Brian Cashman could make another Yankees-Brewers trade in Devin Williams rebound

Even though Devin Williams is regaining his composure and has looked the best he has all year, we can't say that trade was a runaway "win" for the New York Yankees with how gutty Caleb Durbin has looked so far with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Yes, the Yankees got rid of Nestor Cortes' salary to even out of the money, but Williams was supposed to be the best closer in the league, further elevating New York's bullpen. Instead, he's now a setup man (?) and Luke Weaver has taken over duties in the ninth inning. That could still change, but for now, the early returns are "Yankees got a good reliever."

Right now, there's an overall need on the pitching staff, but perhaps rotation depth might be most important for the long-term success in 2025. The Yankees typically always figure out the bullpen, and there are ways to fix it without going overboard.

But you don't just find capable, innings-eating starting pitchers out of nowhere. And that's where the Yankees will likely need to invest when all is said and done. So how about another trade with the Brew Crew?

Here's what MLB insider Bob Nightengale wrote in his latest column: "– If the Brewers are out of the race by July 31, they are expected to be flooded with calls for ace Freddy Peralta, who has a club option for just $8 million next season."

Yankees Rumors: Freddy Peralta could be a perfect trade deadline fit

That would be ... nice. Looking at the Yankees situation, they have Luis Gil returning in July and currently sport a group of Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough. The fact of the matter is that you always need six starters ready to go at any point in the baseball season. So when Gil returns, that would give them six ... assuming everybody stays healthy.

But looking ahead, Yarbrough is best served as a long relief option who can cover for a blowup start or eat multiple innings when the bullpen is tired. And then there's Warren, who is starting to look like the talent the former top prospect was projected to be. However, he's never pitched more than 129 innings in a single professional season and probably isn't a safe bet to log quality starts well into September and October. A transition to the bullpen at the end of the year might be the best way to utilize his nasty arsenal as the innings pile up.

That's where Peralta comes in. The Yankees can add another star option alongside Fried and Rodón with Gerrit Cole's loss continuing to loom large, and they can guarantee themselves another asset for 2026. We failed to mention Marcus Stroman, but it feels like he's as good as gone and can't be factored into the team's plans.

A potential rotation of Fried-Rodón-Peralta-Gil-Schmidt with Warren and Yarbrough as depth/backup in case of injuries or performance issues sounds like a group that could get the Yankees through October. And if not? they'll have this same group with Cole ready to return in the middle of 2026. It's both a short- and long-term win that's affordable.