This offseason has been tough for Brewers fans as they’ve witnessed their team depart with two of its biggest stars in shortstop Willy Adames who signed a seven-year contract worth $182 million with the San Francisco Giants and closer Devin Williams who was traded to the New York Yankees. The return Milwaukee got for Williams will be talked about more in-depth as I think it could be the answer to the question that led you to this post.

Milwaukee’s front office has to figure out a way to make up for 4.5 wins above replacement (otherwise known as WAR) from the departure of two players and many more important statistics I could ramble on about. Devin Williams leaves after giving up what would be the series-winning home run in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card series against the Mets, but regardless of what his last moments are, there’s no denying he’s amongst the best pitchers that come out of the bullpen, and the stats back it up. Luckily the Brewers have an immediate closer replacement in Trevor McGill and have prospects in their farm getting ready to make their debuts such as Jacob Misiorowski and Craig Yoho who can step in as inning eaters and high-leverage relievers.

Now the return they got for Devin Williams to the casual eye, may seem like nothing. How does a consensus top reliever in baseball only get you a starting pitcher who is coming off two straight down years and a prospect who barely cracks the team’s top 15, frankly I don’t know, but I can explain why I think the front office did it. Most importantly, Devin Williams is expiring, and that alone diminishes his value a lot. He’s going to demand a lot of money in the next offseason which Milwaukee was never going to pay considering their surplus of relievers and ability to find them. Which leads to them trading him, getting whatever value they can. I don’t think any other team was offering more, otherwise we would’ve done it. Nestor Cortes Jr. and Caleb Durbin give us depth, and in a 162-game season, depth is so important. Cortes Jr. can step into the rotation and hold down the four or five spot, and Durbin will likely be a consistent starter at third base or shortstop as Jesus Made and Cooper Pratt continue to develop in the farm system.

It’s important to note that Durbin is major league ready, so long as he performs well in Spring Training, he will hold a major league roster spot and likely be on the field a lot. Yes, Milwaukee has shortstops in the farm system who can be called up, but why rush it? We aren’t going to win; everyone knows Los Angeles is the team to beat and that’s going to take the infinity gauntlet. Giving the prospects time to perfect their game in the minors is important for a small market team like Milwaukee because they’re not necessarily costing them anything and the franchise is letting them build the confidence they need to play in the majors. I obviously can’t speak from personal experience but from what I’ve watched a lot of young players have failed due to being rushed into a role they aren’t ready for, and Milwaukee can’t afford to miss out on the high-profile prospects they’ve acquired since they can’t pay guys $180 million.

The Devin Williams trade and the package the Brewers received for it, was affected by the departure of Willy Adames. Everyone knew that Adames was going to leave Milwaukee, and Milwaukee needed more time. This trade bought them time, I don’t know if it’s enough time, but it’s something.