Brewers’ division foe reportedly plotting to bring Devin Williams back to the NL Central .MH
At this time last year, the Milwaukee Brewers were also considering trading away one of their top arms who was entering his final year of team control before hitting the open market. While Milwaukee’s front office finds themselves in a similar situation with their ace, Freddy Peralta, this offseason, it felt like more of a sure thing that the team would move Devin Williams an offseason ago. Before the calendar flipped from 2024 to 2025, the Brewers did just that: traded Williams to the New York Yankees in exchange for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin.
In adding a 2x Reliever of the Year Award winner to their bullpen, the Yankees were expecting big things from Williams in 2025. However, the change of scenery coincided with Williams’ worst season in the big leagues, as the former Brewer posted a 4.79 ERA with four blown saves in just 22 opportunities. By the end of April, Williams was no longer closing games for the Yankees, and at the midseason trade deadline, New York was forced to trade for more back-end bullpen help to make up for Williams’ lack of success in high-leverage situations.
With Durbin finishing as a finalist for the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year Award, it’s fair to say that the trade worked out in Milwaukee’s favor, despite Cortes making just two starts in a Brewers’ uniform and being traded to the San Diego Padres at the trade deadline.
Now, after the Yankees came up short against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series, Williams is officially a free agent for the first time in his career. After his first five seasons in MLB, which not only included two NL Reliever of the Year Awards but also the NL Rookie of the Year Award in 2020, Williams was expecting a huge payday during his first trip to free agency. However, his down season in New York has complicated the matter and made a short-term prove-it deal more likely. The outcome has brought new players into Williams’ market, including one NL Central team that has high hopes for the 2026 season.
Cincinnati Reds reportedly interested in Devin Williams this offseason
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, “One week into free agency, approximately 12 teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds, expressed interest in Williams, league sources said.”
Williams is one of the most interesting free agents on the market this offseason. Had he replicated the success that he enjoyed in Milwaukee with the Yankees this past season, there was a strong chance that he would have earned the largest free agent contract for a relief pitcher in MLB history. Now, however, insiders are projecting that Williams will earn anywhere from a one-year to a four-year deal worth somewhere in the range of $15-18 million each year, with the average annual value getting smaller with each additional year tacked on.
It’s still not a minor signing, agreeing to a deal with a relief pitcher for more than $15 million a year, but it’s far less than Williams would have earned if he were his All-Star self in 2025. That change has brought several smaller market teams into play, including the Cincinnati Reds.
Just several days ago, the Reds announced that their 2026 payroll will be roughly the same as it was in 2025, when the team spent roughly $119 million on their roster, according to Spotrac. With roughly $23 million set to come off the books this winter, the Reds would be spending a majority of their offseason budget on Williams if they choose to bring him in.
That said, the team is in desperate need of a closer, after Emilio Pagán, who made $8 million per year over the last two seasons in Cincinnati and stepped up as the team’s closer during their Wild Card run in 2025, became a free agent at the start of the offseason. If Cincinnati’s GM, Nick Krall, is able to bring in Williams on a deal that doesn’t severely hamstring his club’s spending ability over the next few seasons, it would be an excellent addition to a Reds team that is hoping to take the next step in 2026.
For the Brewers, it would not only mean an improvement for a division rival, but also the return of their former closer to the NL Central, where they would face him just slightly more often than if he landed with a club outside of the division, after MLB’s shift to a balanced schedule. Depending on which version of Williams the Reds would hypothetically acquire, it could either be a significant addition to the NL Central that gives Cincinnati a far better chance to dethrone the Brewers or an insufficient attempt by the Reds to add the pieces required to claim their first division title since 2012.
