NEW YORK — Right-hander Devin Williams is out as the Yankees’ closer — for now. The job belongs to Luke Weaver, who had the role during the final two months of last year, including the postseason.

The decision to remove Williams as the ninth-inning guy came two days after Williams recorded his first blown save of the season against the Blue Jays. With the Yankees leading, 2-1, Williams faced three batters in the ninth and didn’t record an out. The biggest blow came when Alejandro Kirk doubled over the head of center fielder Trent Grisham, scoring George Springer and Andrés Giménez and giving Toronto a one-run lead.

But this outing wasn’t Williams’ only implosion. He has struggled in several other outings, including coughing up a four-run lead against the Rays last Saturday in Tampa. Overall, Williams has allowed 12 runs (10 earned) in eight innings. It hasn’t helped that opposing hitters have a .462 batting average against his four-seamer and have hit .273 against the Airbender changeup.

Manager Aaron Boone is not sure what role Williams will have out of the bullpen. It could be anywhere from a low-leverage situation to a setup man, a role he had when he first entered the big leagues in 2019. Williams became a closer after the Brewers traded Josh Hader on Aug. 1, 2022.

Williams talked like a guy who wasn’t surprised by the demotion.

“With the way things have gone, it’s not a shock to me,” he said. “Being a closer is a position you have to earn and you have to keep earning it to continue to be in that role. I haven’t been doing that. It’s disappointing. You work for years to get to that point and you have it taken away from you. It’s not a fun feeling at all. I can’t say it’s undeserved.”

To be successful on the mound, Williams feels he has to show conviction. He can only do that if he gets more outings under his belt. Williams hopes to be on the bump as soon as possible.

“We are slowly figuring that out, but there is no real feedback until you get on the mound,” he said.

Boone said he gave Williams words of encouragement on Saturday while delivering the bad news. Boone reiterated to Williams that he has “all the equipment to do this at an elite level.”

For Williams to get his old job back, he must have several quality outings in a row, and work his way to better counts. Boone took notice that Williams had been behind in the count for most of April.

“He still has everything to be great,” Boone said. “He is in the prime of his career and he is just going through it a little bit, and it happens. As I tell my players all the time, ‘You make a career just long enough, you are going to face some challenging moments, you are going to face some adversity along the way.’

“The good news for Devin is he has everything to get through this and come out better from the other side. That’s my expectation. Right now, it’s best for everyone to pull him out of that role and try to start building some good rhythm, confidence and momentum. I fully expect him to be a central figure for us moving forward.”

As for Weaver, he is back in the role that made him a popular figure with Yankee fans. After replacing Clay Holmes and receiving his first save opportunity on Sept. 6, Weaver saved four games during the month and did not allow a single earned run. During the postseason, Weaver saved four games — three of them against the Royals during the American League Division Series — and allowed three runs in 15 1/3 innings.

This season, Weaver lost his closer role after the Yankees acquired Williams over the winter in a trade that sent left-hander Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin to the Brewers. However, Weaver has been a dominant setup man, pitching 13 innings without allowing a run and striking out 13 batters.

Boone has seen a change in Weaver since last year.

“[Weaver] has a little more swag on the mound and gets outs,” Boone said. “Look, with all that he has gone through in his career, his emergence throughout the entire year last year — getting massive outs and having big-time success through the postseason — is a confidence-builder. But Luke the person feels the exact same.”

Weaver pitched the ninth inning in Sunday’s 5-1 victory over the Blue Jays, twirling a scoreless frame.

“The ninth inning brings a different animal to it. You want to see all the hard work get done,” Weaver said. “At the end of the day, I think it’s a big league game. I prepare the same way. I try not to look at the situation any different. I need to get outs.”

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Bill Ladson has been a reporter for MLB.com since 2002. He covered the Nationals/Expos from 2002-2016.