Brewers’ Devin Williams fractures hand after punching wall

Brewers reliever Devin Williams is likely done for the year after he punched a wall as the team celebrated clinching a playoff berth on Sunday. Brewers president of baseball operations David Stearns says there’s a chance Williams could return if the team reaches the World Series, but the injury obviously will be a major loss for Milwaukee, and it’s an embarrassing development for the hard-throwing reliever.

Williams, 27, was the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year and has continued to dominate in 2021. In 58 games, he had a 2.58 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP, 87 strikeouts, and 28 walks in 54 innings.

This is the second reason in a row that Milwaukee will begin its postseason run without Williams on the roster. He missed last year’s NL Wild Card series against the Dodgers as he dealt with a sore right shoulder. If there’s any saving grace for the Brewers, it’s that their bullpen is deeper than it was last year and is likely capable of handling Williams’ loss without any major drop in performance. They still have Josh Hader, who is arguably the best closer in baseball, while Brent Suter, Hunter Strickland, and Jandel Gustave are among the relievers who have exceeded expectations out of Milwaukee’s bullpen in the second half.