2 Brewers players who should have their contract extension talks paused & 1 that should intensify

Brewers should intensify contract negotiations with Devin Williams.

The Milwaukee Brewers have time to figure out how they want to address their starting rotation over the offseason. But the bullpen is another matter. There is one ace in the bullpen, and his name is Devin Williams.

After trading away Josh Hader last summer, the Brewers put all their chips in the middle of the table and bet on Williams to be that shutdown closer in the back of the bullpen. Guess what? He's justified their faith, and it's time for Williams to be handsomely rewarded.

Williams is arguably the best closer in baseball. With Edwin Diaz out for the year, only the Pittsburgh Pirates' David Bednar stands in Williams' way. The right-hander has shown improvements with fewer walks this season and has his best K-BB% (28.8) since his rookie season in 2020.

Now, there's always risk with relievers. They're oftentimes a fickle bunch, seeing their ERA hover around 2.00 one season and then all of the sudden it jumps to 4.50 during the following year. But Williams has been the model of consistency. In fact, you could argue he's gotten better each season.

Devin Williams does not enter free agency until after the 2025 season, which is why the Brewers should intensify their negotiations now. The longer you wait, the higher than number goes, and the more likely you are to end up with another Josh Hader situation. It's time for Milwaukee to lock up Williams for the foreseeable future.