After Luke Weaver’s dominance out of the bullpen in 2024, the New York Yankees would not commit to him being the closer in 2025. That signaled the Yankees were working on something bigger for the backend of their bullpen.
“I have a ton of confidence in Luke,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said at the Winter Meetings. “Whatever role that ends up being, whether it is the traditional closer, we’ll just hopefully put him in the best position to be successful. Definitely have a lot of expectation and confidence that he’s going to be, hopefully, a part of another really strong bullpen.”
On Friday afternoon, Weaver’s role was settled. The Yankees acquired Milwaukee Brewers All-Star closer Devin Williams in a trade for starting pitcher Nestor Cortes and utility man Caleb Durbin, the teams announced Friday. The Yankees will also send cash to cover a portion of Cortes’ salary to finalize the trade. Both Williams and Cortes will become free agents at the end of the 2025 season.
Williams has solidified himself as one of MLB’s best closers since making his debut in 2019. His 1.83 ERA is the second-best among all qualified relievers. Only Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase posts a better ERA.
Williams’ 14.32 K/9 ranks fourth among all relievers. One of the Yankees’ struggles from their bullpen in 2024 was a lack of strikeout artists. With Williams and Weaver at the backend of their bullpen, that no longer should be an issue.
Yankees fans will learn quickly that Williams’ best pitch is his air-bending changeup. Opponents hit just .162 against it in 2024 and .097 in 2023.
The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired two-time All-Star and two-time National League Reliever of the Year Award winner RHP Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for LHP Nestor Cortes, INF Caleb Durbin and cash considerations.
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) December 13, 2024
One of the benefits of acquiring Williams is the Yankees can now use Weaver for multiple innings, a role in which he thrived in 2024. A winning formula for the 2025 Yankees could be to have a lead by the seventh inning and turn the ball over to Weaver and Williams to close a game out. The Yankees still need additional relievers, preferably a left-handed option. A league source said that the Yankees have an interest in re-signing Tim Hill, who’s garnering interest from multiple contending clubs.
Cortes became expendable after the Yankees signed Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million contract. Cortes threw a team-leading 174.1 innings in 2024 and finished with a respectable 3.77 ERA. There’s some risk attached to him after he had a flexor strain late in the season that kept him off the ALDS and ALCS rosters. If Cortes can stay healthy, the Brewers added a quality middle-of-the-rotation starter. Before he was traded, Cortes was expected to have a normal throwing schedule this offseason, according to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
Durbin was penciled in as the 2025 Yankees’ starting second baseman. Cashman called him the “odds-on” favorite to land the job earlier this week. With Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s positional flexibility, the Yankees must either trade for or sign a second baseman or third baseman. They have been linked to free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman in free agency and St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado via trade.
The Yankees have long appreciated Durbin’s skillset. Well before he was seen as a possible candidate to start at second base, several high-ranking members of the organization viewed him as a winning player who was ready for the majors. This wasn’t an example of the Yankees hyping up a prospect only to boost his trade value — they’ve been praising him for over a year now. The 5-foot-6 utility man can play second, shortstop, third or left field for the Brewers. He has elite bat-to-ball skills and finished with more walks than strikeouts in his minor-league career. Durbin has 111 career strikeouts in the minors and 110 stolen bases.
Acquiring Williams for Cortes and Durbin is a win for the Yankees’ player development and scouting arms. Cortes was a 36th-round draft pick for the Yankees in 2013. He was passed through waivers multiple times before finding success in the bullpen and then as a starting pitcher. Durbin was acquired via trade from the Atlanta Braves for low-leverage reliever Lucas Luetge.
When Juan Soto departed for the New York Mets in free agency, the Yankees had to commit to becoming a better run-prevention team. The available bats on the free agency market cannot replicate the level of Soto’s offensive production. In the Yankees’ first two moves since Soto’s signing, strengthening their pitching staff has been the priority. But the Yankees must also add bats this offseason, too.
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