The New York Yankees thought they solved their bullpen riddle when they landed superstar closer Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers this past winter.
Instead, they might have inherited a ticking time bomb.
Devin Williams Can’t Find His Stuff
Williams has been a disaster to start the 2025 season, hosting a brutal 11.25 ERA over eight innings.
On Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, things got even worse.
He surrendered two hits and three earned runs without recording a single out, coughing up yet another late-inning lead.
It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion — and the Yankees are stuck in the front seat.
Williams’ biggest issue right now is simple: nothing is working.
He’s walking 17.1% of batters he faces, ranking in the bottom 5% of the league. His strikeouts are down, hitters are no longer chasing his pitches, and his ground ball rate has collapsed.
Where Did the Dominant Devin Williams Go?
The numbers behind the collapse are jarring.
His famous change-up, while still decent, has fallen off significantly.
Batters are hitting .234 with a .286 slugging rate against it this season — compared to .162 and .216 last year.
And the fastball? That’s where the real damage is happening.
Williams has lost about 1 mph of velocity, and hitters are absolutely teeing off, posting a .417 batting average and a .583 slugging percentage against the pitch.
Last season, batters hit just .111 against his fastball.
It’s like his superpower vanished overnight.
Time to Let Luke Weaver Close?
The Yankees might have no choice but to rethink their strategy.
Veteran reliever Luke Weaver has been lights-out this season, tossing 13 scoreless innings with a sparkling 0.00 ERA.
While Williams tries to find himself, the Bombers would be wise to let Weaver step into the closer role and take some pressure off.
Right now, running Williams out there in the ninth inning feels like handing the other team a lottery ticket.
Even Williams admitted the obvious after the game, saying:
“Nothing’s working right now. All I can do is continue to work and get some better results here. … I wish there was an easy answer, but I’m not really sure. It’s not a good feeling, not to be able to get the job done for the team. They put us in a great position to win there, and I couldn’t get it done today.”
Can the Yankees Fix This Before It Costs Them?
It’s early enough in the season for course correction, but the longer the Yankees let Williams try to figure it out in high-leverage situations, the deeper the hole could get.
At some point, reality trumps hope — and the Yankees need to start acting like it.
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