Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams is expected to miss around three months due to two stress fractures in his back, per Jeff Passan. Williams is the anchor of the Brewers bullpen, and now Milwaukee’s pitching staff looks even more different without him and ace Corbin Burnes, who was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.
The Brew Crew won the NL Central for the fourth time in 2023. With Burnes’s departure, they were already expected to take a slight step back in the division this season, and Williams’s injury will not help that. Last season, he pitched in 61 games and finished with an 8-3 record, 1.53 ERA, and 36 saves in 40 opportunities. Williams finished with a 1.93 ERA in 2022 and used last season to cement himself as one of the best closers in the league.
Milwaukee has the second-worst odds to win the NL Central at DraftKings Sportsbook. The Brewers are installed at +700 and only beat out the Pittsburgh Pirates (+1600). The loss of Williams didn’t drop them from first, though it did increase the gap between them and the top spot. Despite being ridiculed for an old pitching rotation, the St. Louis Cardinals are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the best odds to win the Central at +180. The Cincinnati Reds have the third-best odds at +350, yet many are expecting them to win their first division title since 2012 as their young roster continues to develop.
Williams’ injury likely means that Milwaukee will try out a few different arms in a closer-by-committee role. Saves can be hard to come by in spring training, but so far, Russell Smith, Janson Junk and Justin Yeager have accumulated a save apiece. None of them were expected to make the Opening Day roster, but with the injury, Junk may get the call-up to fill out the bullpen.
Other than Williams, Joel Payamps (3), Bryse Wilson (3), Abner Uribe (1), Ethan Small (1), Elvis Peguero (1) and Matt Bush (1) all registered saves for the Brewers in 2023. Payamps and Wilson are still on the roster, but Wilson is a long reliever that can be used for a spot-start during the year. Payamps is a talented setup man, but he should be the first one to get the chance to be the fill-in closer. The 29-year-old righty finished last season with a 7-5 record with three saves, 30 holds and a 2.55 ERA. Peguero is another name to look out for to fill out the bullpen with the open spot.
Payamps is free in fantasy baseball drafts, being selected as the P211 or 489th overall. If you haven’t drafted yet, he would be the Brewer reliever I’d target, especially if your league values holds, as well as saves. Even if not the outright closer, Payamps should remain in the backend of the bullpen. For Williams, missing half the season should tank his previous P17 ranking, and he should only be selected with one of your final picks and only if your league utilizes IL spots.