After finalizing a trade that sent Devin Williams to the New York Yankees in exchange for left-handed starter Nestor Cortes, infielder Caleb Durbin, and cash, Matt Arnold emphasized a key theme in his assessment: balance.
For the Brewers, balance lies at the core of their long-term strategy. As a team in baseball’s smallest market, they’ve committed to building a sustainable contender, avoiding the pitfalls of fleeting championship windows that could lead to lengthy rebuilds. This approach demands a careful equilibrium between immediate and future success, requiring difficult decisions about whether to keep star players nearing the end of their contracts or move them for assets that will shape the team’s future.
In the case of Williams, trading him was the logical choice. Despite being one of the game’s top closers, Williams is a one-inning reliever, and his role is one of the most volatile in baseball, with short shelf lives and high replaceability. The Brewers have a strong track record of developing new, breakout relievers every season, making Williams, though excellent, a trade candidate.
This trade takes a different form due to the fact that half of the return is also on an expiring contract. Cortes, who is projected to earn a similar $7.7 million salary in 2025 as Williams, was sent to Milwaukee along with $2 million in cash from the Yankees to cover part of that cost. Arnold viewed this move as one that would help the Brewers compete in 2025 while adding a potential long-term asset to the roster.
Cortes, who had been the Yankees’ Opening Day starter in 2023, fits the Brewers’ needs well. While he doesn’t rely on overpowering velocity, Cortes uses a mix of six pitches and varied arm angles to keep hitters off balance, making him a reliable middle-of-the-rotation starter. His performance since 2021 is comparable to Freddy Peralta’s, and his 2024 numbers position him ahead of other potential rotation options like Tobias Myers, Aaron Civale, and a returning Brandon Woodruff. The Brewers are confident that Cortes is fully healthy after a late-season elbow scare, and they expect him to be an important contributor in 2025.
Durbin, the other key piece in the trade, is considered a potential long-term asset. Though small in stature at 5-foot-6, Durbin brings excellent plate discipline and baserunning to the table, having walked more than he struck out and stolen 29 bases in Triple-A in 2024. His power numbers were underwhelming, but his performance in the Arizona Fall League showed growth, especially as he faced higher-quality pitching. Durbin’s ability to pull the ball and hit line drives could help him at the big-league level, though questions remain about his power potential against better pitching and in larger stadiums.
Durbin’s style fits well with the Brewers’ emphasis on versatility and hustle. Manager Pat Murphy, who has seen Durbin play in the Fall League, believes he embodies the type of player the team values—scrappy and capable of maximizing his abilities. However, Durbin’s profile is similar to that of Frelick and Turang, raising the question of how many players with limited power the Brewers can roster and whether they should target more power-hitting athletes.
While the return for Williams may not seem massive, it is a fair deal for a player on a one-year contract. The Brewers have strengthened their bullpen, improved their rotation, and added a solid position player. If Durbin can develop even modest power, this trade could prove to be yet another example of the Brewers’ ability to strike a successful balance in their roster decisions.
