Yankees Can Swing Trade With Brewers for Frontline Starter

Freddy Peralta is in his walk year with the Milwaukee Brewers. It's fair to wonder if they'll end up moving him the way they did with Corbin Burnes in 2024. If they do, the New York Yankees could be a landing spot for Milwaukee's ace.

The Athletic's Jim Bowden named the Yankees, as well as the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays, as potential suitors. When it comes down to it, an ace earning $8,000,000 should be a hot commodity this winter, and any team looking to contend is likely to check in.

The Yankees and Freddy Peralta

In the case of the Yankees, who will be down their own ace to start 2026, Gerrit Cole, as well as Carlos Rodon, Peralta would be more than enough to step in for the two veterans. According to Bowden, for a deal to get done, he could see two players with control being moved on general manager Brian Cashman's end.

"The Yankees could dangle right-handed starting pitcher Will Warren and shortstop Jose Caballero for Peralta, giving the Brewers two players to slot onto their major-league roster immediately," Bowden writes.

"Warren would step right into the Brewers' rotation, and they would control him for five more years. Warren, 26, was 9-8 last year for the Yankees with a 4.44 ERA in 162 1/3 innings with 171 strikeouts," he continues. "Of course, Peralta is a No. 1-type starter and Warren is more of a mid-rotation arm, but mid-rotation starters with that much team control left can be a valuable part of roster building. Warren has a plus fastball, and the Brewers have a history of getting the most out of their pitching talent."

Postseason Experience

Peralta, who led the National League in wins and was fifth in Cy Young voting last year, not only comes with a brilliant regular-season track record, but he also has plenty of postseason experience. Peralta has pitched in big October games since 2018.

The only issue is that he has only pitched into the sixth inning twice in the postseason. Both instances came this year.

Peralta pitched 5.2 innings against the Cubs, giving up two earned runs. He then did it against the Dodgers in the NLCS. Peralta allowed three earned runs.

The Brewers are also 1-8 in games that he pitched in. The losses and lack of innings are less on Peralta, though, and probably more the fact that the Brewers historically love going to their bullpen.

Postseason experience aside, Peralta is precisely the type of pitcher the Yankees should be targeting. In three straight seasons, he has struck out over 200 batters and pitched in over 30 games. Last season, he posted a career-low 2.70 ERA, with an expected ERA of 3.48.

Free agent running back picks NFL team after being pursued by Broncos

The Denver Broncos attempted to shore up their backfield depth over the weekend.

The Broncos were "in strong" on free agent running back Dameon Pierce after he was cut by the Houston Texans, according to a report from KUSA-TV's Mike Klis. The 25-year-old running back was officially cut last Thursday and he cleared waivers on Friday, making him a free agent.

Denver attempted to sign Pierce, but the former fourth-round draft pick out of Florida opted to sign with the Kansas City Chiefs instead, initially on the practice squad. KC leaned on Kareem Hunt in Week 12 as Isiah Pacheco is dealing with an MCL injury.

Pierce (5-10, 215 pounds) totaled 1,104 yards from scrimmage and scored five touchdowns in his rookie season in 2022, but his production has slipped each season since then, due in part to injuries.

Houston moves forward with Woody Marks and Nick Chubb leading the backfield. The Broncos, meanwhile, are entering Week 13 with RJ Harvey, Jaleel McLaughlin and Tyler Badie as their top three running backs after previously placing J.K. Dobbins on injured reserve with a foot injury.

Continue reading