In the wake of the Freddy Peralta blockbuster, should the Brewers trade Trevor Megill?

After the Milwaukee Brewers traded Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets last week, adding two more top prospects to their already impressive farm system, the phrase "that's just how they operate" has been frequently used to describe the organization's roster construction strategy. After trading Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams, and now Peralta since the 2022 trade deadline, it's hard to argue with the fact that this is simply how the Brewers do business.

Where the disagreement lies is why the Brewers elect to operate this way. Folks less familiar with the team often say that the strategy is due to Milwaukee's ownership group being "too cheap" to pay up for their homegrown talent, ignoring that the Brewers have to navigate a reality in which they simply don't have the revenue to compete with the rest of the league for top-tier players on the free agent market. However, Brewers fans, who are more in tune with the reasons why Milwaukee's front office makes the decisions that they do, understand that this strategy is one of the only ways for the organization to continuously add talent to their roster.

But it's not just talent; it's a specific kind of talent: players who are in the first six years of their MLB careers. These players, who are on modest salaries until they hit free agency, often offer a ridiculous amount of surplus value to the teams they compete for. Therefore, these are the types of players the Brewers have to prioritize, because in order to compete in a league where their payroll is one-third the size of the team preventing them from reaching the World Series, Milwaukee has to field a roster of young players whose value on the field far exceeds their value on the payroll.

So yes, this is "how the Brewers operate," but it's not because they are cheap or unwilling to show loyalty to the players that they have transformed into stars with a great deal of time and effort; it's because this is their only choice if they want to be a consistent competitor. And because the Brewers' front office excels at moving on from players at seemingly the exact right moment, a consistent competitor is exactly what they've become.

That shouldn't, however, undermine just how difficult these decisions are. Parting ways with a fan favorite like Peralta is not something that should be taken lightly. However, given the reality that the Brewers face, they have to always keep the door open on trading their soon-to-be-departing stars. Therefore, while he still has two years of team control remaining, and the offseason is quickly coming to a close, the Brewers must at least entertain the idea of trading Trevor Megill, but only if they are met with an offer that truly blows them away.

With two years of team control remaining, Trevor Megill should only be traded if the Brewers receive a truly lopsided offer

The prevailing discourse around a potential Peralta trade for much of the offseason was that the Brewers would only move on from their ace if they were met with a trade offer that they simply couldn't refuse. However, though the Brewers continuously said that they were willing to keep Peralta for his final season of team control -- a negotiating tactic to give them more leverage in trade talks -- the reality of the situation was that Milwaukee either had to trade him this offseason or miss out on continuing a roster construction strategy that has proven to be successful in the recent past.

When it comes to Megill, the situation is a little different. The 2025 All-Star closer has two years of team control remaining, meaning the Brewers really don't need to trade him this offseason. They could instead hold onto him for the 2026 campaign, reap the benefits of having an All-Star at the back-end of their bullpen, and then trade him next winter. That reality gives the Brewers even more leverage in Megill-related trade talks than they already have by possessing an All-Star closer who is set to make just $4.7 million this year.

While the Brewers don't need to trade Megill in the coming weeks, they might be wise to do so. Megill is coming off the best season of his career, during which he posted a 2.49 ERA and collected 30 saves. Expecting the 32-year-old right-hander to put together another All-Star campaign in 2026 is a lofty prediction, so if the Brewers want to continue their streak of selling high on players at the right moment, trading Megill this offseason starts to make more sense. That said, other teams are likely savvy to this anticipated regression, and the trade offers that Milwaukee is no doubt receiving likely reflect that belief.

Overall, given the Brewers' approach to roster construction and the success they've had with moving on from pitchers prior to their final year of control, the team must consider moving Megill prior to the end of the winter. However, they absolutely shouldn't force a trade, only agreeing to one if they are met with a truly overwhelming offer.