The Milwaukee Brewers will once again boast one of the league’s most formidable bullpens in 2024 with many members of the group returning. The presence of dominant closer Devin Williams is largely to blame for that.
Though he had been a regular in the bullpen for a few years, the maestro of the “Airbender” began playing closer full-time in 2023. Williams received his second NL Reliever of the Year title in his short career because of how smoothly that went.
In an attempt to deliver a similarly outstanding performance this season, Williams has already made a few outings this spring. To prepare for the 2024 season, it sounds like it might be some time before the two-time All-Star makes his next appearance.
According to reports, All-Star Brewers closer Devin Williams is having back problems this spring.
Before this past weekend, there didn’t appear to be any signs pointing to a health issue for Williams. However, Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel claims that in addition to having a back problem, he has reportedly already had a doctor examine it.
For Williams, this essentially amounts to a good news/bad news scenario. That the Brewers aren’t very concerned about the right-hander’s condition is fantastic. However, the fact that a second opinion is being sought tends to suggest that there is some doubt about how serious the problem is.
Regarding your initial assessment, maybe that’s why the Brewers chose not to go into panic mode immediately away.
The Brewers seem to believe that Williams will be OK, but it’s nice to know that the bullpen would still be in capable hands in the event that they were to be without their star closer for any length of time. Abner Uribe and Joel Payamps, two pitchers who excelled in 2023, would have no trouble making up the lost ground.
Hopefully, Williams’ problem is exactly what everyone believes it to be, something that just has to be dealt with and moved on from. If that’s the case, opposing hitters facing the Brewers in the late innings will have yet another issue.
