The Brewers Need To Trade For Skubal

2x Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, courtesy of MLB Photos via Getty Images

This article was originally published on June 19, 2026

In 2025, the Milwaukee Brewers advanced to the NLCS. where they were swept by the eventual World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brewers were outscored 15-4 runs in the series. In the off-season, the Brewers traded away homegrown ace, SP Freddy Peralta, to the New York Mets for top-50 prospect SS/CF Jett Williams and top-100 prospect SP Brandon Sproat. Peralta was entering the final year of his contract and the organization did not expect to re-sign him. This is a similar move as when they traded away another homegrown ace SP Corbin Burnes, one year prior, as he was also entering the last year of his contract and the team did not expect to re-sign him. Since 2020, Peralta has pitched in at least 144 innings (27+ starts) in four of the five non-Covid years. Here are Peralta’s stats since 2020: 15.1 bWAR; 3.33 ERA (126 ERA+); 3.60 FIP; 11 K/9 (29.9 K%); 20.9 K:BB%.

Now, why would Milwaukee, who traded away two All-Star aces in consecutive years, turn around and acquire another star ace SP who will likely be testing the free agent market in a few months? The simple answer is because… Tarik Skubal is so much better.

This is not a hot take. Skubal has 2 Cy Young trophies on his mantle. Despite missing a month due to injury this year, there’s a real chance (if he stays in the AL), that he will add a third trophy. Baseball fans know Skubal’s story as there have been hundreds of articles written about him, including several by me. Skubal is expected to be traded as Tigers ownership has been too cheap to offer a reasonable contract extension in a timely manner. But, I will not be redundant.

Burnes and Peralta were very, very good for Milwaukee. But, Skubal is an ace amongst aces; a workhorse who has almost hit 200 innings in the two previous seasons while sporting a 2.39 FIP that is over a full run lower than Peralta’s. This article is not a knock on Peralta nor Burnes; it’s the opposite. Skubal affords any team he’s on almost a guaranteed victory every fifth day. Since 2022, Skubal is one of four SP with over 20 fWAR accumulated.

Skubal’s rankings/stats from 2024-2025 via TJStats

The Brewers are in a position where they can easily weather a trade for the superstar ace. Milwaukee has arguably the deepest farm system in the sport. They are loaded with top end talent with eight prospects ranked amongst the top 115 in the game. The crown jewels of the system are likely off-limits as are the prospects who have already signed team friendly extensions. SS Jesús Made (#1 prospect in baseball) and MINF Luis Peña (#20) aren’t going anywhere. Top 75 prospects SS Cooper Pratt and OF Luis Lara both signed multi-year deals with the team within the past few months. The likely headliner in any Skubal deal is Jett Williams (yet again). He offers positional versatility and he’s in AAA. The Tigers sorely need SS and CF depth at the major league level; the fit is too obvious. 3B/1B Andrew Fischer (#93), their 2025 1st round pick, is interesting and could be pushed quickly through a system, which could be tempting for Detroit. OF Braylon Payne (#99) offers high upside, as does 2B/OF Josh Adamczewski (#115). The Brewers could dangle young, controllable, major league pitching like Logan Henderson, Shane Drohan, Robert Gasser, or Brandon Sproat. They could offer younger pitching wild cards, like Bishop Letson (#223 and could rise quickly), or Tyson Hardin (#279 with a 1.89 ERA in AAA). Other corner infield options, like Blake Burke (#168), Luke Adams (#186), or Brock Wilken (#241), would be a bit redundant in the Tigers system as they already have 1B Spencer Torkelson entrenched at the position and those three prospects seem destined to end up at 1B.

