Brewers Manager Sends Strong Jett Williams Message Before Opening Day

The Brewers may need to turn to Jett Williams sooner rather than later after the Caleb Durbin trade...

Feb 23, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; New York Mets second baseman Jett Williams (90) throws to first base and retires Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (not pictured) during the third inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Brewers swung two major trades this offseason. They opted to deal Freddy Peralta to the New York Mets in exchange for top prospects Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat. This deal makes quite a lot of sense, as Peralta was likely going to leave the Brewers in free agency at the end of the year either way.

They also opted to trade Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox in a shocking deal that leaves them with little depth at the hot corner going forward.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

This has created quite a lot of speculation that Williams, acquired in the Peralta deal, could slot in at third base. Williams could also slot in at second base or shortstop and move Joey Ortiz back to the hot corner.

Jett Williams has a bright future with the Brewers, says Pat Murphy

Feb 23, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; New York Mets second baseman Jett Williams (90) catches a ground ball and retires Washington Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. (not pictured) during the third inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Whatever the case may be, Brewers manager Pat Murphy has high hopes for the young infielder.

"(Williams is) going to be looked at everywhere to see where he can help," Murphy said when talking about Williams' future with the team. "He's still a young player. He's not on the 40-man, but we all know he's a part of our future success for sure. And we're going to look at him wherever we need him, wherever he can help us.

"We'll try to figure out first who he is as a player with our own evaluation and then from there see what our needs are and see if that matches up and we can make a quality decision where he helps us – maybe like Joey Ortiz, where he helps us one year in this spot and the next year in another spot, right?"

Williams has all the makings of a star for Milwaukee. He's exactly the kind of player the Brewers use to build their offense. Williams is a good defender with a solid bat and above average speed. He's going to play hard and steal bases when given the chance.

Williams might not be ready for opening day, but he should be able to work his way into the Brewers' starting infield by the midway point of the year. Either way, Murphy has high hopes for the young prospect.

More MLB: Brewers Manager Sends Christian Yelich Message After Career Resurgence