The Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers All-Star closer Devin Williams are every bit of a match made in blue heaven, at least on paper. The LA ballclub has expertly navigated a busy offseason of rebuilding the starting rotation while balancing out the left-heavy offense. They also added some serious thunder to the lineup with the addition of superstar DH Shohei Ohtani.
On Monday they finally addressed the bullpen a bit by adding Ryan Brasier back to the mix. But, is he enough?
The front office said publicly last October after the club was swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS that the bullpen was not very high on the to-do list in the offseason. But, as the winter has moved along, reports emerged that a closer was one area they’d like to explore adding to the roster.
Last week, as the Brewers traded ace right-hander Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, the door was opened to wild trade speculation and new rumors. Further fueling the speculation is Milwaukee GM Matt Arnold who told reporters following the Burnes trade that the club “wouldn’t shut any conversations down at this point in the offseason.”
Take this with a grain of salt, but baseball writer Joel Reuter at Bleacher Report identified the Dodgers as a potential landing spot for Devin Williams following the Burnes trade. So…
Could the Dodgers Trade for Devin Williams?
As nice as it would be to see the Dodgers continue to go out and acquire everyone and continue to “ruin baseball”, it’s not a deal that seems anywhere close to immediately happening. And the return of Brasier only further solidifies that stance.
Another thing working against the Dodgers at this point is the current strength of the farm system. At least in the eyes of prospects pundits. Despite ranking third in all of baseball in the latest farm system rankings by Baseball Prospectus, the deep dive shows an imperfect situation for LA.
Strengths: Just wicked depth, as usual you can find potential regulars out past number 20.
Weaknesses: They only have two Top 50 prospects, and their pitching carries a lot of relief risk.
Give this farm system and organization another few months and we’ll likely see two or three more names added to the top-50 and top-100 prospects lists but right now the system is flush with guys that still need to establish themselves for a little while longer in the minor leagues.
So, without top prospect trade capital, the Dodgers simply might not have enough in the tank to get a trade done with the Brew Crew. Or they would need to overwhelm the Milwaukee front office with talent, something the LA organization has never been prone to doing.
Going back to the Bleacher Report note, Joel Reuter suggested a trade package of right-handed pitchers Kyle Hurt and Nick Frasso. Any chance of something like that happening went out the door on Saturday as it was revealed that Frasso suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder last season and is expected to miss all of the 2024 season recovering from surgery.
Disregarding that, I still don’t feel the Brewers pull the trigger on a Williams trade for just Kyle Hurt and a healthy Nick Frasso.
Who Will Close for the Dodgers in 2024?
As we saw last season, Evan Phillips will get the lion’s share of opportunities in the 9th inning for the Dodgers. Joe Kelly, Ryan Braiser, and Alex Vesia will likely pick up a handful of saves as well along the way. The biggest swing point for the state or strength of the Dodger bullpen in 2024 will center on the health of Blake Treinen and J.P. Feyereisen, both of whom are returning from shoulder operations performed last season.
Treinen has locked down 79 saves in his career, mostly during his stint as the closer for the Oakland A’s. Veteran Daniel Hudson, in camp as a minor league non-roster invite this spring, has racked up 33 saves in sporadic work over his 14-year career.
There’s solid talent and depth already on the LA roster heading into spring training this week. That said, don’t hold your breath for a Devin Williams trade.