CONFIRMED DEAL: Milwaukee Brewers And Phillies Have Reached A Partnership Agreement For Devin Williams

Why They Need Him
There isn’t a lot in common between Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Other than the phonetic parallels between “cheese” and “cheesesteak,” the main shared characteristic between the two cities is how their baseball teams have struggled to translate regular season success into meaningful playoff performances. The Phillies have had back-to-back heartbreaks after making the World Series in 2022 as a Wild Card team. In 2023, they seemed nigh untouchable at home but folded under the pressure of a seven-game Championship Series against the Diamondbacks. In 2024, they won 95 games, the second-most in baseball, but once again lost to an underdog team that barely squeezed itself into the bracket, as the Mets needed just four games to end Red October before the Phillies even made it back to the NLCS.

The statistics reflect this lopsided success story. The team had a regular-season OPS of .750 (5th in MLB) and an ERA of 3.85 (11th in MLB). The rotation was especially solid, led by Cy Young finalist Zack Wheeler, and strong seasons from Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, and Ranger Suárez, all of whom are still under team control in 2025. The bullpen picture was a little iffier, a problem that would rear its ugly head at the worst possible time.

Hoping to recapture the success he found in 2023, they redeployed José Alvarado as their closer to subpar results, eventually pivoting to Jeff Hoffman. To his credit, Hoffman was pretty good, posting a 2.17 ERA and ten saves, but wanting a more experienced closer, the team acquired Carlos Estévez from the Angels at the deadline. With great backup options like Matt Strahm and even Orion Kerkering, it seemed like the bullpen was set, but the postseason figures told a different story

There isn’t a lot in common between Philadelphia and Milwaukee. Other than the phonetic parallels between “cheese” and “cheesesteak,” the main shared characteristic between the two cities is how their baseball teams have struggled to translate regular season success into meaningful playoff performances. The Phillies have had back-to-back heartbreaks after making the World Series in 2022 as a Wild Card team. In 2023, they seemed nigh untouchable at home but folded under the pressure of a seven-game Championship Series against the Diamondbacks. In 2024, they won 95 games, the second-most in baseball, but once again lost to an underdog team that barely squeezed itself into the bracket, as the Mets needed just four games to end Red October before the Phillies even made it back to the NLCS.

The statistics reflect this lopsided success story. The team had a regular-season OPS of .750 (5th in MLB) and an ERA of 3.85 (11th in MLB). The rotation was especially solid, led by Cy Young finalist Zack Wheeler, and strong seasons from Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez, and Ranger Suárez, all of whom are still under team control in 2025. The bullpen picture was a little iffier, a problem that would rear its ugly head at the worst possible time.

Hoping to recapture the success he found in 2023, they redeployed José Alvarado as their closer to subpar results, eventually pivoting to Jeff Hoffman. To his credit, Hoffman was pretty good, posting a 2.17 ERA and ten saves, but wanting a more experienced closer, the team acquired Carlos Estévez from the Angels at the deadline. With great backup options like Matt Strahm and even Orion Kerkering, it seemed like the bullpen was set, but the postseason figures told a different story.

Phillies relievers combined for a gruesome 11.37 ERA across 12 ⅔ innings during the NLDS. Hoffman (40.50 ERA, 1 ⅓ IP), Alvarado (27.00 ERA, ⅔ IP), and Strahm (18.00 IP, 2 IP) couldn’t get it together, and despite pitching admirably, Estévez blew a crucial save by giving up an epic grand slam to Francisco Lindor in the final game of the series.

Devin Williams doesn’t have the greatest postseason record, but with Estévez now a free agent, he could be the fix the team needs to have more pitching stability in later innings. Hoffman’s past two years have been great, and Strahm has shown incredible promise, but Williams would be the only reliever with extensive experience as a closer, giving the bullpen a leg up.

What They Have to Offer
The Phillies have a decent group of prospects under control, topped off by four names in MLB’s Top 100 ranking. The type of player most closely aligns with Milwaukee’s typical trade haul would be prospects ready to make the big leagues within the next year or two. Furthermore, with a strong nucleus of young position players in the lineup and farm system, they’ll likely hone in on pitchers with high developmental upside.