Whoever said that you can’t repeat the past clearly overlooked the possibility of the Yankees acquiring Trevor Megill during this offseason. Always open to the prospect of bullpen additions, the Yankees could
once again ring up Milwaukee to try to pry away their top reliever, hoping, wishing, expecting, contemplating a different outcome than that of Devin Williams’ tenure in the Bronx.
2025 Statistics: 50 games, 47 IP, 2.49 ERA (168 ERA+), 2.50 FIP, 3.08 xFIP, 31.3% K%, 8.9% BB%, 1.13 WHIP, 1.6 fWAR
2026 FanGraphs Depths Charts Projections: 66 games, 66 IP, 3.41 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 30.0% K%, 8.7% BB%, 1.16 WHIP, 1.1 fWAR
Originally a seventh-round pick from the Padres back in 2015, Megill bounced around through a few organizations before finally finding himself as a Brewer back in 2023, already in his age-29 campaign. Since then, Megill has taken steps forward each year, eventually establishing himself as one of the premier relievers in the National League. His profile, however, doesn’t come without risks, risks that would ultimately be reflected on his price tag, one would assume. Unlike Williams, Megill is under contract for two years before being able to reach the open market.
Injuries have been a constant in Megill’s career, preventing him from reaching the 50-inning mark in any of his three seasons with the Brewers. Megill looked set to break that streak in 2025, but a right flexor strain in late August got in the way. Whenever one hears about the injury, it’s easy to be skeptical, but Megill actually recovered quite well, enough for a regular-season cameo before pitching crucial innings in the playoffs, eventually eliminated by the Dodgers in the NLCS. While the team outcome wasn’t what the Brewers hoped for, Megill did his part with the only run he allowed in four innings of work in the playoffs coming on a Shohei Ohtani solo shot in the NLCS. A short sample it was, but seeing Megill fully recovered from such a potentially serious issue puts the mind of any hypothetical trade partner at ease.
It’s senseless to make any comparisons between this and the Devin Williams trade because he and Megill couldn’t be more different if they tried. A power arm, standing at a very imposing 6-foot-8, Megill uses his fastball roughly 60 percent of the time, and why wouldn’t he, when he sits 99+ MPH from that over-the-top angle? A traditional two-pitch closer, Megill complements that fastball with one of the hardest curveballs in the game, one that induces whiffs at a near 50-percent clip.
As far as the reasons for Milwaukee to be at least open to selling him, they’re the same as a year ago, when they sent Williams to the Bronx. As Megill was the heir apparent to Williams, Abner Uribe appears to be the next in line as the leading man in the backend of the Brewers’ bullpen. Coming off an absurd season in which he accumulated 37 holds with a strikeout rate of 30.2 percent, Uribe was a force to be reckoned with and could easily step into the closer role with or without Megill on the roster.
Even with a significant raise, Megill won’t command a prohibitive arbitration figure from the Brewers by any stretch of the imagination, having earned $1.940 million this past season, so they might very well hold him. At the same time, they could move him a year early in order to demand a better return. For as much as we can focus on the disappointment of Williams’ short tenure with the Yankees, Nestor Cortes had an even worse campaign in 2025, meaning the Yankees didn’t take a hit from a value standpoint.
The Yankees’ bullpen possesses many a quality arm, but it still lacks that one elite name who’s able to elevate the rest of the unit to where it needs to be, if this team is to reach the ultimate goal.
