Jett Williams, Brandon Sproat aim to fit right in with Brewers

MILWAUKEE — Jett Williams joined the Milwaukee Brewers organization less than a week ago, but he already has a pretty good read on his new team.

“A bunch of short guys that are a little bit scrappy — similar to me,” the 5-foot-7 infielder/outfielder said.

Williams and right-handed pitcher Brandon Sproat spoke to Brewers reporters via Zoom on Monday, five days after Milwaukee acquired them in a trade that sent two-time All-Star pitcher Freddy Peralta and right-hander Tobias Myers to the New York Mets.

This marks the third straight year in which the Brewers have traded away an All-Star pitcher who had one year remaining on his contract. They’re hoping Williams and Sproat can provide at least the same amount of return they got in the deals that sent 2021 Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to Baltimore and two-time NL reliever of the year Devin Williams to the New York Yankees.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

The left side of Milwaukee’s infield last season came from those two trades. Shortstop Joey Ortiz arrived from Baltimore along with left-handed pitcher DL Hall. Milwaukee’s lone remaining player from the Devin Williams trade is third baseman Caleb Durbin, who finished third in the NL rookie of the year voting last season.

Sproat and Jett Williams would love to make a similar impact with the Brewers, who reached the NL Championship Series last season after winning a third straight NL Central title.

“The way they play the game is kind of similar to how I play,” Williams said. “I kind of go out there each and every day and play really, really hard. The ultimate goal is to win. And they are pretty good at doing that.”

Milwaukee paid a big price to get Sproat and Williams. Peralta went 17-6 with a 2.70 earned run average to finish fifth in the Cy Young Award balloting last season. Myers was a combined 10-8 with a 3.15 ERA in two seasons with the Brewers.

But the Brewers got two promising players who could play big roles in the organization’s immediate future. Sproat was ranked the Mets’ No. 6 prospect in Kiley McDaniel’s August rankings for ESPN; Williams was ranked first.

Sproat, 24, earned a late-season promotion last year and was 0-2 with a 4.79 ERA in four starts with the Mets. Sproat believes that experience should help him as he contends for a starting rotation spot with his new team, with Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold calling him “major league ready.”

“Going into camp, I kind of — I’m not going to say I’m used to it — but I kind of have an idea of what it’s going to be like,” Sproat said.

The 22-year-old Williams hasn’t reached the majors yet, but he hit .261 with a .363 on-base percentage, 17 homers, 52 RBI and 34 steals in 130 games with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse in the Mets organization last year after wrist surgery kept him out for much of the 2024 season.

Williams has played shortstop, second base and center field in the minors. That gives the Brewers plenty of options as they decide how to use him.

“As of right now, it’s at shortstop, but anything can change,” Williams said. “Kind of going into it with an open mind, with wherever they want to put me, I’ll play.”

Arnold raved about Williams’ versatility and speed. The Brewers would love to see this 5-7 sparkplug fit into the lineup alongside the 5-7 Durbin and 5-8 outfielder Sal Frelick.

“It’s going to be a good fit,” Williams said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.