The Milwaukee Brewers made one of the most predictable moves of the offseason earlier this month, sending two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams to the New York Yankees for left-handed starting pitcher Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin. Williams missed most of 2024 as he recovered from stress fractures in his back, but was electric when he returned, going 1-0 with a 1.25 ERA with 14 saves.
Unfortunately, he also gave up the game-winning grand slam to New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso in the postseason, which ended Milwaukee’s season.
Of course, the trade was made because Williams will be a free agent at the end of the 2025 season and the Brewers have no intention of paying him what he will be asking. However, the same is true of Cortes, who will make roughly the same amount of money as Williams after arbitration and will be a free agent after the season.
Clearly, Milwaukee viewed Williams as expendable as their bullpen was successful without him in 2024 while the starting rotation was (and still is) in need of quality depth.
Milwaukee Brewers Starting Pitcher Nestor Cortes Will Where #65
On Monday afternoon, it was reported on social media that Cortes will wear number 65 for the Brewers, the same number he wore in his last four seasons with the Yankees:
LHP Nestor Cortes (@Cortes_1210) will wear number 65. First wearer in team history. #Brewers pic.twitter.com/E1nKKn4Hly
— MLB Jersey Numbers (@NumbersMLB) December 30, 2024
As the post above notes, Cortes is the first player in franchise history to wear number 65. The new Brewers pitcher re-posted the announcement with one of his own:
Let’s goooo!!!! https://t.co/PYZRbgZTFT
— Nestor Cortes (@Cortes_1210) December 30, 2024
As mentioned, Cortes previously wore 65 with New York, in what his his second stint with them. He also has worn number 51 with the Baltimore Orioles, 67 with the Yankees (during his first stint), and 30 with the Seattle Mariners.
67 seems to be unofficially retired by the Brewers, the jersey number that belonged to Jim Slaton, the franchise’s all-time leader in multiple pitching categories. He retired in 1986, and last pitched for the Brewers in 1983.
51 is currently worn by Freddy Peralta, but 30 is still available. It was worn by Craig Counsel during his tenure as manager.
Now that 65 has been claimed, the remaining jersey numbers never worn by a Brewers player are 66, 68, 69, 70, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, and 98.
Last season, Gary Sanchez became the first player in franchise history to wear number 99.
The number worn the most in franchise history is 48, which has been worn by 34 different players. 25, 33, and 50 have each been worn by 33 different players. 7 and 11 are the next most frequently worn numbers in franchise history, having been worn by 31 different players each. 9, 21, and 47 have all been worn by 30 different players each.
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