stopgap option, such as Paul Goldschmidt. In that doomsday scenario, trading Clifford would really sting.

Sometimes a little pain is what's required to pull off a trade of this magnitude, which is why I rated John's proposal as the best for both sides.