When the New York Yankees traded Nestor Cortes Jr. and Caleb Durbin to the Milwaukee Brewers for Devin Williams, there was a lot of excitement — the Bronx Bombers had acquired one of the best closers in baseball.
But the early returns have been disappointing, with Williams posting a 10.03 ERA and 1.97 WHIP with one blown save as of May 6. The poor showings from Williams have forced Yankees manager Aaron Boone to remove the former Brewer from the closer role.
The latest outing for Williams was more of the same — he gave up three earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning against the Padres. Despite fan outrage over Williams’ performance, Boone doubled down on the struggling Yankees pitcher in a recent interview with “Talkin’ Yanks,” a popular podcast from Jomboy Media.
Aaron Boone Remains Patient With Williams
Boone said the biggest issue with Williams has been his command. That statement shows in the numbers, as the former Brewer has a 17.2% walk rate — a big jump from last year’s 12.5%.
Aaron Boone says Devin Williams’ stuff is still good, walks have just been hurting him pic.twitter.com/x3G8i9F9hj
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks)
The Yankees manager said the “stuff” is still there for Williams, but the data paints a less hopeful picture. According to FanGraphs, Williams has a 104 Stuff+ rating so far, down from last year’s 115. His swinging-strike rate has also dropped to 10.6%, from 17.6% last year.
While those numbers are concerning, it’s still early in the season — just over a month into a 162 game trek. There’s time for Williams to get back on track. He’s got a strong track record, with four straight seasons posting a 2.50 ERA or better.
Pitching in a lower-leverage role could help him rediscover his form. This may just be a classic case of a pitcher adjusting to the pressure of Yankee Stadium. With that in mind, Yankees fans should be patient with Williams.
Williams’ Rest-of-Season Outlook
It’s likely we’ll see Williams return to the closer role before season’s end. Elite closers often stumble early. We’ve seen it with Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians this year and Edwin Díaz with the New York Mets last season. Even Josh Hader briefly lost his job during his time with the San Diego Padres.
Given the Yankees’ lack of pitching depth, they certainly need this to be a short-term situation. With Aaron Judge playing at an unbelievable level so far, the Yankees are primed to make a deep run if their pitching can hold up and they can stay healthy.
If Williams can get back on track, the Yankees roster looks even scarier than it already does.