Moderators: paulpressey25, MickeyDavis, humanrefutation
Thunder Muscle wrote:Seems like the overall opinion is the Brewers did very well. There is also a strong segment that say we’re cheap and makes no sense a 97 win team is trading their ace. I guess I understand that too.
wallus wrote:humanrefutation wrote:Interesting that the Mets were apparently balking at Williams and Sproat and they ultimately caved.
We added Myers to get it done
wallus wrote:humanrefutation wrote:Interesting that the Mets were apparently balking at Williams and Sproat and they ultimately caved.
We added Myers to get it done
Williams is a natural shortstop who could stay there but is best suited to center field, where he might be a plus defender between his speed and instincts, or second base, where he’d also probably be a plus defender. He’s small but mighty, 5-foot-7 with above-average power that got him to 17 homers last year between Double A and Triple A. He’s also a 70 runner (out of the 20-80 scouting scale) who was successful on 79 percent of steal attempts last year. He raked in Double A, hitting .281/.390/.477, then had some bad luck in Triple A, hitting .209/.285/.433 while still making good swing decisions, with a .223 BABIP that’s going to regress up to the mean.
Williams isn’t major-league ready right now, but he will be at some point this season, most likely. The Brewers have a plus-plus defender at shortstop in Joey Ortiz, who was awful at the plate last year but a roughly 3-win player in 2025, and a borderline star at second in Brice Turang. They have Jackson Chourio to handle center, although they moved him to left later in 2025 after he hurt his hamstring.
They could put Williams in center and Chourio in left, which is probably their best defensive alignment even though on paper it cuts into Chourio’s value. If anyone loses out with the acquisition of Williams, it might be oft-injured outfielder Garrett Mitchell, who has never been able to establish himself as a regular between lack of production and lack of availability.
Sproat probably goes right into Milwaukee’s rotation, taking one of the two spots vacated by this trade, with Logan Henderson the favorite (or at least my favorite) for the other spot. Sproat throws very hard, with a sinker at 95-96 and a four-seamer that’s hit 99. He has a five-pitch mix now that the Mets gave him a sweeper and a harder slider that’s almost a cutter.
He rose through Double A by overpowering hitters, without real command or the need to work too much with his secondary stuff. That has changed in Triple A and the majors, as he can live too much in the heart of the zone with several of his pitches, and left-handed batters have hit him fairly hard at both of those levels.
He has the ceiling of a No. 2 starter, but it’s more likely he settles in as a good No. 4 starter who doesn’t throw a ton of innings because he’s not very efficient within games.
The obvious comparison here is to the Corbin Burnes trade before the 2024 season. In both cases, the Brewers traded a starter with one year remaining until free agency for two prospects, one a middle infielder and one a starter with a huge arm and command questions. Burnes was better than Peralta at the time of the trade, but I actually prefer this return for Milwaukee, as I’d take Williams over Ortiz and Sproat over D.L. Hall, based on where I’d ranked them on the times of their trades (rather than just relying on memory).
I’m sure it’s disappointing for Brewers fans to see yet another of their best pitchers leave via trade after another playoff appearance, but Milwaukee did well here and both of these players should be regulars on their Opening Day 2027 roster.
JimmyTheKid wrote:Its one thing to watch the Dodgers throw money until their roster is fully comprised of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers. Its another to watch your team have to part ways with fan favorite/elite human coming off his best season because they can't come close to competing for his next contract. My youngest son cried when I broke the news to him this morning. Just gutting. Freddy is an all-timer. Milwaukee legend. I appreciate everything he's done for this organization and am sad to see him go.
Brewers grade: B
So why would the Brewers trade Peralta? This is what they do. Peralta's $8 million salary made him especially valuable on the trade market, and they decided to cash in.
Sproat and Williams should both help the Brewers in 2026. Williams, a 5-foot-7 fireplug, to use an old-timey description, is the big get here. In his top 100 prospects update last August, Kiley McDaniel rated Williams No. 18 overall and Sproat No. 83. In Baseball America's just-released top 100, Williams came in at No. 71 and Sproat at No. 81.
Williams hit .261/.363/.465 with 17 home runs and 34 stolen bases, finishing ninth in the minors with 58 extra-base hits -- but he struggled after a promotion to Triple-A, where he hit .209 in 34 games. That helps explain the drop in his overall rankings compared to last August, along with concerns that his power is fringe-average, but he has the arm and range to stick at shortstop and the speed to cover center field.
That skill set will fit in perfectly with the Brewers and he could end up at either position, as a more offensive-minded option than Joey Ortiz at shortstop or as the center fielder, with Jackson Chourio sticking in left field. Although with top prospect Jesus Made climbing through Milwaukee's system, Williams' long-term home could end up being in center field (assuming Made sticks at short). Either way, Williams' versatility looms as a big plus and his on-base ability projects him as a potential leadoff hitter down the road.
