Earlier this month, the Milwaukee Brewers sent closer Devin Williams to the New York Yankees in exchange for left-hander Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin.
Durbin slots in as the No. 15 prospect in the Brewers organization but could be headed for the big leagues quickly. According to MLB.com‘s Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy, manager Pat Murphy sees plenty to like about their new prospect.
The Brewers Add a Versatile Infielder to the Roster
Pat Murphy is known to have love in his heart for players who aren’t necessarily the biggest stars or even the biggest in stature. At 5-foot-6, Durbin definitely qualifies for both categories, given his prospect rankings, projections, and past performance. Though, when asked about Durbin, Murphy had a lot of good to say about him:
“I’ve known about this kid,” Murphy said. “I saw him play in the Northwoods League as a college player — he was in Fond du Lac [Wisc.] and my kid [Kai] was playing in the league. Then I saw him parts of two years in the [Arizona] Fall League. …
Durbin, 24, spent most of his year in Triple-A and slashed .287/.396/.471 with 10 home runs, 23 doubles and 29 stolen bases. He spent most of his time playing second base but also found himself filling in at third, shortstop, left field, and center field over his four minor league seasons.
The Perfect Fit for the Brewers
Over the past several years, the Milwaukee Brewers have been all about versatility when it comes to their baseball team. Whether it’s in the outfield where Jackson Chourio, Garret Mitchell, and Joey Wiemer move between the three spots or someone like Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick, who can play a little of the infield and outfield, it’s clear Pat Murphy and the current regime love versatility:
“When we were considering the trade, I know our people understood what kind of guy we got here. He fits a team that plays the way we’ve played recently, and we’re as excited as heck.”
Even Durbin himself thinks it’s a great landing spot for him.
“I think it’s perfect,” said Durbin, who has a .781 OPS across four Minor League seasons, with growing power after hitting a career-best 10 home runs in 2024. “From my sense of what the team’s identity is, it’s a lot of guys playing with a chip on their shoulder. That’s kind of been something I play with my entire career growing up.”
As far as his stature goes, Durbin doesn’t even think it’ll be a factor. In fact, he believes it’s more outside noise than anything of substance.
“I think other people care about [my height] more than obviously me,” Durbin said. “The coaches I’ve worked with, especially once I got to pro ball, it never felt like a hindrance. Maybe people on the outside, it’s something they talk about more than the people I’m around and working with.
No matter how he actually feels about it, Durbin should have as decent a shot as any to make the Opening Day roster. If he continues to play with that chip on his shoulder like Sal Frelick, it’ll be sooner rather than later we see him in the big leagues. Even if he doesn’t make it out of Spring Training, he’ll be right in Triple-A, ready to take over whenever he’s needed. And manager Pat Murphy will have another option for versatility.
