The New York Yankees have traded for Devin Williams – one of the best relievers in baseball – from the Milwaukee Brewers in another landmark move after losing Juan Soto.
Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin are heading to Milwaukee in return, along with some cash, according to ESPN. The Yankees and Brewers also play each other three time to start the season, from March 27.
It’s another eye-catching move from the Yankees after losing Juan Soto to the New York Mets.
But whether Soto stayed or not, the Yankees badly needed to strengthen the back of their bullpen.
Clay Holmes – who has also gone to the Mets from the Yankees via free agency this offseason – lost his closing role last season with Luke Weaver deputizing. Holmes has been rumored to be involved as a starter for the Mets in the coming season.
Left-handed starter Cortes was linked with a trade before the deadline last season before finding something close to his best form as the Yankees made the World Series.
The New York Yankees are trading for Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams
It marks another big move for Aaron Judge’s team after Juan Soto left for the New York Mets
However, Cortes will unfortunately always be remembered for what happened from there.
After an elbow injury had derailed his postseason, manager Aaron Boone turned to him to close out Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He got Shohei Ohtani out, the Yankees walked Mookie Betts but then Freddie Freeman hit a sensational walk off grand slam home run that gave the Dodgers a 6-3 win and ignited the hitter’s series, eventually leading his team to the title.
And the writing seemed to be on the wall for Cortes when earlier this week, another left-handed starter in Max Fried signed an eight-year, $218million deal to join the Yankees.
Fried had entered free agency after his deal with the Atlanta Braves expired.
Williams had his own moment to forget in the postseason, too. The 30-year-old gave up a three-run, ninth-inning homer to Mets first baseman Pete Alonso in Game 3 of the NL wild-card series, ending their campaign.
Williams is perhaps best known for throwing his self-described ‘airbender,’ which baseball insiders have likened to a screwball – a once-popular pitch that is now thought to cause elbow problems.
Williams and Italian-born Cardinals prospect Ettore Giulianelli are among the very few hurlers still using anything resembling a screwball.
‘I don’t really know how to explain it. If I throw it and it’s down and it’s moving horizontally and vertically, I can just tell,’ he told MLB.Com in 2023.
