The Milwaukee Brewers, despite saying they were more than willing to hold onto Devin Williams for the 2025 MLB season, traded their two-time All-Star closer to the New York Yankees for left-handed starting pitcher Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin.
Milwaukee, of course, decided to trade Williams to the Yankees for two very important reasons. The first was that they are not going to be able to afford signing him once he hits free agency following the 2025 season. By trading him now, they at least got some players back in return for losing him.
The second, and perhaps the most intriguing reason, is Durbin. While Cortes is a nice addition to the starting rotation, he only has one year left of club control, just like Williams. He likely will only spend one season with the Brewers, unless they trade him before or during the season.
Durbin, while he has not made his Major League debut yet, is an exciting player who just set the Arizona Fall League record with 29 stolen bases (they play 24 games in that league). He also has walked more than he has struck out on every level of professional baseball that he has played.
Should he make the Opening Day roster, he will allow either Joey Ortiz or Brice Turang to move to shortstop in an effort to replace Willy Adames.
The Milwaukee Brewers Could Sign Carlos Estevez to Replace Devin Williams
Of course, using the Williams trade to answer a couple of their other roster questions only created a new one: who will be the Brewers’ closer in 2025? Fortunately for Milwaukee, they have one of the best bullpens in baseball and have multiple internal candidates who can fill that role.
While Williams was on the injured list with stress fractures in his back, fireballer Trevor Megill saved 20 games in 22 chances and posted a 2.72 ERA. Craig Yoho, who played on three different minor league levels for the Brewers last year, finished his season with a 4-2 record, 0.97 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 10 saves in 48 games.
Yoho also struck out 101 batters in just 57.2 innings.
However, it is possible that Milwaukee could look for an inexpensive free agent to help fill that role as well. If they do, Curt Bishop of Sports Illustrated believes that they should look into signing Carlos Estevez:
“Perhaps the Brewers could dive into the free agent market for some help. The Athletic lists reliever Carlos Estevez as one of the top available free agents, and he would be a perfect fit for the Brew Crew.”
Estevez was an All-Star with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, when he went 5-5 with a 3.90 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, and had 31 saves. He was much better last year, though, a season that he spent with the Angels and Philadelphia Phillies.
In 2024, Estevez went 4-5 with a 2.45 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, and had 26 saves.
The problem with the suggestion to sign Estevez, though, is that Spotrac projects him to get a three-year contract worth $42 million, or $14 million per year. To put it plainly, the Brewers will not pay that. They did not even want to pay Williams $10 million, so it stands to reason they will not pay Estevez $14 million.
That being said, if Estevez’s market falls and he is available for $6-7 million on a one-year deal, he would be an ideal Brewers free agent signing.
More Milwaukee Brewers News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
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- MLB Insider Reveals 1 More Player the Milwaukee Brewers Are Interested in Trading This Winter
- Milwaukee Brewers: Dodgers Offer for a Potential Devin Williams Trade Revealed
- Dodgers Sign Different Former Brewers Pitcher After Missing Out on Devin Williams
- Former Milwaukee Brewers All-Star Finally Gets Elected to the Hall of Fame
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