Caleb Durbin Is The Real Prize Of The Devin Williams Trade To The Yankees

[Jake McKibbin]

The Brewers have traded Devin Williams to the Yankees in exchange for Nestor Cortes and a relative unknown called Caleb Durbin, who may just be the jewel of the trade.

Image courtesy of © Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Caleb Durbin is a 5’6" 24-year-old infielder from Lake Forest, Illinois, with a fascinating array of tools at his disposal. Strong bat-to-ball skills, great plate discipline, and burgeoning power are complemented by solid defense and a fantastic base running instinct that gives him the makings of a player who can impact the game in a variety of ways. While on the surface, the return for Devin Williams looks underwhelming, it must also be true that the Brewers see a lot of value in Durbin's profile.

Durbin is small. Very small. One might even have projected him to be, at most, a utility player until recently, but he’s managed to come into some power at the plate at just the right time. Since his promotion to Triple A last season, Durbin worked hard to put the ball in the air with more regularity and found some real success with 11 home runs in his last 56 games overall between Triple A and the AFL. He’s not likely to be a home run machine by any stretch in the majors, but he’s showing he could be a regular double-digit home run threat. That's big news for a player who, over the course of 2024, had an average exit velocity of just 83 mph in Triple A. He accessed the home run surge from a strong ability to pull and elevate the ball simultaneously, which, as we've seen from profiles like Isaac Paredes, can succeed in the big leagues.

Synonymous with the Brewers these days is a strong approach and swing decisions, which Durbin has in spades. Using his small frame and reduced strike zone to good effect, Caleb Durbin had a walk rate of 12.5% in Triple A in 2024 with a strikeout rate of under 10%. He struck out just five times in 112 plate appearances in the AFL.

Then there’s the base running. Durbin set records in the AFL this season with 29 stolen bases in 30 attempts, blowing past the previous record of 24. While fast, Durbin isn't of the lightning quick variety like Brice Turang or Garrett Mitchell, but his instincts, reads and timing are top of the table.

Defensively, he seems to profile best at second base but has experience in 2024 at third base and the outfield. Erik Longenhagen said his defense looked fine at both infield positions, and it's expected the Brewers would like to see him at third base next season.

Perhaps most fascinating to the Brewers is his approach to baseball. Pat Murphy waxes lyrical about the players on his roster, and their young, fearless hunger that drove them to success as a unit last season. At the winter meetings, when asked of any one he'd like on his squad, he said "give me someone who's hungry". That is Caleb Durbin. 

The Yankees had released a lot of chatter from Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone about Durbin being a strong contender to open 2025 as their starting second baseman. Some of this may have been smoke to increase his trade value, and the low exit velocities earlier in the year are a worry despite the recent uptick in his extra base results. He will need to be more than just a weak contact, low strikeout player at the plate to garner regular playing time, and it remains to be seen if he can impact the ball more effectively in 2025.

Nestor Cortes and his flashy antics on the mound will no doubt garner much of the attention surrounding the trade, but given his own recent struggles, it may just be that the Brewers are extremely high on Caleb Durbin. He's a ball player, hungry and toolsy and may just be on the rise. If he can continue tapping into that power production at the plate, he may exactly the player the Brewers need to continue competing through 2025.

View full article

[Rick Daltons Flamethrower]

I'll take a more wait and see....show me attitude r/t to Caleb. The article was a bit over the top on optimism. Let's see what reality presents next year.

[Ron750]

I would prefer a scrappy doubles hitter, to  a whiffing HR hitter. Hopefully he’s the next Jose Altuve. I saw him hit a home run, at Miller Park. Impressive for the shortest player in MLB. 

[Jake McKibbin]

8 hours ago, Rick Daltons Flamethrower said:

I'll take a more wait and see....show me attitude r/t to Caleb. The article was a bit over the top on optimism. Let's see what reality presents next year.

Funny, I actually thought the same when editing it and tried to even out a little! So I appreciate the feedback if I maybe didn't go far enough in correcting that.

The floor is high with his bunch of tools, but whether he can be an everyday contributor depends on the pull power remaining next season. 56 games is a small sample size, and the AFL is a homer heavy environment, but at least he's a capable bench bat with utility experience in the Infield and outfield.

He could very much profile as Nick Madrigal esque if he can't keep that aerial pull rate, which isn't ideal. Some power is a requirement in the majors

 

[Rick Daltons Flamethrower]

 You rock n roll writer dude! I appreciate the glass being half full. Maybe next year Caleb will be a full 16 oz pour as a Brewer player. Looking forward to the baseball hunger of a rising player  being displayed which you referenced. 

[Underachiever]

On 12/14/2024 at 3:04 PM, Rick Daltons Flamethrower said:

 You rock n roll writer dude! I appreciate the glass being half full. Maybe next year Caleb will be a full 16 oz pour as a Brewer player. Looking forward to the baseball hunger of a rising player  being displayed which you referenced. 

Full 16 oz would be good. He's definitely not a tall boy.