MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams appears on the verge of making his season debut after missing four months with stress fractures in his back.
''We're hoping for Devin here in the next few days, if things go well,'' Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said Friday.
The two-time All-Star continued his rehabilitation assignment by allowing one hit in one inning of shutout relief Friday night for Triple-A Nashville. Williams has struck out six while giving up one walk and one hit over four innings in four separate minor league appearances, three with Nashville and one with Single-A Wisconsin.
''He needs to come out of this next one healthy,'' Brewers manager Pat Murphy had said before Friday night's action. ''He hasn't pitched (on) back-to-back (days) yet or done a lot of things yet, but it might be valuable just to have him back with us.''
After going 8-3 with 36 saves and a 1.53 ERA last season to earn his second NL reliever of the year award, Williams hasn't pitched in the majors this year. The Brewers announced in mid-March that Williams' back issue would sideline him.
Trevor Megill has spent most of this season as the Brewers' closer in Williams' absence and has gone 0-2 with a 2.41 ERA and 20 saves.
Williams, the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year, owns a 26-10 career record with a 1.89 ERA, 54 saves and 337 strikeouts in 214 innings.
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