The New York Yankees have traded Devin Williams – one of the best relievers in baseball – from the Milwaukee Brewers in another milestone after the loss of Juan Soto.
According to ESPN, Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin are heading to Milwaukee in return, along with some money. The Yankees and Brewers will also play each other three times to start the season starting March 27.
It’s another notable move by the Yankees after the loss of Juan Soto to the New York Mets.
But whether Soto stayed or not, the Yankees desperately needed to strengthen the back of their bullpen.
Clay Holmes – who also joined the Mets from the Yankees via free agency this season – lost his closing role last season, replacing Luke Weaver. Rumor has it that Holmes will be involved as a starter for the Mets next season.
Left-handed starter Cortes was linked to a trade before the deadline last season before finding something close to his best form as the Yankees reached 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 next.
After an elbow injury derailed his postseason, manager Aaron Boone turned to him to close out Game 1 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He struck out Shohei Ohtani, 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 sparked the batter’s run, sparking eventually led 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, $218 million deal to join the Yankees.
Fried had entered free agency after his deal with the Atlanta Braves expired.
Williams also had his own moment to forget in the postseason. The 30-year-old gave up a three-run homer in the ninth inning 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 now thought to cause elbow problems.
Williams and Italian-born Cardinals prospect Ettore Giulianelli are among the few pitchers who still use something that resembles a screwball.
‘I don’t really know how to explain it. When I throw it and it falls down and it moves horizontally and vertically, I just see it,” he told MLB.Com in 2023.