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The New York Yankees lost Juan Soto to free agency. But they’re not letting that dissuade them from upgrading a roster that made it to last year’s World Series.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams is on his way to the Bronx via trade. New York is sending lefty starter Nestor Cortes and second base prospect Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee.
Williams is a sixth-year reliever and was an All-Star in 2022 and 2023. He made 22 appearances with the Brewers last season, giving up only one home run and recording a 1.25 ERA.
For the Yankees, 2024 was a down year for Cortes, who started 31 games, finishing with a 9-10 record and 3.77 ERA. He’ll get an opportunity to bounce back next season with Milwaukee.
Durbin isn’t listed on MLB’s Top-100 Prospects. Passan called him a “high-floor guy” for the Brewers.
“Caleb Durbin has a unique profile,” Passan tweeted on December 13. “He’s only 5-foot-6 but plays everywhere — 2B, 3B, SS, CF — and has incredible bat-to-ball skills. In 1,216 minor league PA, he has slashed .269/.374/.407 with 134 walks, 111 strikeouts and 110 stolen bases. A high-floor guy for Milwaukee.”
No Soto, no hesitation for the Yankees, who are regrouping and putting together a contending roster for 2025.
Jim Duquette: ‘Excellent Pickup’
New York’s acquisition of Williams is a big win on consensus. MLB Network’s Jim Duquette, in an appearance on SNY, called the 30-year-old one of the best closers in baseball.
“The Yankees pick up one of the top closers in the game in Devin Williams of the Milwaukee Brewers,” Duquette said on December 13. “Williams has had an excellent career. Last year was a little short, because of the fact that he had an injury leading into the season, but when he came back he was as dominant as you can have as a backend reliever.”
Duquette did go on to predict that Williams will be the Yankees’ go-to closer.
“Likely, the Yankees are gonna have him as their closer, and have Luke Weaver set up,” Duquette continued. “It really adds that extra impactful bullpen piece that the Yankees are looking for. Obviously it came at a little bit of a cost…Caleb Durbin is a guy that’s come on the scene really fast for the Yankees…But really, when you’re looking at one of the top closers and one of the most consistent closers in the sport, Devin Williams is the guy there. Excellent pickup for the Yankees.”
Jon Morosi: Max Fried Signing Helped Devin Williams Deal
Prior to the deal for Williams, New York signed Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal. In an appearance on MLB Network, Jon Morosi said that helped them in their efforts to trade for Williams.
“This is major news, following up on the Winter Meetings,” Morosi said on December 13. “And it really is Lauren, directly linked to what happened at the Winter Meetings, in this sense: when the Yankees signed Max Fried, it gave them a depth of starting pitchers, from which to trade.”
Fried, who spent last year with the Atlanta Braves, will take a starting spot in the Yankees rotation. He pitched 174.1 innings with an 11-10 record and recorded a 3.25 ERA.
Generating runs isn’t the focus right now for the Yankees. But they’ve taken a number of steps towards preventing them.
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