Closer Devin Williams likely out 3 months with stress fractures in back (report)

Brewers closer Devin Williams has two stress fractures in his back and is expected to miss around three months, according to a report from ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The club has not confirmed the news.

Williams, a two-time All-Star, was scheduled to see a back specialist on Wednesday after feeling persistent discomfort in his lower back this spring.

Williams was given imaging and received an initial opinion from Brewers medical personnel last week, which showed nothing to be alarmed about, Brewers manager Pat Murphy said on Sunday. When the discomfort persisted, Williams sought a second opinion.

Arguably the best closer in the National League last season, Williams had not been himself this spring. He gave up four runs, four walks and two hits in two appearances covering 1 1/3 innings of Cactus League games.

Williams dominated in his first season as the full-time closer a year ago after taking over from Josh Hader. He went 8-3 with a 1.53 ERA, 36 saves and peripherals to match that dominance. Opponents batted .129 against him — the lowest opponents’ average in the Majors with a minimum of 50 innings — and he gave up just 3.99 hits per nine innings.