Why the Brewers Bullpen Will Be Fine Without Devin Williams

We all knew it was coming. I knew it. You knew it. Even Devin Williams himself knew it.

Of all the moves that happened during the week of the Winter Meetings, the Milwaukee Brewers trading elite closer Devin Williams was one of the most foregone conclusions. The only unknown was the destination.

Williams became one of the top closers in all of baseball when he assumed the role for Milwaukee from the departed Josh Hader just over two seasons ago. Estimated to make around $8 million in his final year of arbitration per MLB Trade Rumors projections, rumors that the payroll-starved Brewers would attempt to move him began early this offseason.

Sure, Milwaukee could’ve held on to him and looked to trade him closer to the deadline. They pulled that same move with the aforementioned Hader, though, and suffice to say it did not end up going well.

So the expectation was that Williams would move this offseason and that’s exactly what transpired when the Brewers and Yankees agreed to terms. The Crew wound up shipping their closer to New York for veteran starter Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin, a move that was a win for both sides.

Most teams would have some work to do to repair their bullpen after trading a player as elite as Williams. The Brewers, however, should end up being just fine and there are a bunch of different reasons why.

Brewers already have their replacement closer in Trevor Megill

When Williams suffered a back injury before the 2024 season, putting him on the shelf until around the All-Star break, it was a bit of an open competition to see who would fill in at closer until he returned. One option literally ended up towering above the rest.

Trevor Megill, a 6-foot-8 imposing force who can throw in the triple digits, stepped forward to claim the closer’s role and was phenomenal. He converted 21 of 24 save opportunities in 2024, finishing ninth in the NL in saves despite only being a closer for part of the season.

The 30-year-old overall had the finest season of his pro career, setting career highs with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.014 WHIP. And while his strikeout rate of 27.3% was a little lower than his career average, his 7.7% walk rate was second lowest of his career while his .200 batting average against was by far his lowest.

A huge leap in quality with his power fastball was key to his improvement. Though nothing really changed in terms of break, drop, velocity, or arm angle, Megill’s fastball had a run value of 12 in 2024 per Baseball Savant after putting up a combined run value of two the previous two years.

Megill will immediately slot in as the Brewers’ closer for 2025. And while he’s not Williams, he’s a pretty good next options, as he has already shown.

Internal Bullpen Weapons Aplenty

Williams and Megill weren’t the only high-quality relievers on the Brewers last year. Milwaukee’s 3.11 bullpen ERA led the National League and was second in MLB behind just the Guardians.

The Brewers had 12 pitchers who threw more than 19 innings of relief in 2024 and also had ERAs under 4.00. Seven of those pitchers return to the bullpen for the 2025 season.

Another, Abner Uribe, did not but was in the mix for the closer’s role early in 2024 before volatility and a season-ending injury got to him. But he is another young, talented fireballer who will jump back into the mix in 2025.

In addition to the many returning relievers, two newcomers join the mix in Connor Thomas and Grant Wolfram. Thomas was a Rule 5 pick this offseason from the Cardinals organization who has a career 4.33 ERA in the minors while Wolfram is also a career minor leaguer but was signed to a major league contract for next year.

The Brewers have only finished outside of the top 10 in the league in bullpen ERA twice in the last 10 seasons. They have a knack for making things work there and there’s no reason to believe then won’t this year too.

Bullpen Reinforcements in the Minor Leagues

One area where Milwaukee always excels is finding new pieces for the pitching staff in the minors, sometimes out of seemingly nowhere. They currently have two who look like they will be electric when they reach the majors.

Top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski hit Triple-A for the first time toward the end of 2024. The fireballer largely spent his time at Nashville as a reliever in preparation for a possibly September call-up after mostly operating as a starter for his pro career and was fantastic, pitching to a 2.55 ERA with a .088 batting average against and a 31.4% strikeout rate.

Craig Yoho also capped out at Triple-A after storming his way up the system in his first year in affiliated ball for Milwaukee. He had a combined 0.94 ERA across three levels last year and possesses one of the filthiest changeups in the minors (something that may sound familiar to Williams fans).

And those are just the two biggest names. The Brewers often turn off-the-radar minor leaguers into valuable major league pieces. 2024 case in point: Jared Koenig, who went from non-roster invitee, to the minors, to a top Milwaukee bullpen arm who pitched to a 2.47 ERA in 62 innings.

The bullpen was a huge reason why the Brewers were able to repeat as division champs for the first time in franchise history. Even with their All-Star closer out the door, the unit has a great chance to be elite once again.