To call the Detroit Tigers’ season an emotional roller coaster would probably be an understatement. Coming into the year, the Tigers were riding a high from a dramatic late-season surge in 2024 that saw them seven games under .500 and six out of a wild-card spot as late as Aug. 2, only to win 34 of their last 51 games, grabbing a playoff berth.
The Tigers lost in five games in the American League Division Series, but that didn’t dampen their mood heading into this season. The club simply dominated for nearly the first five months of the season, only to suffer the largest single collapse in major league history, blowing a 15 1/2-game lead on July 8 to lose the AL Central Division pennant to the Cleveland Guardians.
The Tigers exacted some measure of revenge by eliminating Cleveland in the wild card series — only to once again lose the ALDS in five games — this time in highly heartbreaking fashion, on a walk-off base hit by the Seattle Mariners in the 15th inning.
Detroit faces a high degree of uncertainty heading into 2026, with Cy Young Award favorite — and 2024 Cy Young Award winner — Tarik Skubal entering the final year of team control and presumably headed to free agency, unless the Tigers trade him first. But there is another playoff team in a similar position with its own All-Star ace, and according to one former MLB general manager, the Tigers may be interested in trading for him.
The pitcher is Freddy Peralta of the Milwaukee Brewers — a team that finished with the best record in baseball at 97 wins only to endure its own playoff disappointment against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Peralta may also be on the trade block, as he enters the final season of his $15.5 million, five-year contract.
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Milwaukee holds an $8 million club option to retain Peralta in 2026, but it is expected to pick up that option before trading him, if in fact it does deal Peralta.
“Peralta is expected to finish in the top three in the NL Cy Young Award voting this offseason,” wrote Athletic columnist and former Cincinnati Reds and Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden. “He’s really figured out how to use and mix his dominant stuff. Fastball Freddy held opposing batters to a .209 average against his four-seamer, .173 against his changeup, .183 against his curveball and .157 against his slider. He’s a true top-of-the-rotation ace at age 29.”
Bowden wrote that the Tigers are “likely to inquire” about trading for Peralta.
“To acquire Peralta, Detroit will likely have to give up meaningful prospect assets (which could hinder their long-term growth) or commit payroll or roster flexibility. If that cost is too high, the acquisition may hamper future plans,” wrote Tigers analyst Emma Lingan of the Motor City Bengals site.
So who could the Tigers give up for a shot at getting past the ALDS and even to the World Series next year? Top prospects Kevin McGonigle, a power-hitting middle infielder, and outfielder Max Clark — both currently at the Double-A level — are probably considered untouchable by the Tigers’ brass.
But if the Brewers are looking for pitching in return, a package that includes one or both of the Tigers’ top mound prospects, right-handers Jordan Hamm and Malachi Witherspoon — the Tigers’ second-round pick this year — could headline a package that may be enough to coax the Brewers into parting with Peralta.
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