Dodgers were almost burned in worse way as NL West rival attempted Devin Williams trade

Devin Williams is now a New York Yankee, and on Tuesday he left Dodgers fans with a bad taste in their mouths when he told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that he was basically prepared to go to LA before the Brewers' trade with the Yankees went through. That can only mean that the Dodgers got really, really close before the Yankees snuck in through the back door to get a trade across the line.

The Dodgers have a clear pivot in Tanner Scott, who is reportedly also interested in joining them, but it was a blow for the Dodgers to get sniped by a rival like the Yankees.

Turns out, it could've been worse. Arizona Sports 98.7's John Gambadoro reported that the Diamondbacks, who had also openly expressed interest in Williams, were in contact with the Brewers about him.

Arizona's had an almost completely silent offseason and seem to be competing in the "interested in" Olympics right alongside the Blue Jays (they've been linked to former Dodgers Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger, among others, but nothing has come of that interest), so a trade for Williams would have been massive. Luckily, he's going to a completely different league and won't be able terrorize the Dodgers every few months.

Diamondbacks were in on Dodgers trade target Devin Williams before he was traded to the Yankees

New details about the Dodgers' offer to Milwaukee have also come to light; apparently Gavin Lux and catching prospect Hunter Feduccia were involved. The Yankees sent Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin on top of some cash, so maybe the Brewers wanted to prioritize starting pitching instead of adding another player to their already pretty crowded infield.

It's unclear what the D-backs' offer to the Brewers might've looked like, but it's unlikely they would've been willing to part with any of their starters other than Jordan Montgomery, who has a contract that Arizona would probably have to keep paying at least some of in order to ship him out. They also don't have much depth to their roster as it is, so it's unlikely they were able to offer a position player that the Brewers were actually interested in.

The Dodgers will see the Diamondbacks four times next season, and they carried a too-close-for-comfort 7-6 win-loss record against them in 2024. At least they won't have to worry about Williams coming out of the bullpen during any close inter-division games next year.