Brewers fans starting to question Devin Williams trade after puzzling deadline

When the Milwaukee Brewers made the decision to trade closer Devin Williams over the offseason, it was hard not to feel shades of 2022, when the team unloaded All-Star door-slammer Josh Hader onto the San Diego Padres.

That latter trade didn't really work out for Milwaukee—currently-injured pitcher Robert Gasser is the only player on the team still remaining from that deal—though there was hope that the Williams one would age better.

And, in some sense, it has, thanks to the emergence of Caleb Durbin (.710 OPS, 105 wRC+) as the team's starting third baseman. However, following the Brewers' most baffling move at the trade deadline, the other half of their return is now out the door with nothing but a 9.00 ERA in eight innings to show for it.

Nestor Cortes deadline trade gives ugly footnote to Devin Williams trade

Ignoring the fact that the team also traded high-upside prospect Jorge Quintana (no relation to José), an 18-year-old in the Arizona Complex League who has posted a .264/.349/.403 slash line in just over 200 at-bats this season, trading Cortes for so little in return profiles as a messy handling of a seller's market by the front office.

Yes, it's true that Cortes, who has been on the injured list since April 6 with an elbow strain, didn't do much during his time in Wisconsin. He was lit up like a Christmas tree during his first start with the team against his old squad, only to get injured after settling down in his following start against the Cincinnati Reds.

For what it's worth, Cortes has been dominating on his rehab assignment, posting a 1.00 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 18 innings across three appearances. It's true that he probably wasn't going to see the rotation again for the Brewers this season barring an injury, though he's still a quality depth arm that should have gone for more on a day when so many good starting pitchers weren't traded.

In return, the Brewers got Brandon Lockridge, a 28-year-old outfielder with a career .210/.248/.280 slash line in 100 MLB at-bats. He's got the speed and glove-work that the team has long coveted, though he's quite redundant on a roster that already employs Jackson Chourio, Sal Frelick, Isaac Collins, Blake Perkins, Garrett Mitchell, and Christian Yelich.

Meanwhile, Williams, after a difficult transition period to the bright spotlight of the Bronx, has settled in as the Yankees' closer this season. He's got a 5.01 ERA in 41 1/3 innings this season, though his 17 saves and 2.95 FIP do a better job of explaining his recent performance. He's not quite back to the Airbender of old, but he's starting to look more like himself, just in time for the Yankees' postseason push. But, in this regard it matters less what Williams has become and more what he was when the Brewers traded him. Was it a trade package worthy of the best closer in baseball?

Ultimately, as long as Durbin continues to produce at the hot corner, the trade will go down as a moderate success for Milwaukee. However, with Cortes now part of his second bewildering trade in less than a year, it's hard to imagine the Williams trade being remembered as a huge win by Brewers fans.