Dodgers Trade Pitch Swaps 2 Top Prospects for Reliever of the Year

Getty Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams and Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Mookie Betts were teammates for Team USA in 2023's World Baseball Classic

The Los Angeles Dodgers are stacked with a marquee player at nearly every position after adding coveted free agents like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Teoscar Hernández to a roster that already included the likes of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

However, relief pitching is a different story. Despite padding their bullpen with some peripheral moves, they haven’t acquired a true “shutdown” closer with the kind of star power as the rest of the roster. 

Writing for Bleacher Report, Joel Reuter projected that could soon change in a trade pitch that would add 2023 NL Reliever of the Year Devin Williams to the Dodgers in exchange for sending top-ranked pitching prospects Nick Frasso and Kyle Hurt to the Milwaukee Brewers.

“The Los Angeles Dodgers … were reportedly part of the Josh Hader sweepstakes before he signed with the Houston Astros, so they were at least open to the idea of adding a top-tier closer to the mix,” Reuter noted. “Slotting Devin Williams into the ninth inning role and pushing everyone else up the list would improve the relief corps as a whole.”

How Adding Devin Williams Transforms the Los Angeles Dodgers Bullpen

After trading Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles for a package of prospective talent in return, the Brewers are now seen as sellers as they look to retool for the future. That means fielding potential offers for Williams, who was named the reliever of the year for the second time in his career after a 2023 season that saw him pitch for a 1.53 ERA and 36 saves in 58.2 innings.

“The team has also entertained the possibility of trading closer Devin Williams, who was named the top reliever in the NL last season,” Ken Rosenthal reported for The Athletic. “Williams is under club control for two seasons after recently agreeing to a one-year, $7.25 million contract with a $10.5 million club option for 2025.”

At that cost, Williams offers more club-friendly value than a lights-out option like Hader, who signed with the Astros for a record $95 million. And Williams would offer a significant upgrade for a Dodgers bullpen that is already fairly deep, but might not quite live up to the high-profile levels of the team’s starters or batting order.

In 2023, Evan Philips (2.05 ERA, 24 saves) closed out most games with Brusdar Graterol (1.20 ERA, seven saves) in a setup role. The relief corps gets less certain after that, with Joe Kelly (4.12 ERA in 2023), Ryan Brasier (3.02 ERA in 2023), Alex Vesia (4.35 ERA in 2023), Blake Treinen (missed 2023 with injury), J.P. Feyereisen (missed 2023 with injury) and Ryan Yarbrough (4.52 ERA in 2023) projected as the other options.

Adding Williams would instantly give the Dodgers one of the deepest bullpens in MLB, with Philips and Graterol as two World-Series-level setup options.

The Los Angeles Dodgers Can Part With Prospect Depth to Add Devin Williams

One area of the pitching staff that the Dodgers have addressed aggressively this offseason is the rotation, adding Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in addition to Ohtani, who could return to the mound in 2025, and bringing back Clayton Kershaw. 

Along with Walker Buehler and Dustin May, these additions complement a deep stable of young arms looking to make big-league impacts in 2024, including Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan. 

As a result, the Dodgers can afford to part with some of their prospective pitching depth should they choose to upgrade another area of the roster. Frasso was ranked as the number-three prospect in the Dodgers’ system in 2023, while Hurt was ranked at 11.   

Reuter noted that by joining the Brewers, both players would have a better chance of seeing some big-league innings next season.

“Nick Frasso and Kyle Hurt are two high-octane arms from a deep pool of young Dodgers pitching prospects, and both could make an impact in Milwaukee in 2024,” he wrote.