During this past offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers made one of the least surprising trades of the winter. With their All-Star closer Devin Williams a year away from free agency, it was highly anticipated that the cost-conscious Brewers would trade him, just as they did with Corbin Burnes the previous winter. Milwaukee, of course, shipped Williams to the New York Yankees in exchange for left-handed starting pitcher Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin.
The trade has worked out well for the Brewers, though not so much for the Yankees, who could have used Durbin at third base earlier this year. The young rookie is hitting .257/.341/.369 with five home runs, 37 RBI, and nine stolen bases, and has emerged as Milwaukee’s everyday third baseman. Williams, meanwhile, lost the closer’s role in New York months ago, and has a 3-3 record, 5.01 ERA, and 17 saves.
Nestor Cortes Had a Short Run with the Milwaukee Brewers
When the trade happened, everyone knew that Cortes was not going to be long for Milwaukee. Like Williams, he is in his final year of arbitration before reaching free agency this upcoming winter. However, he was expected to be a season-long mainstay in the starting rotation.
Of course, that did not happen.
Cortes only pitched in two games for the Brewers, going 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA. He spent the rest of the season up to this point on the injured list, and only recently reached the point where he was ready to return to the Majors.
The only problem, at least for Cortes, is that while he was on the shelf, Milwaukee pieced together one of the best starting rotations in the Majors. Headlined by All-Stars Freddy Peralta and Jacob Misiorowski, and filled out with Brandon Woodruff, Jose Quintana, and Quinn Priester, there simply was no place for Cortes on the Brewers roster.
The Milwaukee Brewers Traded Nestor Cortes to the San Diego Padres
Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
With no place for Cortes, and with the team suddenly in need of an outfielder due to the injury suffered by Jackson Chourio, Milwaukee traded the veteran left-hander to the San Diego Padres for Brandon Lockridge.
While it was not necessarily the trade Brewers fans wanted, and while the base has been very critical of the organization over the past 24-48 hours, Cortes, for one, is leaving Milwaukee in awe of what has been (and is being) built:
Nestor Cortes posted a message on Instagram last night after being traded to San Diego👇
“Milwaukee was short lived but wow what a group of gritty players and blue collar organization. Sorry I couldn’t give you guys more.” pic.twitter.com/9IPc2UTTZV
— Hunter Baumgardt (@hunterbonair) August 1, 2025
“Milwaukee was short lived but wow what a group of gritty players and blue collar organization,” Cortes wrote on Instagram. “Sorry I couldn’t give you guys more.”
As one can see, Cortes admires the grittiness and blue collar nature of the organization, something that fans, too, have taken pride in for years.
And this group has already achieved the best record in baseball without the addition of a big name player at the trade deadline.
Perhaps that work ethic will be enough.
More Milwaukee Brewers News from Wisconsin Sports Heroics
- Brewers Former MLB Top-100 Prospect Gets DFA’d by Kansas City Royals
- Brewers’ Rival Cubs Get Slugging Infielder Who Have Been a Perfect Fit in Milwaukee
- Brewers GM Explains Reasoning Behind Trading for Brandon Lockridge
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