Dodgers must move onto bullpen target Plan B after Yankees' Devin Williams shocker

On Friday, the Yankees came out of nowhere to make a trade with the Brewers for star closer Devin Williams, effectively swiping him out from under the nose of the Dodgers, who were reportedly interested in Williams and had been connected to him loosely through a few previous trade deadline periods.

Williams' 2024 season was abridged with stress fractures, but if he can stay healthy next year, he'll be up there as one of the best closers in baseball. In 22 appearances this year, he put up a 1.25 ERA and was credited with 14 saves.

It was a big win for the Yankees, who also signed Max Fried to a long-term deal last week to try to make up for the embarrassment of losing out on Juan Soto, but it means the Dodgers are going to have to pivot.

There are still a few lesser options on the free agent market — Paul Sewald, maybe, who made it clear that he wanted to be a Dodger, Kenley Jansen, who has also made it clear he wants to retire in LA. It feels more likely that the Dodgers try to make the Padres' mega-deal for Tanner Scott, who has also been mentioned as a potential big swing candidate, look even worse by signing him.

Dodgers need to pivot to Tanner Scott after Devin Williams-Yankees trade

The Padres have already said that they're willing to listen on some of their biggest guns — Dylan Cease, Luis Arráez, and Xander Bogaerts (even though no one's taking that Bogaerts contract unless San Diego eats a good deal of the money) — and it seems increasingly unlikely they'll even try to get into Scott's market after surrendering significant assets to add him at last year's trade deadline. FanSided's MLB insider Robert Murray confirmed that there's interest on both sides in a potential Dodgers union for Scott.

Scott could mix in a little better with the Dodgers' variable reliever usage than Williams could. After he was traded to the Padres at the 2024 deadline — in a much clowned-upon, lopsided deal that gave the Marlins four prospects — he was mostly used as a setup man for Robert Suarez, who had already cemented his position as San Diego's closer. However, Scott also closed 35 games for Miami ahead of the trade for a 1.18 ERA and just two blown saves.

An extra reliever who could also act as a semi-official closer isn't really a necessity for LA. They kept Michael Kopech, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Ryan Brasier, and re-signed Blake Treinen, all of whom finished at least a few games for the Dodgers in 2024. But we can't really expect that to keep the Dodgers from continuing to level up. If they really want that extra powerhouse arm, they should move quickly.