Before the Mets unfortunately closed the deal, the Atlanta Braves were among the numerous teams that expressed an interest in trading for Freddy Peralta. On paper, that interest certainly made sense as Atlanta has been actively monitoring the rotation market looking for opportunities to upgrade and Peralta would have represented a relatively minor financial investment for a guy that finished in the top 5 of Cy Young voting last year.
However, just because the Braves expressed an interest in Peralta doesn't mean they were particularly close to getting a deal done. Milwaukee was clear that in order to move Peralta at all this offseason, they were going to have to be blown away and that they wanted big league-ready pitching back in return for the rental.
Yes, the Braves could have made an trade offer that fit the bill for the Brewers, but their severe lack of viable talent in the minor leagues made a realistic offer for Peralta given where the bidding went basically impossible.
Braves' own farm system failures (and successes) may have cost them a real shot at Freddy Peralta
Let's look at a trade proposal that the Braves could have offered that would have at least been interesting to Milwaukee even if they would have still preferred the Mets' package. The role of the "big league ready starter" could have been played by top prospect JR Ritchie, then the Braves could have included Conor Essenburg who was an overslot pick in the 2025 draft and RHP Blake Burkhalter who is pitching well at Triple-A.
Even if the Brewers liked that proposal, the Braves basically couldn't offer it. Atlanta's own rotation issues/injuries makes trading a way an arm like Ritchie with so much team control and who could compete for a rotation spot in 2026 for a one-year rental dubious at best. Essenburg is one of the few bats the Braves have period that has real upside and a chance to reach it and Burkhalter would be an extra hit to the pitching depth that the Braves are trying to build up.
Ultimately, the biggest problem is that the Braves' lack of real farm system depth probably cost them here as well as with a number of other trades in all likelihood. Not only has Atlanta been very willing to give young prospects who play well a chance in the big leagues which has depleted the prospect ranks, but they have also missed on a number of draft picks and free agent signings. Even though they have developed some intriguing names, the quantity isn't there and that has made the Braves' best trade chips far less expendable.