Milwaukee Brewers GM Addresses Possibility of Trading All-Star Devin Williams in Offseason

Matt Arnold just won MLB's Executive of the Year Award. He's clearly not averse to taking risks, but is he ready to trade All-Star closer Devin Williams?

Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) pitches the ball against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Oracle Park on Sept 12. / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Last offseason, the Milwaukee Brewers traded former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes and gave a mega-extension to 19-year-old Jackson Chourio before he ever played a major league game.

Those were moves made by President of Baseball Operations Matt Arnold, who just won the MLB's "Executive of the Year" Award. He's clearly not afraid to take some risk, and it all paid off as the Brewers won the National League Central and advanced to the playoffs yet again.

Is he ready to take another risk this year and potentially deal away All-Star closer Devin Williams?

He addressed the possibility this week at the general manager's meetings in Texas.

Per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com:

“Certainly we have to be open to those types of things, but I think he makes our team better,” Arnold said. “We have to be open to those types of moves; if we think something good presents itself, we'll always have to listen.”

GM Meetings Insider: Are the Giants ready to make a push for Ha-Seong Kim? Plus items on Devin Williams and the White Sox. https://t.co/bH46pxTEbJ

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) November 7, 2024

Williams is headed into the final year of his contract with Milwaukee, which is the same situation that the team was in when they dealt away Burnes. Furthermore, they traded away closer Josh Hader during the 2022 season, so they have been willing to move excellent players in order to preserve financial flexibility and get prospects in return.

That said, they elected to keep shortstop Willy Adames last season, rather than deal him. He gave the Brewers an MVP-caliber campaign. He's likely to leave in free agency this offseason.

The 30-year-old Williams missed time this past season with injury but still made 22 appearances. He went 1-0 with a 1.25 ERA in 21.2 innings. Williams had 14 saves as the Brewers advanced into October.

Lifetime, Williams is 27-10 with a 1.83 ERA. He made the National League All-Star team in 2022 and 2023.

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