The Dodgers have shown interest in Devin Williams as they pursue a high-leverage righty reliever, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. They join the Marlins as teams known to be interested in the two-time All-Star.
Williams was one of the three to five best relievers in MLB throughout his time with the Brewers. He pitched to a 1.83 earned run average over parts of six seasons in Milwaukee. That included three straight sub-2.00 ERA showings between 2022-24. Among relievers with 100+ innings over that stretch, Williams trailed only Edwin Díaz and Félix Bautista with a 39.5% strikeout rate. The only real concern were the back fractures that cost him the first half of the ’24 season.
Milwaukee traded Williams to the Yankees before his final year of arbitration. He had the worst season of his career in the Bronx. Williams turned in a 4.79 ERA over 62 innings. He started the year poorly enough that he lost the closer role in April. Williams reclaimed it in June when Luke Weaver went on the injured list but scuffled again in July. The Yankees acquired David Bednar at the deadline to push Williams into a setup role for the remainder of the season.
While it was clearly an uneven season, there’s still reason to expect a return to form. Williams fanned an excellent 34.7% of batters faced while getting swinging strikes nearly 17% of the time. Those aren’t quite at the same level as his Milwaukee days, but they’re still top 15 marks in MLB. His 94.1 MPH average four-seam fastball speed was in line with his career levels. Williams continues to get ridiculous movement on the changeup/screwball that has been his signature pitch throughout his career. Opposing hitters had a lofty .339 average on balls in play when runners were on base. Some teams could chalk that up as poor sequencing luck and continue to project Williams as a top 10 reliever moving forward.
The poor season meant the Yankees weren’t willing to risk Williams accepting a $22.025MM qualifying offer to return to the Bronx. MLBTR ranked his earning potential second among relievers behind Díaz, predicting that the strong peripherals would lead a club to offer him a four-year, $68MM deal. That’d require a team to overlook the unsightly ERA, though, so it’s certainly not out of the question that he’s forced to settle for a shorter-term contract. Robert Suárez, Kyle Finnegan and Pete Fairbanks are among other closers available on the free agent market.
The Dodgers made the biggest free agent reliever move of last offseason. Their four-year, $72MM investment in Tanner Scott did not look good in the first season. Neither did bringing back Blake Treinen on a two-year deal or the one-year contract for Kirby Yates. Among their traditional relievers, the Dodgers were essentially down to Alex Vesia as their lone reliable late-game arm in the postseason.
Converted starters Emmet Sheehan and Roki Sasaki were their top righty relievers in October. Both pitchers are expected to be back in the rotation mix next spring. General manager Brandon Gomes said this evening that the team “absolutely” still views Sasaki as a starter (link via Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register). Gomes nevertheless said the Dodgers don’t feel they need to land a top-tier reliever this offseason. He expressed optimism in a Scott bounce back, and they could get Brusdar Graterol and Brock Stewart back from injuries. Neither Graterol nor Stewart has shown much ability to stay healthy, though, so there’s presumably a measure of “GM speak” in Gomes downplaying the need for a high-octane arm.
of course they do. so do many of the 29 other teams.
No kidding. Grass is green. Film at 11.
Report: Dodgers are interested in YOU, yes you, the browser.
my noodle arm and swing at everything approach would work perfectly at the keystone.
Fake news, my best position was always DH and Ohtani is blocking me.
I don’t see this happening. If they spend anywhere, it should be the OF. I doubt they want two relievers on the books making Tanner Scott money.
I think they’ll be in play for him. Probably for Diaz as well (though unlikely they would sign both).
It’s funny you think the Dodgers are worried about spending.
Dodgers estimated revenue stream with Japanese market is $1.3b. For comparison the Mets are claiming their 2025 revenue stream was $340m. The Dodgers literally make more than the Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays and Cubs combined. It’s insane.
It sounds even worse if you say the $1.3b part like Dr. Evil.
$1.3 Billion is not bad…
Bro, Dodgers spent about $500m w/ deferred payments in 2025. They could easily double that to a $1b payroll and still make $300m. 12x the $25m Milwaukee (the nlcs team w/ $125m payroll) made. It’s absolutely obscene.
It’s so unfair how the Dodgers get a 50-man active roster.
@Charlie
Does one mean the other won’t happen?
LA will be in on most of the top free agents and they’ll sign more than any other team. Signed, Captain Obvious
Exactly who I thought they should go for. Why not get a 1 year deal to rise his stock? This could be all the Yates money. Works for both sides
I think a lot of these reports are agent driven, I mean if I was agent I would say the Dodgers want my client as well.
Absolutely, but of course it’s totally possible so you can’t rule that out either.
He’ll want $10M to not get hitters out.
That spot is already taken by Scott who is making $18 mil for 3 more years
The Dodgers have interest in every free agent.
As with other teams willing to spend
He’s not even Japanese. What are they thinking?
Dodgers have interest in “Insert name here”
Good, he is great at gagging when you need him. Only closer on that squadron is the starter that closed G7.
Every team should have interest in almost every free agent
Will you please be quiet please
Muted
Great post!
He was the second biggest mistake of the Yankees this year and if they don’t care making the same mistake, they can go right ahead. The first biggest? Re-signing Cole.
Yankees already have a closer in David Bednar for ’26. Why would they want to pay a set-up man the Q.O.?
$1 million for 2 years and $60 million deferred
Whichever team that signs him should do that. It’s allowed, anyway.
“$1 million for 2 years and $60 million deferred”
People who say stuff like this should probably take a basic finance course.
It would help them understand baseball better, but, more importantly, would probably help them in life
Absolutely a meaningless statement without stipulating how long the salary is deferred for.
The back fractures are the only real concern. A somewhat more serious concern would be if his arm was no longer attached to his body.
Nah, last thing they need is to make that bullpen worse.
I recall an earlier report (maybe read it here) that Williams will prioritize teams that would name him the closer. That’s not the Dodgers, who close by committee, whoever has the best matchups in the 9th. Therefore I’d be surprised by this (and have him signing elsewhere in the contest).
But, but… I thought all the armchair analysts in baseball said he’s cooked and the Yankees should have DFA’d him. Why would the Doyers want to bring in a DFA candidate from the Yankees? /s