Sproat, meanwhile, should battle for a rotation spot right away in Milwaukee after making four starts with the Mets in 2025. Sproat throws 94-96, with a sinker that is more of a ground ball pitch than a swing-and-miss fastball, though his sweeper and curveball both project as strikeout pitches. He needs to fine-tune his command and improve against left-handed batters, but he has middle-of-the rotation upside.
For the Brewers and how they operate, it's a no-brainer type of deal: 12 years of Williams and Sproat for one year of Peralta (plus Myers, who pitched mostly in relief in 2025). You can certainly justify a higher grade, especially if you believe Williams has star potential, but I'm downgrading just a bit here because losing Peralta hurts the Brewers' chances in 2026. For a team that won the most games in the majors in 2025 and has never won a World Series, the priority should be winning a title, not just maintaining success. Trading Peralta makes the Brewers less likely to win a World Series this season. -- Schoenfield
MickeyDavis wrote:Gone from last season opening day:
Rhys Hoskins: $18 million
Freddy Peralta: $8 million
Aaron Civale: $8 million
Nestor Cortes: $7.6 million
Woodruff got a big increase. Some other guys got bumps. But I guess the rest of that $40+ million goes into Mark's pocket. Maybe we're not done making moves.
MickeyDavis wrote:Civale and Cortez were traded during the season so didn't show up on end of season numbers. And you're right different sites do calculations somewhat differently. Still irks me.
MVP2110 wrote:MickeyDavis wrote:Gone from last season opening day:
Rhys Hoskins: $18 million
Freddy Peralta: $8 million
Aaron Civale: $8 million
Nestor Cortes: $7.6 million
Woodruff got a big increase. Some other guys got bumps. But I guess the rest of that $40+ million goes into Mark's pocket. Maybe we're not done making moves.
Sites calculate payrolls differently and sites like Cots arent updated yet since it is still the offseason but Fangraphs currently has the payroll up from the end of last season by $3 million
https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/brewers
Ron Swanson wrote:No idea how people just immediately declare trades involving completely unknown variables (minor league prospects) as "winners/losers", but I've accepted that this is just the business of being in a sport that hates parity and competitive balance. It's cool that we have the most loaded farm system in baseball though. Hopefully it translates to a World Series one of these next several years.
Kerb Hohl wrote:Funny to think about if the Brewers just drew a line in 2022 and stopped doing what they do and placated the fans asking them to spend.
Their roster right now:
Hader: $19 million/year for 3 more years (yeah, he's good right now)
Corbin Burnes: $36 million/year for 3 more years (sitting out the season for TJ)
Freddy $8 million but needs a new contract
Adames: $13 million this year and then $31 million for 5 years after. He's...decent?
Devin Williams: $14 million/year for 3 years. He kinda sucks?
None of those guys won a WS with their new teams.
So for the right to have Hader and Freddy as productive players all getting pretty old, they'd have well over $100 million/year (slightly less this year) tied up on mostly junk. There'd be no Contreras, Durbin, Gasser, Hall, Joey (yeah, I know). But hey, I'm sure the fans would all be filling the ballpark celebrating that the owner spent money outside of baseball norms to win like 73 games this coming season.
Ron Swanson wrote:Kerb Hohl wrote:Funny to think about if the Brewers just drew a line in 2022 and stopped doing what they do and placated the fans asking them to spend.
Their roster right now:
Hader: $19 million/year for 3 more years (yeah, he's good right now)
Corbin Burnes: $36 million/year for 3 more years (sitting out the season for TJ)
Freddy $8 million but needs a new contract
Adames: $13 million this year and then $31 million for 5 years after. He's...decent?
Devin Williams: $14 million/year for 3 years. He kinda sucks?
None of those guys won a WS with their new teams.
So for the right to have Hader and Freddy as productive players all getting pretty old, they'd have well over $100 million/year (slightly less this year) tied up on mostly junk. There'd be no Contreras, Durbin, Gasser, Hall, Joey (yeah, I know). But hey, I'm sure the fans would all be filling the ballpark celebrating that the owner spent money outside of baseball norms to win like 73 games this coming season.
You always paint with such a broad brush with this stuff and then just lecture fans about how everyone should all "be happy" with a division pennant or a Big-10 championship every other odd year or so. I ultimately think it's the right thing to do and the Brewers have generally been one of the smartest organizations in the sport given the handicap small markets have to operate under in this antiquated competitive structure, yes. Fans can also be upset that we lost a really great pitcher that could have helped in a possible championship run this season because like you said, if they ever do win a World Series, it's likely not to be in any obvious year where we expect it (which is basically "never" because we're never gonna actually be favored to win it all when the billion dollar payroll teams exist).