With Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Tim Hill and Jonathan Loáisiga all set to become free agents, the New York Yankees could look for several high-leverage relievers this winter.

The free agent market offers several options, including Tanner Scott, Kenley Jansen, Jeff Hoffman and former Yankees David Robertson and Aroldis Chapman. However, if New York wants to save money while negotiating a historic contract with superstar Juan Soto, exploring trades might be a smarter approach.

Fortunately, an All-Star reliever appears to be available.

On Sunday, Jeff Passan, ESPN Insider reported that Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams is a trade candidate after the team declined his $10.5 million option. Although Williams remains with the team, he is expected to earn $8-9 million in his final year of arbitration after an injury-riddled 2024 season, which could save the Brewers money if they hold him back.

Williams, 30, is a former NL Rookie of the Year (2020), two-time NL Reliever of the Year (2020, 2023) and two-time All-Star (2022, 2023). The right-hander has consistently ranked among the best defenders in MLB, dominating opponents with his untouchable “airbender” changeup.

In 2024, Williams missed the first four months with back stress fractures, playing in just 22 regular season games. He dominated in this small sample size, collecting 14 saves with a 1.25 ERA, 2.06 FIP and 43.2% strikeout rate. However, in his last postseason outing, Williams allowed a three-run homer to Pete Alonso in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series.

Over the past five years, Williams’ 1.70 ERA is second-best among qualified relievers, behind Emmanuel Clase. His FIP of 2.24 ranks third, behind only Edwin Díaz and Matt Brash, while his strikeout rate of 40.8% is second to Díaz.

If the Brewers choose to trade Williams this winter, they would follow a similar strategy to the one used with All-Star starter Corbin Burnes. Like Williams, Burnes had one year of club control remaining when the Brewers traded him to the Baltimore Orioles in February for third baseman Joey Ortiz and left-hander DL Hall. Last month, general manager Matt Arnold recognized that the Brewers should remain “open-minded” about the possibility of dealing with Williams.

Beyond Jake Cousins ​​and Luke Weaver, whose $2.5 million club option was picked up Friday, the Yankees bullpen lacked the ability to generate swings and failures. New York attempted to solve this problem at the trade deadline by acquiring Enyel De Los Santos, who was released two weeks later, and Mark Leiter Jr., who struggled in the regular season but performed well in 5 .1 innings in the playoffs, although he was left out. ALDS list.

Pending free agents Holmes, Kahnle and Hill accounted for 29 of the Yankees’ 60.2 innings of relief in the postseason, leaving a significant void in the bullpen. Acquiring Williams, who excels in high-leverage situations and has some of the best upside in the league, would greatly improve the team’s ability to shorten games next October. He could serve as a closer or setup man, a role he filled while Josh Hader was still in Milwaukee.

After losing the World Series in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers and with stars like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton entering their 30s, pressure is mounting on Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to take advantage of their championship window.