Should the Brewers Trade Devin Williams?

With the offseason fully underway, it’s back to the drawing board for the Milwaukee Brewers who will work to improve their roster in an attempt to continue their impressive run of regular season success.

Generally, the Brewers are hardly big spenders in free agency, and that’s expected to be the case again this offseason. Being a small market team, building their roster through free agency typically isn’t how they go about their business.

Instead, they may have to get creative in the trade market this winter if they wish to significantly enhance their roster heading into 2025.

One highly-discussed avenue this team could take is trading their all-world closer, Devin Williams.

Williams has been tremendous throughout his time in Milwaukee. The two-time All-Star hasn’t finished a season with an ERA above 2.00 since 2021; he ended with a 1.93 ERA in 2022, a 1.53 ERA in 2023, and a 1.25 ERA in 2024. Not only is he consistent, but he’s steadily been one of the most dominant closers in MLB and a foundational piece to this team’s success.

However, Williams is set to hit free agency following the 2025 season, and Milwaukee may have an opportunity to maximize his return this offseason.

Per Spotrac, the Airbender is estimated to make just over $8 million in arbitration this offseason. While that seems like a very reasonable price to pay for one of the best closers in baseball, the Brewers are all about maximizing the returns of their biggest assets.

It’s very unlikely the Brewers sign Williams to a long-term contract before he hits the open market, and he will be in high demand this winter thanks to his affordable price and outstanding track record. If the Brewers wish to capitalize on Williams’ value, now is the time to do so.

It won’t be an easy decision, but trading Williams may be the Crew’s best route to improving their roster as a whole heading into Opening Day 2025.

Why Trading Williams Makes Sense

There is a path for the Brewers to become strong World Series contenders in 2025. Recently for Just Baseball, I broke down what their offseason plan should look like in order for them to get over the hump in the postseason.

While the roster has a whole doesn’t have an abundant amount of needs, there are areas that need to be addressed this offseason.

As I highlighted in that article, addressing third base may be the key to replacing Willy Adames’ production in the lineup. Likewise, they should be in the market for starting pitching, as they have a hefty number of vacated innings in the rotation that will need to be filled.

Trading Williams could be their key to addressing both of those roster needs without having to shell out a ton of money in free agency.

For example, when assessing this year’s class of free agent third basemen, there aren’t many enticing options.

Alex Bregman is one of the top free agents this offseason, and he’s far and away the top third baseman on the open market this winter. However, he’s not going to be in Milwaukee’s price range, and the list of options outside of Bregman doesn’t contain many names who could come in and transform the offense.

Moreover, the price for starting pitching on the open market is likely far too high for the Brewers to be involved with any of the top names.

In order for the Brewers to bring in an impactful starter or replace Adames’ production in the lineup, their best route may be through the trade market with one of their most coveted assets in Williams

Potential Trade Options

When the Brewers traded away Corbin Burnes last offseason, they sacrificed top-flight pitching to receive to young, cheap players – DL Hall and Joey Ortiz – who were ready to contribute right away at the major league level.

While Williams won’t warrant the same degree of return that Burnes did, the same thing could happen this offseason. As we’ve all seen, they’ve proven in the past that they’re willing to move on from elite relievers if they receive a package that helps them long term.

With Williams’ demand anticipated to be quite high this winter, there’s a good chance the Brewers receive an offer that can benefit their future yet still help them remain competitive in 2025, just as the return for Burnes did a season ago.

One of the best closers in baseball looks to be hitting the trade market, after the Milwaukee Brewers declined Devin Williams club option.

Our @FinkelsteinRyan tells us what this move means for the Brewers:https://t.co/r5DWsq1ImA

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) November 4, 2024

One potential landing spot for Williams is the Philadelphia Phillies, who are looking to shake up their roster after a disappointing finish to their 2024 season. The Phillies are likely to lose relievers Carlos Estévez and Jeff Hoffman to free agency, so trading for Williams would help them fill a roster need with one of the game’s best.

Moreover, the Phillies are reportedly shopping third baseman Alec Bohm this offseason, making him a very intriguing return piece for the Brewers. Bohm, 28, is coming off a solid 2024 campaign. He set a career high in fWAR (3.5), and he hit .280 to go with a .779 OPS and a 115 wRC+.

Bohm is under contract for two more seasons, and he is expected to make roughly $8 million in his second year of arbitration this offseason. While the Phillies would potentially want to buy more control if they were to part ways with Bohm, it’s a very interesting fit for both parties and makes a lot of sense for both organizations.

Alec Bohm is reportedly on the trade block this winter, per @JeffPassan.

The Phillies are “looking to shake up their team” following their NLDS loss to the Mets. pic.twitter.com/kC4igbjR8h

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) November 12, 2024

Another potential landing spot is the New York Mets. For New York, the combination of Williams and Edwin Díaz would create the most lethal one-two punch in Major League Baseball, bringing their bullpen to a whole new level.

In return, it may finally be time for the Mets to move on from former top prospect Brett Baty. Baty has been an offensive force throughout his minor league career, but he has failed to translate that success to any degree of production at the major league level.

