Yankees taking a different approach with Devin Williams, Max Fried acquisitions
Milwaukee Brewers' Devin Williams reacts after recording a save during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Milwaukee. Credit: AP/Aaron Gash
Maybe the timing is a coincidence, but the Yankees have countered the loss of Juan Soto with a pair of sizable Ws this week, spacing them around the hype involving the free-agent slugger’s defection from the Bronx to Queens.
The day after general manager Brian Cashman got the call from Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, he quickly pivoted to former Atlanta ace Max Fried, signing him to an eight-year, $218 million contract.
On Friday, which just so happened to be less than 24 hours after Soto’s loudly celebrated intro at Citi Field, the Yankees struck again, securing arguably the game’s best closer in Devin Williams in a trade with the Brewers.
We’re told over and over again, by both parties, that these moves are not a Mets-Yankees thing. Different leagues, sure. But same city, and it’s hardly a stretch to suggest that Cashman had some PR repair to do after Soto bolted, in addition to needing to upgrade a roster that no longer featured the MVP-quality companion to Aaron Judge.
But at least for now, Cashman hasn’t taken a linear approach to replacing that worrisome hole in the Yankees’ lineup. Instead, he’s doubled-down on two areas of strength and made them even more formidable, to the envy of his rivals.
The pair of moves this past week were interconnected, as Fried’s acquisition created a rotation surplus that allowed Cashman to deal Nestor Cortes (along with a bulk of his projected $8 million salary) and promising infield prospect Caleb Durbin to the Brewers.
Cortes survived the trading block at last season’s deadline but was the most valuable chip among the Yankees’ expendables, as Marcus Stroman is a hard sell at $18.5 million for next year, especially after his disappointing fade (5.98 ERA) in the second half. No big loss for the Yankees, though, as they basically swapped Cortes for Fried in the rotation.
The big prize for the Brewers could be Durbin, who had worked himself into the second-base conversation coming off a stellar minor-league season.
But the Yankees can’t afford to worry about the future. Just like last season, when Cashman’s November tirade (after an 82-80 campaign) led to the World Series-or-bust trade for Soto, he has to be obsessed with getting to the Fall Classic.
Getting there was great, and it certainly legitimized trading the top chunk of the organization’s pitching prospects to the Padres for Soto’s one-year rental. But the sour taste from that humiliating Game 5 loss to the Dodgers, coupled with Soto now setting up shop in Flushing, is making Cashman just as desperate this time around to finish the job.
“We’re going to continue to do what we always do — no retreat, no surrender,” Cashman said Wednesday as MLB’s winter meetings were wrapping up in Dallas. “Just keep laser-focused on the task at hand, which is trying to find the best players you possibly can to give your manager and your fan base the ability to compete at the highest level on a day-in, day-out basis.”
Interesting shout-out to the paying customers there, but Cashman has been making good on that pledge. The Yankees didn’t waste a minute blowing away the market for Fried, a two-time All-Star who’s twice finished in the Cy Young Award’s top five, and you can’t do any better than Williams in terms of lethal bullpen weapons.
Williams, whose freaky changeup is so nasty that it’s got a nickname — “The Airbender” — missed the first four months of last season with two stress fractures in his back but returned to post a 1.25 ERA and a 15.8 K/9 rate in his 22 appearances (21 2/3 innings). Since 2020, his Rookie of the Year season, Williams’ 1.70 ERA is second only to the Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase (1.62) and his 14.6 K/9 rate trails only the Mets’ Edwin Diaz (15.0).
You may recall that Williams’ final appearance as a Brewer was the blown save in Game 5 of the Wild Card Series loss to the Mets, and one of his last pitches was the changeup that Pete Alonso hit over the rightfield fence for the go-ahead three-run homer. There was some speculation that the Mets noticed Williams tipping his pitches, so it could be a concern that needs to be addressed when he eventually puts on pinstripes.
But that’s one fluky glitch for an otherwise dominant closer, and the pairing of Williams with the ascendant Luke Weaver in a setup role now creates a lockdown back end of the Yankees’ bullpen. In this case, Cashman zigged when everyone else thought he’d zag, and he nailed the top relief prize available.
Williams is another rental, as the small-market Brewers clearly had no intention of meeting his price in free agency, but Cashman is primarily fixated on 2025.
Now that strategy has to include a power bat, preferably lefthanded, because the Yankees’ lineup is looking pretty suspect beyond Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. The perfect candidate was the Astros’ Kyle Tucker — a Soto type minus the hype (who can play defense and run the bases) — but that option disappeared Friday when the Cubs pulled off the four-player trade that sent third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and third-base prospect Cam Smith, the 14th overall pick from last June’s draft, to the Astros.
The Tucker trade could mean Cody Bellinger — another Yankees target — is dealt soon, however, and the Astros now look ready to move on from free agent Alex Bregman.
Maybe the Yankees didn’t get Soto, but they are getting better this offseason, and they still have most of that $700 million in their pocket to keep going. Cashman knows he needs this post-Soto strategy to pay off big-time.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
