Devin Williams trade grades: Yankees and Brewers both get high marks as New York lands elite closer

The New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers made a notable trade on Friday, with All-Star pitchers Devin Williams and Nestor Cortes swapping teams as part of a three-player deal. 

A deal of such magnitude can mean only one thing at CBS Sports: I’m here to provide the trade grades treatment. For those unaware of what that entails, below you’ll find my thoughts on every player and the larger context surrounding the swap. I’ve also attempted to summarize my general feelings into a letter grade for both sides. I cannot stress enough that the letter grade is the least important part of the process, even if I must concede that it inevitably receives more attention than the accompanying nuance.

Here, once again, is the trade in whole:

• Yankees receive: RHP Devin Williams
• Brewers receive: LHP Nestor Cortes, 2B Caleb Durbin, cash

Now, to the reason you clicked.

Yankees: A

I think this trade is a sensible winner for both sides. 

The Yankees had rotation depth to spare after signing Max Fried to an eight-year pact, making it easier for them to justify trading bulk innings for leveraged ones. On that end, Williams is one of the few available relievers who qualifies not only as a peer to the departing Clay Holmes, but as an outright upgrade that should pair nicely with Luke Weaver and allow manager Aaron Boone to enjoy some more relaxing eighths and ninths.

Williams, 30, is coming into his walk year having amassed a 1.66 ERA (252 ERA+) and a 3.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio over the last three seasons. The concept of “video game numbers” or “playing on rookie mode” is overdone, but there’s something to it here. How else could you describe Williams surrendering less than a hit every other inning, or yielding a home run once every 20 frames for the duration of a three-year stretch?

Williams does almost all of his work with two offerings: a mid-90s fastball that plays hotter thanks to a deep release point (he generates more than seven feet of the extension from the pitching rubber) and a wicked changeup nicknamed “The Airbender.” You can watch it for yourself below. Just know that Williams generated nearly 50% whiffs on the pitch in 2024.

Whenever the Yankees obtain an impending free agent, it’s reasonable to wonder if they intend to sign that player for the long haul — if not immediately, at least after they’re permitted to test the open market. The calculus with Williams is complicated because of back woes that limited him to 20 innings last season. Still, unless the medicals are brutal, you have to assume he’ll have his sights set on topping the $20 million average annual value awarded to Edwin Díaz a few winters ago.

Brewers: A

The Brewers have been here and done this before, moving a high-end reliever before their team control expires. Just a few summers ago, they traded Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres for what, at the time, was mostly a forward-facing return. (One of those athletes, Esteury Ruiz, was later turned into William Contreras, making the whole deal a big win.) This go, the Brewers have obtained a return that is surprisingly concentrated in the near term. Cortes could depart next winter, same as Williams, and there are no assurances Durbin’s game will work at the game’s highest level. 

Given the interest Williams reportedly drew from across the league, I have to view this trade as a sign the Brewers intend to once again run the National League Central, a division they ran away with in 2024. It’s a decent bet, as things stand, and a welcomed one for a club whose owner-imposed budget restrictions often force the prioritization of the longer, cheaper play at the cost of maximizing short-term title hopes.

Cortes, 30, is coming off a transformative four-year run with the Yankees that saw him improve from filling a dogsbody role to earning All-Star recognition and Cy Young Award consideration. Not bad for someone who had previously failed to stick as a Rule 5 pick on the 115-loss Baltimore Orioles. 

These days, Cortes is an above-average starter capable of filling up the zone and missing bats with a four-pitch mix: low-90s fastball, cutter, sweeper, and change. Three of those four pitches grade as average or better, according to Baseball Prospectus’ StuffPro evaluative model, and all of them tend to be well-placed. Cortes is also an enjoyable watch thanks to his willingness to deviate his tempo and arm slot to disrupt the opposition’s perception of time and space. (And you thought the Airbender was the only physics-defying part of this trade.)

There is some potential downside at play with Cortes. Although he’s topped the 150-inning mark in two of the last three seasons, his left arm has shown signs of wear and tear. He was limited to 63 innings by repeated rotator cuff issues in 2023, and he nearly missed the playoffs this past year on account of a flexor strain. (Indeed, Cortes publicly stated he was willing to risk further injury to return for the World Series.) Obviously the Brewers have a better feel for where he stands medically than I do, but it’s something that’s worth mentioning in this era of prevalent pitching injuries. 

A hearty and hale Cortes ought to slot in near the front of a Milwaukee rotation that should also count Freddy Peralta, Aaron Civale, and Tobias Myers in its ranks. Brandon Woodruff could factor in as well if and as he returns to health. That’s a capable unit.

Durbin, 24, is a polarizing prospect whose game’s beauty (or lack thereof) rests in the eye of the evaluator. He spent most of last season in Triple-A, hitting .287/.396/.471 with 10 home runs, 29 stolen bases, and more walks than strikeouts in 82 games. His year positioned him to succeed free agent Gleyber Torres at the keystone, and while he may still win a second-base gig come spring, it’ll have to instead come in Milwaukee — provided, anyway, the Brewers move Brice Turang to the other side of the bag to fill the vacancy left behind by their own departing free-agent middle infielder (Willy Adames).

What makes Durbin so divisive? His statistical output doesn’t match his tool outlay. He’s listed at 5-foot-6 and has produced unimpressive exit velocities (his 107.3 mph high mark last season would’ve ranked in the bottom 15 in the majors) and chase rates alike, yet he’s demonstrably gotten the job done thanks to two notable skills. Foremost, Durbin is adept at putting the bat on the ball, connecting on more than 91% of his in-zone swings. He’s also skilled at pulling the ball, particularly in the air, which explains how someone of his stature and strength was on a 20-homer pace.

If you’re the Brewers front office, you may feel like you just ordered Isaac Paredes (who was also traded in a Friday blockbuster) off Temu. There is, of course, a real risk that Durbin’s game doesn’t port against big-league pitching. In that case, he’s not going to be of much use since a below-average arm limits his defensive utility. One thing is for sure: playing home games at American Family Field, the sixth friendliest home-run environment for righties, won’t hurt his chances of carving out some kind of role in the coming years.