So, let’s get the naysaying out of the way. Yes, the Brewers are leading their division by 5.5 games entering 6/19. They have the third best record in the majors (behind the Dodgers and Braves). Yes, they are a small/mid-sized market team, their payroll is 20th (almost 19th) in the league, but they are in the upper tier of MLB teams in getting the best out of their roster and their pitching lab is tremendous. Former prospect SP Kyle Harrison, who struggled with San Francisco and Boston, has been a revelation in Milwaukee. His 2.47 ERA is supported by a 3.05 FIP and 30% K rate and 6.7% BB rate. And we know that SP Jacob Misiorowski is mowing down hitters with his fire-breathing right arm. He leads the league in ERA (1.34), strikeouts (131), FIP (1.68), WHIP (0.736), HR/9 (0.4), and K/9 (13.6).

After Misiorowski and Harrison is where Milwaukee starts to experience some issues. Quinn Priester, who had not pitched this year, is out for the rest of the year for surgery to treat his thoracic outlet syndrome. Brandon Woodruff has made 6 starts this year (30 innings) and hasn’t pitched in more than 67 innings since 2022. Logan Henderson (2.74 ERA), Shane Drohan (3.40 ERA), Robert Gasser (4.88 ERA), and Brandon Sproat (5.94 ERA) offer enticing upside but all of them were rookie eligible entering the season.

The Brewers have the third highest scoring offense in the NL with former MVP Christian Yelich producing a 116 OPS+ in 42 games despite being 34 years old. As for the rest of the lineup, this year is about maximizing the primes of 28 year old catcher, William Contreras, and 26 year old 2B, Brice Turang. Breakout 1B/OF, Jake Bauers, has mashed during Andrew Vaughn’s injury stint. Bauers has a 141 OPS+ while providing decent defense at 1B. Superstar, 22 year old LF Jackson Chourio, has returned from an early season injury to provide a 151 OPS+ paired with excellent defense in the outfield (+2 DRS in 279.1 innings, which extrapolated, would put him in the top ~10 amongst corner outfielders). Altogether, the Brewers have eight position players with at least 100 PAs with an OPS+ over 110. Their bullpen has the 8th best ERA in baseball with a combined 3.60 ERA, which is just behind Toronto’s bullpen (3.58 ERA). Deep, diverse, bullpens hold an incredible advantage in the playoffs as it allows smart managers to help manipulate the end of the game and manager Pat Murphy is revered as one of the best managers in today’s game. It’s important to maximize a year with a good relief corp as relievers are notoriously inconsistent from year to year.

All of this to say, the Brewers have what it takes to win a World Series but they need (at least) one more starting pitcher.

Most small/mid market teams don’t usually swing for these big trades, but the Brewers have a history of executing this exact kind of move. In 2008, the Brewers traded for (future HOF) SP CC Sabathia in July and he had a Herculean effort in the second half of the season, recording 11 wins and pitching to a 1.65 ERA in 130 innings. He pitched SEVEN complete games, including 3 shutouts, leading the way for the Brewers to make the playoffs that year for the first time in 26 years. In May 2021, the Brewers traded for SS Willy Adames from Tampa Bay. In 99 games for Milwaukee, Adames would accrue 3.6 bWAR, which was aided by a 137 OPS+ for a Brewers team that would win 95 games.

But this year’s Milwaukee Brewers has its sights set beyond a division title; they have World Series ambitions. They expect to play into November and they are talented enough and experienced enough to do so. Per Neil Paine’s (@neilpaine) Elo Ratings 2, the Brewers are the third best team in baseball, right behind the Dodgers and nearly tied with the Yankees. He projects them with having a 14.8% chance to win the World Series.

Skubal gives them a real chance of beating the Dodgers, or anyone else in the post-season. Championship windows close faster than fans want them to and circumstances can change quickly, just ask Detroit. During the 2025 NLCS, the Dodgers felt like a much better team than the Brewers. The Brewers have a chance to flip the tables and they need to capitalize.

About the Author

Michael L. Skupin is a grizzled millennial who loves talking about sports, being a dad/husband, and anything else. You can find him on Substack @mls07 for more baseball news. He formerly wrote under the pseudonym of Wyatt B. Lake.