Baltimore Orioles Among Most Likely To Trade for Milwaukee Brewers Closer

The Baltimore Orioles still have some work to do in their bullpen and could decide to go all the way and trade for another elite arm.

Sep 26, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. The Brewers won 5-2. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers came together for one of the biggest trades of the year last offseason, could they do it again this time around?

After falling apart in the second half of last season, the Orioles need to bite the bullet and finally pull off some trades this offseason.

Mike Axisa of CBS Sports listed Baltimore among the most likely suitors for Brewers closer Devin Williams when putting together his list of the top trade candidates.

Williams was the third overall player in the ranking and second-best pitcher behind Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox.

"Milwaukee GM Matt Arnold did not mince words in October when he said the Brewers will 'stay open-minded' about trading the closer because they are in the 'smallest market in the league.' Williams is a year away from free agency," said Axisa.

The Brewers traded Corbin Burnes a year before free agency last offseason, and they traded Josh Hader a year-and-a-half prior to free agency. Williams is perhaps the big-name player most likely to be traded this winter."

The 29-year-old didn't play a full season in 2024, which is the only reason he didn't have his third-straight All-Star appearance.

In the 22 games that he did play in, he posted an elite 1.25 ERA with a 0.969 WHIP and 15.8 K/9. He's only finished two years of his career with a ERA of 2.50 or more, sustaining his dominance for a while now.

Unlike most of the game's top closers, he doesn't do it with an overwhelming fastball. It sits in the mid-90s, but is still a dominant pitcher. He also really only uses that and a mid-80s changeup. With those two, he is able to cause poor contact and a lot of whiffs.

Adding a player of Williams' ability to the bullpen when they should already be getting Felix Bautista back from injury may seem like overkill, but the Orioles should have learned not to take anything for granted last offseason.

After Bautista's injury forced them to improvise at closer, none of the moves they made in response worked out.

Craig Kimbrel had a disaster season and didn't make it to the end of the year on the roster. They then traded for Seranthony Dominguez and got mixed results.

They need stronger depth in the bullpen overall and adding Williams would give them one of the best 1-2 punches in all of baseball.