Philadelphia Phillies Trade Proposal Sees Team Go All-In for Elite Closer

The Philadelphia Phillies could swap one of their infielder starters for the Milwaukee Brewers elite closer.

Sep 22, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Devin Williams (38) reacts after picking up a save in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at American Family Field. / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies already have to bring in a new closer and could look to one of the best arms in baseball to fill the hole.

With the Milwaukee Brewers declining the club option on Devin Williams makes it apparent that the team is ready to shop him in the trade market.

In finding the best fits for him, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report listed the Phillies above all other teams. He also came up with a trade propsoal that would see Philadelphia move on from one of their starters.

The deal would see the Phillies send second baseman Bryson Stott to the Brewers in exchange for Williams.

"Philadelphia an abundance of trade chips. The really good ones reside in their 17th-ranked farm system, but a more interesting possibility in this context involves one of their expendable lineup stalwarts," said Rymer. "Sure, there are angles from which Stott merely looks like a remixed Brice Turang. But as a guy who fields the ball well and steals bases, he'd fit well with a club in Milwaukee that excels at both things."

The Phillies enteed last season without a real answer at closer and ended up trading for Carlos Estevez at the deadline. While spending even more capital on the position after a costly deadline deal isn't ideal, Williams is good enough to make it a real possibility.

The 30-year-old closer strikes batters out at very high rates and feels as close to a sure thing as there could be at closer.

The Brewers were 18-4 in games that Williams pitched in last regular season and only one of those losses can be pinned on him. He also did give up that three-run bomb to Pete Alonso.

That unfortunate playoff at-bat aside, he has looked incredible since his contributions to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Giving up Stott would be a lot for Philadelphia to stomach, but may just be worth it.

Most people expect them to move on from Alec Bohm this offseason, but the second baseman could be the one to move instead.

Stott posted a .245/.315/.356 slashing line. It was a major regression from his breakout 2023 campaign, but isn't the full reason that he has started to be seen as expendable.

The Phillies would be happy to roll him back out at second base this season, but their championship aspirations don't change much without him there.

Having Williams closing games out would more than make up for the loss of Stott.