The Milwaukee Brewers are in a precarious position this offseason with closer Devin Williams. After declining his 2025 club option, all signs point towards the Brewers being open to trading Williams.
Even though Williams is one of the best closers in baseball, the Brewers have a history of trading their star players as they approach the end of their contracts before they hit free agency. That is one of the ways that the Brewers, even though they play in one of baseball's smallest markets, have stayed competitive.
In 2024, after missing the first half of the season with a back injury, Williams recorded 14 saves in 22 appearances with a 1.25 ERA and 15.8 SO/9. This was Williams' third-straight season with a sub-2.00 ERA.
Williams is known for his elite “Airbender” changeup, one of the best individual pitches in all of baseball.
While the Brewers may wait until the trade deadline in July to move Williams, it is clear that they will be listening to offers. Any team that is looking to contend should be willing to offer a hefty price for the two-time All-Star.
Last offseason, the Brewers traded Corbin Burnes, who also had one year left on his contract, to the Orioles for a hefty price. They got infield prospect Joey Ortiz, who at the time was the No. 63 prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline, and pitcher DL Hall, a promising young Major League arm. While Williams should command a bit less than Burnes as a closer compared to a No. 1 starter, it would not be out of the realm of possibility for the Brewers to demand a top-100-level prospect.
Here are the three teams that are most likely to try and make a deal with the Brewers for Devin Williams.
3. New York Yankees fix issues that cost them World Series, trade for Devin Williams
One of the biggest reasons why the New York Yankees fell short in the World Series was due to their bullpen. Whether it was manager Aaron Boone choosing to use starting pitcher Nestor Cortes instead of reliever Tim Hill in the 10th inning of Game 1 or reliever Tommy Kahnle blowing the Yankees' lead and allowing 2 runs during his eighth inning appearance in Game 5, it is clear that the Yankees need some bullpen upgrades. Yes, Luke Weaver stepped into the closer role and performed admirably in the postseason, there is room for improvement.
Clay Holmes, Hill and Kahnle are all free agents this offseason, so even with Weaver back in the fold there are still a lot of relief innings up for grabs.
The biggest roadblock for the Yankees in potentially acquiring Williams is their lack of elite prospects. The only Yankee in MLB Pipeline's Top-100 is Jasson Dominguez. Especially if the Yankees are unable to re-sign superstar free agent Juan Soto, Dominguez is a key piece for the Yankees' future.
However, if they are able to piece together a deal centered around their system's No. 2 prospect, outfielder Spencer Jones, along with some Major League talent like the versatile Oswaldo Cabrera, that could just be enough.
2. Boston Red Sox go all in this offseason, use top prospects and young talent to trade for Devin Williams
The Boston Red Sox are reportedly going to be one of the most aggressive teams this offseason, both in free agency and in the trade market. One of the areas they need to improve the most: their bullpen. Kenley Jansen, who was the Red Sox's closer the last two seasons, and Chris Martin, who was the primary setup man, are both free agents. While the Red Sox could bring Martin back, Jansen looks like he is ready to leave Boston after his leaving the team before their final regular season game.
If the Red Sox want to, they have the most amount of prospect capital and a significant amount of young, Major League talent to blow any other team's potential offer to the Brewers for Williams out of the water.
While they would be unlikely to include any of their top four prospects, outfielder Roman Anthony, outfielder/infielder Kristian Campbell, shortstop Marcelo Mayer or catcher Kyle Teel, some of their mid-level prospects would still be very appealing. If the Brewers want Major League talent, players like 25-year-old Wilyer Abreu, who won a Gold Glove in right field in his rookie year last season or 28-year-old starter Kutter Crawford could be appealing options.
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The Red Sox would be most likely to pursue Williams if they have a successful free agency and are able to bring in players like Soto, Burnes, Max Fried or Blake Snell and believe that they are a closer way from being true World Series contenders.
1. Dave Dombrowski makes Philadelphia Phillies World Series favorites ![Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jeff Hoffman (23) throws a pitch in the fifth inning against the New York Mets in game four of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Citi Field.]()
© Wendell Cruz-Imagn ImagesThe Philadelphia Phillies are desperate to win a World Series. After making it to the Fall Classic in 2022 and losing to the Houston Astros, getting bounced in the NLCS by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023 and most recently, getting beat by the New York Mets in the NLDS this past season, it would not be surprising to see the Phillies make a big splash this offseason.
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is known for being willing to pull the trigger on major deals for All-Star-quality players like Williams. Especially with Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez, two of the Phillies' top bullpen arms, being free agents, the closer role could be a significant area of need for the Phillies.
Even if Hoffman and Estevez return to the Phillies, bringing Williams into the fold could give Philadelphia one of, if not the best bullpens and pitching staffs in all of baseball. A bullpen led by Williams combined with an elite starting rotation of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez and Cristopher Sanchez could make the Phillies World Series favorites.
While they would be unlikely to include their top prospect, pitcher Andrew Painter, it would not be surprising to see Dombrowski amke almost everyone else in the Phillies' minor league system available for the Brewers for Williams.
