Devin Williams was awful for the Yankees in Detroit yesterday. The Yankees won the game 4-3, but Williams, the vaunted closer whom the Yankees traded for, allowed three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. He was pulled from the game with the tying run on second base.
Mark Leiter Jr. needed two pitches to get the final out of the game and earned the save. This is a big problem for the Yankees because they acquired Williams to be their closer and if he cannot be, someone else will have to be. If he is not the Yankee closer, who will be?
Devin Williams’ Statistics
The Yankees made a trade for Closer Devin Williams with the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason. The Yankees traded Starting Pitcher Nestor Cortes and given the injuries to the Yankee starting pitchers, they could use Cortes now despite the fact the Yankees shelled him last week.
Williams has been a great closer in his career. He throws a mid-90s fastball combined with an exceptional change-up that is called, “the airbender.” There was some concern about him when the Yankees beat the Milwaukee Brewers last week. He loaded the bases before getting the final out of the game. There was some thought that he, being a former Brewer, was somehow tipping his pitches.
However, after his performance in Detroit, the problem may be more general. Williams did record 36 saves in 2023. He also had an earned run average lower than 2 runs in 2022, 2023, and 2024. He is an established closer, but if he cannot close for the Yankees, someone else will have to emerge.
Candidates to be Yankee Closer
The primary candidate to be the closer for the New York Yankees if Williams cannot be is Luke Weaver. Weaver admirably stepped in last season and has been good so far this season. But there is some concern because his velocity is down.
Other candidates to be the Yankees closer include Leiter Jr. He got the save yesterday when Williams was pulled from the game. He got the save and has been fine since coming over last season in a trade with the Chicago Cubs, but he does not throw hard enough to be a closer.
The Yankees are getting some starters back from injury, so Will Warren and Carlos Carrasco will probably be removed from the Yankee starting rotation. One of them could be a closer. Of the two, Warren would make the better candidate. Finally, a dark horse candidate to replace Williams as closer for the New York Yankees would be Jonathan Loáisiga. He throws very hard and is slated to return from injury by the middle of May.
Conclusion
There could be other candidates for Yankee closer. For instance, the Yankees could trade for somebody. They could also promote somebody else from within. However, it is without question that the closer job for the Yankees is one of the most high-profile jobs in sports, if not the world. To do that job Williams makes $8.6 million a season. The Yankees traded a beloved starting pitcher for him to specifically be the closer of the New York Yankees. If he cannot do the job, the Yankees will be in big trouble in 2025.
