Red Sox can thank Brewers for latest addition to Caleb Durbin's trophy case

Former Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin has experienced a whirlwind start to his MLB career. In November 2024, he was added to the New York Yankees' 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. Less than a month later, Durbin was traded to the Brewers as part of the Devin Williams deal, which also brought Nestor Cortes to Milwaukee.

Durbin ultimately failed to crack the Brewers' Opening Day roster in 2025 and was assigned to Triple-A in part due to the fact that he needed more time to work on his defense at third base. Milwaukee instead opted to give Vinny Capra and Oliver Dunn the first opportunities at third base, but that experiment didn't last long. By April 18, Durbin had been called up and made his MLB debut.

Initially, Durbin was not all that sharp at the hot corner or at the plate, but he began to find his footing in June, hitting .296 for the month while also showing improvement defensively. Grading out as a slightly below-league-average defender during his time in the Yankees' organization, Durbin, even with his shaky start, went on to post 5 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and a league-average 0 Outs Above Average (OAA) over the course of his rookie season.

Then, after he finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, Milwaukee dealt Durbin to the Boston Red Sox in an early-February trade that brought pitchers Kyle Harrison and Shane Drohan, along with infielder David Hamilton, to the Brewers. As the season unfolded, the initial outlook on the deal saw swings in both teams' favor, and while Harrison, Drohan, and Hamilton all ultimately landed on the Brewers' World Series roster and became World Champions, Durbin earned recognition of his own. Just a year after questions arose about whether or not Durbin could play third base defensively, the former Brewer has won his first career Gold Glove Award for his defensive performance in 2026.

Caleb Durbin's impressive defensive development that began with Brewers, leads to Gold Glove win

After countless repetitions and dedicated work with Brewers' infield coach Matt Erickson, Durbin had already developed into a strong defensive third baseman by the end of his rookie season. Durbin even shouted out Erickson as a key piece of his defensive development when he arrived in Boston. The 26-year-old infielder carried the momentum from the second half of his rookie season into his time with the Red Sox, posting 13 Defensive Runs Saved and 6 Outs Above Average in 2026. His defensive performance ultimately earned him the AL Gold Glove at the third base position, beating out Brooks Lee of the Minnesota Twins and Nick Loftin of the Kansas City Royals.

While the Red Sox are now reaping the rewards of Durbin's defensive excellence, they have Milwaukee's coaching staff to thank for laying the foundation. The difference in his defensive abilities when he came over from the Yankees to the point he was traded to the Red Sox is evidence of the pivotal role the Brewers played in developing Durbin into a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman. There's no denying Boston does a great job developing strong defenders; their three Gold Gloves this year are enough evidence of that, but the Brewers undoubtedly laid the groundwork for Durbin's transformation.

With one full season in the books since its occurrence, the Brewers and Red Sox' offseason swap looks to be something of a win-win for both teams. As previously mentioned, it first looked like an obvious win for the Brewers, then it swung to win-win territory, then it dipped into lose-lose range during the end of the season, but altogether it looks to be a modest win for both the Brewers and Red Sox. Drohan and Harrison remain key pieces of the Brewers' pitching staff moving forward while Durbin proved he has what it takes to be an everyday third baseman in the big leagues. Certainly, his Gold Glove-caliber defense, which was partly the doing of the Brewers' coaching staff, adds to the overall value of Durbin's profile.

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