Can Yankees build Devin Williams up to be trusted again in closer role?
Devin Williams of the Yankees hands the ball to manager Aaron Boone as he is removed from a game during the ninth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on Friday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Faced with the pre-doubleheader drama of the embattled Devin Willams being removed from the closer’s role as of Sunday morning, the Yankees did away with needing one altogether by routing the Blue Jays, 11-2, in the opener. As for Game 2, that was put in the capable hands of Luke Weaver, who locked down the sweep with a perfect, stress-free ninth in the 5-1 victory.
Sunday’s confluence of events took care of the first question regarding Williams’ viability as the closer, a test he undeniably flunked through the first month of this season. By the time he was booed off the mound during Friday’s blown save, his fate was effectively sealed. The only thing left was for manager Aaron Boone to make the move official.
What comes next is a trickier proposition: Can the Yankees build Williams back up to be trusted again as the closer for this $308 million World Series contender?
When asked point-blank Sunday night if he is confident about reclaiming the job, Williams declined to make any bold predictions, a revealing look into his current state of mind.
“My biggest concern right now is to start putting up zeroes,” he said. “We can have that conversation when we get there.”
It’s amazing that we’re having this conversation in the first place.
Williams arguably was baseball’s most dominant reliever since his Rookie of the Year season in 2020. During that period — before arriving in the Bronx, obviously — he ranked second in ERA (1.70) and strikeout percentage (40.8) and limited opponents to a .144 batting average, tops in MLB.
That’s practically an airtight five-year stretch for the Airbender-throwing Williams, only to have Boone deliver the stunning news to him this weekend.
“It’s disappointing,” Williams said. “You work for years to get to that point, and to have that taken away from you, it’s not a fun feeling at all. But I can’t say it’s undeserved.”
Then again, Williams built his entire resume pitching in small-market Milwaukee under a relatively low-wattage spotlight, and switching to the Bronx often is a game-changer.
If Williams is fine physically, there’s only so many other areas to troubleshoot, and the Yankees had no choice but to prevent him from further sabotaging their season. Friday’s blown save was his first this season, but he’s flirted with disaster every time the bullpen phone has rung for him.
His 11.25 ERA is fifth-worst among the 201 qualified relievers and his 2.38 WHIP is only one spot better. Also, opponents are dinging Williams at a .343 clip.
We’re still dealing in small sample sizes, as just a couple of superb outings would cause a dramatic improvement in those statistics, but the Yankees can’t afford to let Williams do that in the highest-leverage situations in the immediate future.
“The good news for Devin is that he’s got everything to get through this and come out better on the other side,” said Boone, who spoke to Williams before going public with the decision. “And that’s my expectation.
“But for right now, I think it’s best for everyone that we pull him out of that role and try to start building some good rhythm and confidence and momentum. And we fully expect him to be a central figure for us moving forward.”
Boone’s phrasing there was curious. What exactly is the definition of a “central figure”?
The Yankees traded for Williams in a series of splashy, quick-strike, post-Juan Soto deals that were supposed to maintain their status as a World Series favorite. Instead, he’s made himself a problem rather than a solution. What is it going to take for Boone to feel comfortable going to Williams again rather than riding with Weaver?
Boone was able to give Williams a full reset Sunday, keeping him out of the Bronx cauldron before the Yankees hit the road for Baltimore — a much better place for a soft re-launch, safe from the Stadium hecklers.
New York requires an adjustment. For every Max Fried, who improved to 5-0 with a 1.43 ERA through six starts on Sunday, there’s a Sonny Gray, who was unrecognizable when pitching in pinstripes. Adding to the pressure for Williams: He happens to be a free agent at the end of this season. The Brewers traded him because they had no intention of paying him, and now that he’s bombing on Broadway, it can’t be helping his value among potential big-market suitors.
The Yankees have been down this road before — just last season, in fact, when Clay Holmes was stripped of his closer title and the role was given to Weaver. But that move didn’t happen until early September after Holmes suffered his 11th blown save, the most in the majors, only seven weeks removed from his second All-Star appearance.
Once Holmes was pulled, he got his groove back in a setup role and excelled during the Yankees’ playoff run.
Williams didn’t even survive April. It was one blown save and done for him. He’s been that bad.
“Being the closer is a position you have to earn,” he said. “And you have to keep earning it to continue to be in that role. Lately, I haven’t been doing that.”
The Yankees already had seen enough. And they don’t appear to be in any hurry to see more of Williams in that role anytime soon.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
