Devin Williams is still the Yankees’ closer, and according to a report by Greg Joyce of the New York Post, that’s not changing any time soon.
Despite early-season struggles and rising calls from fans to hand the ninth inning back to Luke Weaver, the Yankees are staying patient. Joyce reports that the team has “no plans” to make a change, instead choosing to give Williams the runway to find his footing.
That decision isn’t going to go over well with the Yankees’ Bleacher Creatures.
Williams, whom the Yankees acquired in a trade that sent Nestor Cortes and prospect Corbin Durbin to Milwaukee, has looked shaky in multiple outings.
His signature changeup, the Airbender, hasn’t missed bats the way it has in the past. His command has been inconsistent. The results have been brutal as Williams takes a 9.00 ERA into Friday night’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays in the Bronx.
Meanwhile, Weaver has been lights out.
He’s opened the season with 13 scoreless innings and continues to build off what he did last year, when he stepped in for Clay Holmes down the stretch and handled the ninth without blinking.
“Until [Williams] does [settle in], fans are going to continue clamoring for Luke Weaver to reclaim the closer role,” Joyce wrote. “Not only has Weaver started this season with 13 scoreless innings, but he also built up credit with the way he emerged last season and took over for Holmes as the team’s closer down the stretch and into October.”
Still, the Yankees are sticking to the plan, at least for now.
Pitching coach Matt Blake both pointed to the bigger picture.
“It’s obviously a little bit choppy,” Blake said. “Cold weather, had the paternity leave, kind of got in rhythm. We threw a lot in that 12-day stretch with everybody. So hopefully he can settle in and get comfortable here.”
The team treats this as a slow start, not a red flag. And as Joyce notes, the runway isn’t over yet.
But the scrutiny isn’t going anywhere. And if Williams doesn’t settle in soon, it won’t just be fans calling for a change.
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