The Brewers’ series against the Mets brings a familiar face back to Milwaukee, and not just because Freddy Peralta is set to start for New York on Monday at American Family Field.
Devin Williams is coming back too.
For the first time since leaving the organization, the veteran closer will return to the city where he built his name. Williams was taken in the second round of the 2013 MLB Draft and reached the majors with Milwaukee in 2019, then quickly became one of the club’s defining bullpen arms.
He appeared in 13 games for the Brewers that first season before his breakout arrived in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Williams worked behind fellow former Brewers All-Star closer Josh Hader until Hader was dealt to the San Diego Padres in August 2021, and the role shift only added to Williams’ rise. He was the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year, earned All-Star honors in 2022 and 2023, and posted a career-best 36 saves in 2023.
His run in Milwaukee ended after a 2024 season cut short by a back injury. Williams was limited to 22 games and then traded to the New York Yankees that December.
The move did not go smoothly. Williams had a rough first season in New York in 2025, finishing with career highs in losses (six), ERA (4.79), hits (45) and runs (37) allowed, among other categories. He did settle in some late, and closed that season with four scoreless playoff appearances, but the overall year was a disappointment.
He signed with the Mets in December, and 2026 has not brought much of a reset. Williams leads New York with 14 saves, but his numbers still show the strain: a 4.68 ERA, 1.65 WHIP and a career-worst -0.6 Wins Above Replacement (WAR).
Monday will mark Williams’ first trip back to Milwaukee, though he did face the Brewers once last season. That came on Opening Day, when he made his Yankees debut against his former team and picked up the save despite giving up one run on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Williams has not pitched since Thursday, so he is likely to appear at some point during the Mets’ three-game set in Milwaukee from Monday to Wednesday.
In Other News...
Brewers Fans Wont Love Why This Offseason Trade Is Back Today
The Brewers offseason deal with Boston has already become one of those trades that looks better for both sides the longer it sits. Caleb Durbin was part of the package Milwaukee sent to the Red Sox, and Boston has ridden the players it got in return into a much better place in the American League East, with a wild-card spot in hand as the calendar moved through July.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, has had enough from its side of the exchange to feel good about the move, even if the reminder stings a little when Boston keeps stacking wins. Durbins latest contribution came in a game that helped extend the Red Soxs surge, and with the trade pieces on both sides producing, it is the kind of transaction that keeps showing up in the background every time either club makes noise. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers May Be One Deadline Move From Troubling The Dodgers
The Brewers have spent enough time proving they can hang around the top of the National League, but the postseason conversation still circles back to the same question: do they have the kind of frontline starter who can tilt a short series? Milwaukees current rotation has kept the club in position, yet the gap between a good regular-season staff and one built to bother the Dodgers is still pretty clear, which is why the trade deadline looms so large for this group.
A single move could change the tone of the whole race, and the Brewers have at least kicked around a range of possibilities as they weigh how aggressive to be. There are the obvious high-end names, the steadier veteran types and the more complicated fits, but the basic idea is simple enough: if Milwaukee lands one starter who can anchor a playoff rotation, it can start thinking less about surviving October and more about making life uncomfortable for the teams sitting at the top. [Read more 🡒]
Brewers Have A Real Chance To Raid Reds For Needed Pitching Help
With the Reds slipping behind in both the NL Central and the Wild Card chase, the trade deadline is starting to look more like a selling opportunity than a push for help. For the Brewers, that could open a familiar door with a division rival, especially if Cincinnati follows through on its plan to move short-term pieces rather than touch the young starters it sees as part of the future.
Milwaukee has been linked to the kind of pitching depth Cincinnati is expected to shop, which makes this a situation worth watching on both sides of the rivalry. The Brewers need arms, the Reds need to make sense of their deadline direction, and the fit could come down to how much value Milwaukee places on immediate help versus the cost of prying it loose. [Read more 🡒]