Devin Williams is out as the Yankees’ closer, at least “for right now,” Aaron Boone said Sunday morning.
Williams, acquired from the Brewers over the winter, has endured a brutal start to his pinstriped career, taking an 11.25 ERA, two losses and one blown save over 10 games into Sunday’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays. Williams’ performance in Friday’s loss to Toronto pushed Boone to remove the two-time National League Reliever of the Year from the closer’s job, as the righty didn’t record an out and allowed three earned runs as fans chanted “We want [Luke] Weaver” in the ninth inning.
“With the way things have gone recently, it’s not really a shock to me,” Williams said after sitting out the Yankees’ Sunday sweep. “Being the closer is a position you have to earn, and you have to keep earning it to continue to be in that role. So lately, I haven’t been doing that.
“It’s disappointing. 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.”
With the Yankees rained out, Boone spoke to Williams about no longer closing on Saturday. The manager called it a “really good” conversation and said that Williams is “ready to do whatever.”
“As I said to him, he’s still got everything to be great,” Boone said. “This is a guy that is in the prime of his career, and he’s just going through it a little bit. And it happens. I tell our players all the time, you make a career at this long enough, and you’re going to face some challenging moments. You’re going to face some adversity along the way.
“The good news for Devin is he’s got everything to get through this and come out better on the other side, 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 just try and start building some good rhythm and confidence and momentum.”
On the mound, Williams has struggled with his command, and his “Airbender” changeup hasn’t been the weapon it’s been in the past. On Sunday, he added that he needs to have more “conviction” in the pitches he’s throwing and the sequences he and the Yankees are deploying.
He specified that confidence in his own abilities is not an issue.
“Not necessarily confidence, as much as what we’re doing as a group,” Williams said. “The sequencing and things like that, just cleaning that up a little bit.”
Going forward, Boone said he’d like to see Williams stack some good outings and consistently get ahead in the count. Asked if Williams will only be used in low-leverage situations for now or if he could pitch in tight spots, potentially including the seventh and eighth innings, Boone said the pitcher doesn’t have a specific role at the moment.
“I do believe, at his core, he knows that he’s going to get through this,” Boone said. “It’s just when you’re going through it, it’s a little challenging to find and trust that. So he’ll get there, and we’ll support him as best we can.”
Williams, meanwhile, said he’d like to get back on the mound “as soon as I can.”
While Boone said “everyone” in the Yankees’ bullpen should be prepared for save opportunities, Weaver is expected to handle most of them for the time being. On Sunday, Weaver logged a scoreless ninth inning in Game 2 despite the Yankees being up 5-1.
Weaver took over the closer’s role from Clay Holmes late last season and thrived in it throughout the end of the Yankees’ postseason run. However, if all goes well, he’ll only perform ninth inning duties for a short period.
“No one’s worried. The guy’s a stud. He’s really good at what he does,” Weaver, refusing to label himself a closer, said of Williams. “Sometimes it’s magnified a little bit more than we want, but it’s a tough job. It’s a tough job that definitely has a lot more exposure to it.
“Through every failure is going to be some pretty rainbow and some sunshine, so we’ll be all right.”
Williams, meanwhile, isn’t worrying about whether he’ll get his job back.
“My biggest concern right now is to start putting up zeros,” he said. “We can have that conversation when we get there.”
For Williams, early-season struggles are nothing new, something he’s said throughout his skid. March/April has always been his worst month in terms of ERA, though his recent woes have been far more dramatic than they ever were in Milwaukee.
“It’s really just reps, getting into that mid-season form,” Williams said of ways to snap his funk. “I always kind of start a little slow. The only year that I haven’t was the year that I played in the WBC, so I had to lock in a lot earlier that year. But, yeah, it’s just getting reps and game reps.”
Asked if anything else might be different about Williams’ 2025 struggles compared to past ones, Boone said, “I think it is a little bit different in that it’s been obviously a struggle in a new environment, in a bigger place, all those kinds of things. So I just want to give him the best opportunity to kind of get through this.”
Boone’s mention of a “bigger place” – that would be New York City – comes amid talk that Williams hasn’t been all that comfortable in his new surroundings.
On Friday, Williams was asked if he’s found it easy to settle in off the mound given all the changes he’s experienced in the last few months. In answering, he mentioned his new location.
“Yeah,” Williams said. “I mean, easy enough as New York City can be, but I gotta get things rolling in the right direction.”
Williams, who added he’s had to make “a lot of adjustments” and deal with “new life stuff” – he became a first-time father earlier this season – has also noted several times how big the press contingent covering the Yankees is. There have been a few testy postgame scrums following bad outings, and he’s been booed by fans since Opening Day. That’s something he didn’t have much experience with as a Brewer.
Williams also played a catalytic role in the Yankees changing their decades-old facial hair policy in the spring.
“I think there’s that adjustment,” Boone said of the New York factor. “So I’m sure there’s some shock to that, and some, ‘Okay, getting settled.’ He’s with a new team in a new environment. That’s all part of it.”
