After missing out on Juan Soto, the New York Yankees have quickly turned their attention to fortifying their pitching. First, they signed former Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried, and now by acquiring one of the most dominant relievers in the game, Devin Williams, from the Milwaukee Brewers.
While Nestor Cortes is easily the more notable player heading to Milwaukee, the second player in the trade, one former Braves prospect, might be the real headliner in the trade.
Second baseman Caleb Durbin is also headed to the Milwaukee Brewers along with Nestor Cortes in the Devin Williams deal, sources tell ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 13, 2024
Caleb Durbin's rapid ascend lands him with the Milwaukee Brewers
Two winters ago, the Braves acquired reliever Lucas Luetge from the Yankees for two prospects. Luetge struggled mightly in his 13.2 innings with Atlanta. While one prospect, Indigo Diaz has yet to move through the Yankees system, the other, Caleb Durbin, became a smashing hit.
During the 2024 season, the 5'6" infielder slashed .287/.396/.471 in AAA. New York then sent him to the Arizona Fall League, where he was one of the best players in the league. The 24-year-old swiped a mind-boggling, AFL record-setting 29 bags in 24 games, only getting caught once.
Going into the offseason, it looked like Durbin would be going into Spring Training to compete for the starting second baseman role, which is currently vacant with Gleyber Torres hitting free agency.
With the prospect's value at an all-time high, however, Brian Cashman and the Yankees decided that using him to acquire an elite reliever was an opportunity they couldn't pass up.
Over the last six seasons, Devin Williams has a 1.83 career ERA, an 8.9 bWAR, won Rookie of the Year in 2020, and has one of the most devastating pitches in baseball. With the reliever going into his final year of arbitration, the Brewers decided they'd rather have a starting pitcher in Nestor Cortes, who has a career 3.80 ERA and 9.2 bWAR, as the two pitchers are projected to make roughly the same next season.
90 Seconds of Devin Williams getting Whiffs & Called Strikes on Changeups of over 3,000 RPMs. pic.twitter.com/yam1r96Ydu
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 7, 2023
However, because of Williams status as an elite closer, and because of Cortes's decline from his peak 2022 season, the Yankees needed a deal sweetener in Durbin to seal the deal.
Caleb Durbin now gets the opportunity to start at second base for the reigning NL Central champs, the Yankees get their lockdown closer, and the Braves have to hope people forget where Durbin came from in the first place.