Why Ex-Brewers Star Devin Williams Was 'Surprised' About Yankees Trade

The former Brewers superstar was "surprised" he was traded to New York

Aug 28, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Devin Williams (38) delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants in the ninth inning at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-Imagn Images / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers recently traded away one of their best players.

After much speculation and rumors, the Brewers traded two-time All-Star and two-time Trevor Hoffmann National League Reliever of the Year Devin Williams to the New York Yankees for pitcher Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin.

Williams was selected in the second round of the 2013 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft by Milwaukee and spent the first six years of his big league career with the team. There was a lot of trade chatter about him so it's not too shocking that he got moved, but he was "surprised" it was to the Yankees as he thought he was going to get dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to ESPN's Jorge Castillo.

"Devin Williams, in a Zoom call with media, said he was surprised he was traded to the Yankees because he thought he was going to Los Angeles," Castillo said.

The Dodgers were heavily tied to Williams before the Yankees deal got done. It's unknown what type of deal the Brewers could've gotten from Los Angeles, but New York clearly did enough to bring him to town.

Williams is one of the best closers in baseball, but it didn't seem like he had a long-term future with Milwaukee. He has one more year of team control before hitting free agency and unsurprisingly will land a massive deal. Williams has a 1.83 career ERA in six years so he will be a hot commodity, unless the Yankees can lock him up with an extension before free agency.

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