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3 more Brewers who won't be back in 2025 after Devin Williams trade

More moves will come for the Brewers after trade with the New York Yankees.

By Zachary Rotman

Jul 28, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitch Devin Williams (38) reacts after pitching in the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins in his first game back from the injured list this year at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
Jul 28, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitch Devin Williams (38) reacts after pitching in the ninth inning against the Miami Marlins in his first game back from the injured list this year at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
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The 2024 offseason has been a frustrating one for Milwaukee Brewers fans. Not only did they lose Willy Adames in free agency, but they just agreed to trade Devin Williams to the New York Yankees. Two of the best players on the 2024 team will be wearing new uniforms in 2025.

As frustrating as it is for Milwaukee to have lost those key players, no Brewers fan is surprised. This is how this organization works. The Brewers are the club that traded players like Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader away before they hit free agency. As a small-market team, they cannot afford to give massive contracts out to star players. The Brewers weren't going to pay Williams in the 2025 offseason, and ensured that they got a return before he could've left for nothing.

Adames, Williams, Frankie Montas and Gary Sanchez are all gone, and there's reason to believe at least three more members of the 2024 Brewers will depart as well.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

3. Jake Bauers didn't play well enough to warrant being brought back

The Yankees aren't a team that the Brewers refuse to make a deal with, as evidenced by last offseason's Jake Bauers trade. The Brewers acquired Bauers hoping he'd give them some power, but that deal didn't exactly pan out.

Bauers did have what looked like it was going to be the biggest hit of the Brewers season in Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series, but other than that, his year in Milwaukee was disappointing. He slashed .199/.301/.361 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI in 116 games.

He did walk a solid amount and provided decent power. He even stole 13 bases. Still, he had an 83 OPS+ while primarily playing first base, which is quite bad. With that in mind, the Brewers opted to outright him to the minors, and Bauers elected free agency. He might find a bench role somewhere, but the Brewers have no reason to bring him back.

2) The Brewers appear willing to let Hoby Milner land elsewhere

For much of his four-year tenure with the Brewers, Hoby Milner was a trustworthy left-handed reliever. He was one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball in 2023 when he posted a 1.82 ERA in 73 appearances. Unfortunately, his 2024 season sealed his fate in Milwaukee.

Milner's ERA rose by nearly three runs, from 1.82 to 4.73 in his 61 appearances and 64.2 innings of work this past season. He went from being a reliable arm that the Brewers could turn to at any time to their third-best left-hander coming out of the bullpen behind Bryan Hudson and Jared Koenig.

Given how subpar his 2024 season was, the Brewers chose to non-tender him as one of their earliest offseason moves. Sure, they could still bring him back after doing that, but with several left-handers already in their bullpen and Milner being 34 years old, they have little reason to. He's a fine reliever who should catch on elsewhere. Whether he can replicate what he did in Milwaukee remains to be seen.

1) Colin Rea won't be back in 2025

It wasn't much of a surprise when the Brewers chose to get rid of Bauers or when they non-tendered Milner, but releasing Colin Rea certainly was a surprise. Rea had a club option worth $5.5 million with a $1 million buyout. Milwaukee hoped he'd be claimed off of waivers so they'd be off the hook financially, but that didn't happen.

$5.5 million for a starting pitcher nowadays is as cheap as can be. I mean, we just saw Frankie Montas sign a two-year, $34 million deal with the New York Mets. Montas has a decent track record, but his ERA hovered around 5.00 last season. Rea's was at 4.29 in 32 appearances (27 starts).

Is he more than a back-end starter? No, but at a $5.5 million price tag, who cares? Rea gave the Brewers 167.2 innings of solid work last season and chose to dump him for nothing despite the cheap option. If they don't think he's worth $5.5 million, they almost certainly won't bring him back at all. There's a real chance Rea ends up signing somewhere for more than that $5.5 million when the dust settles.

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