At the beginning of the offseason, many expected the Milwaukee Brewers to be active in trade talks. However, many of these beliefs rested on the speculation that the team would be looking to trade two-time All-Star starting pitcher Freddy Peralta, who is entering the final year of his contract.
Milwaukee, however, does not appear ready to offload Peralta unless they receive an offer too good to pass up. In fact, they may prefer to hold on to him despite his pending 2027 free agency.
They have, though, just traded one of their young outfielders and most important relief pitchers to the Kansas City Royals.
The Milwaukee Brewers have traded Isaac Collins and Nick Mears to the Kansas City Royals
On Saturday evening, ESPN’s Jeff Passan broke the news that the Brewers had traded outfielder Isaac Collins and reliever Nick Mears to the Kansas City Royals:
The Kansas City Royals are acquiring outfielder Isaac Collins and right-handed reliever Nick Mears in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 13, 2025
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic then reported that Milwaukee received left-handed pitcher Angel Zerpa back from the Royals in the trade:
Brewers acquiring LHP Ángel Zerpa for OF Isaac Collins and RP Nick Mears, source tells @TheAthletic. First on Royals’ end: @ByRobertMurray
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 13, 2025
Zerpa was 5-2 for Kansas City last year with a 4.18 ERA in 69 appearances (two starts). For his career, the 26-year-old is 12-7 with a 3.97 ERA.
Earlier this morning, it was reported here that the Brewers were indeed shopping either Collins or Blake Perkins in hopes of landing a bullpen arm with years of club control and multiple minor league options left. They got that in Zerpa.
Collins finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .263/.368/.411 with nine home runs, 64 RBI, and 16 stolen bases in what was a surprising season.
Mears was 5-3 with a 3.49 ERA in 63 games for the Brewers.
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