The hidden reasons Brewers were so eager to trade Devin Williams to Yankees

The Brewers trade of star closer Devin Williams for infield prospect Caleb Durbin and lefty pitcher Nestor Cortes worked for Milwaukee for many reasons.

Position and price certainly were at play. But so was personality.

Williams ($8.6M) was expensive for a small-market reliever, and Brewers people liked Durbin’s skill set and surely his scrappiness — plus the six years of control for the incoming rookie. And it’s clear the Brewers people didn’t mind removing Williams, either. And it didn’t have anything to do with Williams surrendering the Pete Alonso homer that knocked them out in 2024.

When I opined that Williams didn’t fit in New York, one Brewers person responded, “I could have told you that.”