Padres must thank Yankees for stealing Devin Williams from 2 division rivals

In one of the biggest trades of the offseason so far, the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees lined up on a deal that sent All-Star closer Devin Williams to the Bronx. The right-hander has been one of the game's best relievers since breaking into the league in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and will now give the Yankees a late-inning weapon alongside Luke Weaver.

While the San Diego Padres themselves were not directly involved in the Williams sweepstakes, they should be thanking their lucky stars that the Yankees were the team to reel him in. A player of his caliber doesn't hit the trade market very often and there were a ton of teams interested in swinging a trade for him. In fact, two of the teams involved in the bidding were a pair of the Padres' NL West rivals.

Padres Rumors: Dodgers, Diamondbacks pursued Devin Williams trade

In a recent report from Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Williams himself was apparently surprised that the Yankees were the team he wound up moved to. As relayed by Kirschner, Williams was under the impression that he was heading west to join the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Per Kirschner, Williams said, "I kind of thought I’d be going to LA, that’s what I was being told. The Yankees snuck in there under the table and got the deal done.”

If Williams landed on the Dodgers, it would have been a typical "the rich get richer" situation. The Dodgers are fresh off of a 98-win, World Series-winning campaign in 2024 and have already signed Blake Snell and re-signed Blake Treinen to top off their pitching staff this winter.

But the Dodgers were not the only rival of San Diego's that threw their hat into the ring on Williams. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7, the Arizona Diamondbacks also inquired what it'd take to acquire him.

Even though the D-backs didn't win the division in 2024, they sure gave the competition a run for its money, including the Padres. The pesky Snakes finished with 89 wins and were just four games behind the Padres in the year-end standings, missing the playoffs by a hair.

Outside of the Dodgers as the annual favorites, the rest of the division feels like it's largely up for grabs (sorry, not you, Rockies) heading into 2025. An addition of Williams would've made any club in the division much better by default, but the Padres should be oh so thankful that Milwaukee shipped him east.