However, still just 25 years old, he has the ability to be that impact bat that Milwaukee needs if he can figure things out at the big league level. Perhaps a change of scenery would help spark something at the plate.

With Mark Vientos ascending into one of the Mets’ top offensive weapons in 2024, Baty is much more expendable for New York. Pair Baty with an enticing prospect package, and a deal makes sense for both Milwaukee and New York.

There will be no shortage of buyers for Williams. Instead, it’s just a matter of how willing the Brewers will be to part ways with their All-Star closer when they’re going into a 2025 season with World Series aspirations.

Replacements for Williams

Of course, if the Brewers move on from Williams, they will need to have a plan to replace his presence in the bullpen. Fortunately, they have a handful of candidates who could be the club’s next big time closer.

Trevor Megill

2024 Stats: 46.1 IP, 21 SV, 2.72 ERA, .196 BA, 9.71 K/9, 2.72 BB/9, 19.7 K-BB%

Trevor Megill was Milwaukee’s primary closer while Williams was on the shelf for the first handful of months of the 2024 season, and he did a great job in that role.

Megill had 21 saves in 24 opportunities, and he has the wipeout stuff that the Brewers look for in a closer. He doesn’t generate many ground balls (34.7% ground-ball rate in 2024) due to his fastball-curveball pitch mix, but he struck out 27.3% of batters faced this past season and was a very capable closer when needed.

The Brewers trust him, and Megill’s performance in 2024 should be enough for the Brewers to be confident turning the role over to him. Megill is the most likely option to become their full-time closer in the event of a Williams trade, at least in the short term.

Abner Uribe

Abner Uribe was one of the most exciting bullpen arms heading into the 2024 season, but it was far from a successful season for Uribe.

Uribe struggled in the majors before being optioned to Triple-A Nashville at the beginning of May, where he would make just seven appearances before undergoing season-ending knee surgery.

Still, while it’s a small sample size, what he showed in 2023 was an exciting flash of what his potential could be.

In 32 outings that season, Uribe pitched to a 1.76 ERA to go with a strikeout rate north of 30%. Pitch control remains a concern, as he is sporting a career walk rate of 16.6% across his 45 major league innings, but the potential is certainly there for him to be an elite closer for Milwaukee.

He has a long ways to go before the Brewers could trust him in a closer role, but his ceiling remains very high. Depending on how he looks in his return to the mound in 2025, he’s a potential long-term solution at the position for Milwaukee.

Craig Yoho and Jacob Misiorowski

Speaking of long-term answers, the Brewers have a pair of relievers who shined in the minors this past season and could be in Milwaukee’s bullpen plans in 2025 and beyond.

Craig Yoho, the 2024 Milwaukee Brewers Minor League Pitcher of the Year, put together a sensational 2024 campaign. Yoho soared through the minors thanks to his terrific performance.

In 20.1 innings at High-A, Yoho allowed just one run and struck out 37 hitters. Upon his promotion to Double-A, Yoho posted an ERA of 1.17 to go with a K/9 of 18.00 in 23 innings of work. Yoho ended the year with Triple-A Nashville, where he finished with a 1.26 ERA and a 29.0% strikeout rate across 14.1 innings of work.

The 8th round pick out of the 2023 MLB draft put himself on the radar in 2024, and he could be in the plans for the Brewers if he is able to build upon his outstanding campaign from a season ago.

Hilarious sequence from Craig Yoho. Unfathomable amount or horizontal separation.

Breaking ball that gets 21 inches of horizontal glove side break followed by his Air Bender Jr. changeup with 17 inches of fade in the opposite direction. These Nashville arms are comical. pic.twitter.com/roxHSKaIwF

— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) August 25, 2024

Brewers top prospect Jacob Misiorowski will be in the pitching plans for 2025, it’s just yet to be seen what his role will be at the major league level.

They would love for Misiorowski to stick as a starter, but he also has the potential to be Milwaukee’s long-term closer if things don’t work out for him in the rotation.

Misiorowski made his first professional start out of the bullpen on August 3 for the Nashville Sounds. From that point forward, he was lights out coming out of the ‘pen. In his 12 relief appearances (14.2 IP), Misiorowski struck out 19 (33.9% strikeout rate) to go with an opponent batting average of .085. He allowed just three earned runs over that stretch as well.

Command continues to be a work in progress for Misiorowski, but he’s the most electrifying arm in Milwaukee’s farm system. It’s yet to be seen what his role will be in the majors, but he has the fallback of being a potential lockdown closer for the Brewers moving forward.

There’s no shortage of internal options to fill the closer role for the Brewers, and that could make them more comfortable moving on from Williams if they receive the right offer.

If the Brewers trade Devin Williams this offseason, it’s unfortunate that his final outing in a Brewers uniform ended the way that it did. While Pete Alonso’s crushing home run may be his lasting memory for some Brewers fans, it’s important to remember how valuable Williams was to their run of success for the past half decade.

Relievers such as Williams don’t come around very often, and it would sting to part ways with such an elite arm. But the best path forward for their organization may be capitalizing on his value this winter and turning the page to a new chapter in 2025.