Persistent Brewers-Yankees rumor that won't disappear just got another life

One of the great traditions of the MLB offseason is big-market teams believing they can acquire the Milwaukee Brewers' top talent for pennies on the dollar. It generally starts the second the Brewers are eliminated from the postseason and persists until Opening Day arrives the following year, with the time in between filled with ludicrous trade packages that would have Matt Arnold and his team hanging up the phone before the opposing front office tentatively asks, "So, what do you think?"

Though not always the culprits, the representative that first comes to mind when thinking of other major league teams treating the Brewers as a "feeder team" is the evil empire that is the New York Yankees. The Yankees represent the opposite of who the Brewers strive to be as an organization. Whereas Milwaukee needs to focus on building a sustainable roster filled with surplus value from players who have yet to hit free agency, the Yankees have the ability to, and often do, build their team around a group of expensive free agents. So much so, that the fact that they haven't signed anyone to a nine-figure deal yet this offseason has their fans in a tizzy.

The difference in philosophy often gets misconstrued as a willingness and unwillingness to do whatever it takes to win a World Series championship. Fans with little understanding of how payroll disparity in baseball works point to the Brewers trading away Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes, and Devin Williams as a sign that Milwaukee doesn't care about competing, while pointing to the Yankees' willingness to hand out massive free agent contracts because their payroll allows for it, as a reason to believe New York cares more about winning.

However, Brewers fans who have watched their team qualify for seven postseasons in the last eight years -- the same amount as the Yankees during that stretch -- know that Milwaukee's willingness to turn their departing stars into controllable assets is a sign that they want to continue competing in the long term rather than the other way around. Even still, this notion that the Brewers will trade away their top stars for nothing simply because "that's what they do" and "they can't afford their payroll otherwise" persists. It's therefore eye-roll-inducing any time a big market team is continuously interested in one of the Brewers' departing stars, as is currently the case with the Yankees and Freddy Peralta.

According The Athletic, the Yankees remain very interested in acquiring Freddy Peralta this winter

MLB insiders Ken Rosenthal and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic published an article last night detailing the Yankees' interest in Miami Marlins starter Edward Cabrera. Cabrera, who is also a rumored trade target of the Chicago Cubs, has garnered plenty of interest this offseason due to his team control and electric repertoire that suggests he will find more success in the near future. He is also the complete opposite of the Brewers' ace, Peralta.

Peralta is a proven veteran with one year on his contract remaining, who would immediately join the top-end of any MLB team's starting rotation. It was therefore a little bit surprising to see his name snuck into an article about the Yankees' interest in Cabrera. However, the Athletic duo noted that the Yankees have "continued to discuss" Peralta this winter, explaining that New York wants to add another starter this offseason one way or another, whether it's an unproven arm like Cabrera or a veteran ace like Peralta.

"Continued to discuss" is by no means a damning phrase, but it does show that interest in Peralta has persisted through a very quiet holiday season in regard to trade rumors. However, as noted throughout the offseason, the Brewers are not moving Peralta simply to move him; they need to be overwhelmed by an offer in order to trade him this winter. Such an offer generally comes from a bidding war, which would suggest that a trade will not occur until interest picks up even more. That interest will increase as more and more free agent starters like Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, and Zac Gallen come off the board.

Therefore, a Peralta trade still doesn't feel imminent, though that's not to say a deal won't come together before spring training commences. However, with the Brewers unlikely to settle for even a good deal, needing a great one to move on from their ace, don't expect the Yankees or any other big market team for that matter to acquire Peralta without giving up some serious talent in return.