11:30 a.m.: Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on the infield perspective Caleb Durbin also goes to the Brewers. MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch adds that the Yankees are also sending some money to the Brewers as part of the deal.

11:24 a.m.: The Yankees complete a trade to acquire star closer Devin Williams from the Brewers, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that a deal is in place. Left-handed Nestor Cortes is among the players returning to Milwaukee as part of the trade, Robert Murray of FanSided reports.

Both Williams and Cortes are entering their final seasons as club leaders, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz predicted both will make $7.7 million in 2025. Milwaukee will still come out ahead financially as the Yankees are sending them some money as part of the trade. That’s a notable advantage in itself (depending on the amount, of course) as the Brewers are operating on an extremely tight budget this winter. Durbin, on the other hand, is a second baseman with experience at the hot corner. He was added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster before the expiration of the Rule 5 protection period and is expected to end up with one of them at second or third base Brice Turang or Joey Ortiz Switch to shortstop instead of Willy Adameswho signed with the Giants as a free agent.

Williams, 30, is one of the game’s elite relievers. The 2020 National League Rookie of the Year, he has a 1.83 earned run average with 68 saves, 60 holds, a 39.4% strikeout rate and a 48.1% groundball rate in his Big league career. Command has been an issue at times (11.8% walk rate), but Williams’ absolutely devastating changeup – dubbed the “Airbender” – is one of the most dominant throws in all of the sport. He has made 2,299 major league appearances with this pitch, with opponents hitting a comically underwhelming .139/.223/.200. The pitch boasts an incredible swinging-strike rate of 23%.

Among pitchers who have thrown at least 200 innings since 2019, Emmanuel Clase (1.67) is the only pitcher with a better ERA than Williams’ 1.83 mark. No other pitcher is within 40 points. (Jacob deGrom follows next at 2.24.) Only in the same time Josh Hader And Edwin Diaz have posted higher strikeout rates than Williams at 39.4%. Only Gerrit Cole has added a higher grade in terms of winning probability. Hader is second in WPA among relievers, but his 12.46 mark doesn’t come close to Williams’ 14.24. Sports Info Solutions calls Williams’ changeup the most valuable pitch of its kind in the majors.

More will follow.