New York Yankees fans, rejoice! The days of the horrible tyrant Clay Holmes are over! “The Airbender” himself, Devin Williams, has come to replace our former closer. With a lead in the ninth, we no longer have to fear. It should be smooth sailing from here.
Or not.
11.25 ERA later, Williams has become one of the most hated men in New York. I guess not just anyone can handle the burden of being the Yankees’ closer. It seems like a curse if you believe in that kind of thing. But what else could explain an elite closer suddenly losing his control?
During his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers, Williams’ ERA as the closer was 1.83 over six seasons. During that time, he had a 39.4% strikeout rate and 235 2/3 innings pitched. In 2023, Williams had a 1.53 ERA and 36 saves in 61 games. In 2024, he had a 1.25 ERA and 14 saves in 22 games. This is the same man who, in 10 appearances this season, is posting career-worst marks in strikeout rate (18.2%), whiff rate (24.1%) and walk rate (15.9%) in eight innings across 10 appearances this season. He also boasts a -0.8 WAR and is personally responsible for my early onset high blood pressure.
At this time, the Yankees are 17-11, and spotty pitching has played a big role in their losses. Whether it is from a starter or a reliever, bad pitching loses games. The Yankees are going to have to make some changes, and it looks like they are going to be making their first one now.
Having a strong closer can contribute significantly to a team’s success. A good closer should be able to perform in high-leverage situations, like the last innings of a close game. With Williams’ numbers so far this season looking poor, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has elected to make a change. He has made the call to the bullpen, and Luke Weaver will get his shot at the closer job.
When asked about his decision to remove Williams from the closer position, Boone said, “for right now, I think it’s best for everyone that we pull him out of that role and try and start building some good rhythm and confidence and momentum and fully expect him to be a central figure for us moving forward.”
It is rare, but Boone is right. Williams needs a break.
Taking over the job, for now, is Weaver, who is already a fan favorite. During the 2024 season, he emerged as the Yankees’ best relief pitcher and one of their best players overall. He put up a 2.89 ERA in 62 relief appearances. In addition, he struck out 103 batters while only allowing 10 home runs. Even with his success as a reliever and closer, after the team acquired Williams, he was in for a demotion. And, as expected, this season, Weaver has predominantly been the setup man for Williams.
On Sunday, Boone announced that Weaver, who has a 0.00 ERA in 13 innings pitched this season, will assume “a lot of” the team’s save opportunities. Boone did maintain that he is open to using Weaver in high-leverage spots earlier in games and other relievers to close.
Yankees fans are going to be pulling for Weaver, as they have not seen a consistently dominant closer since the days of Mariano Rivera. During the Yankees’ April 25 matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays, Williams fell behind in counts against the three hitters he faced, leading to the home crowd showering him with loud boos while adding a “We want Weaver!” chant.
I want Weaver, too. The man is fun to watch. His combination of a four-seam fastball and an absolutely filthy changeup is devastating. Plus, nothing gets me more hyped than hearing the distinctive mechanical hiss of Darth Vader’s breathing transition into “Dreamweaver” by Gary Wright at Yankee Stadium while he takes the field. It’s not just a pitching change; it’s an experience.
One thing that should be made clear is that Williams is not a bad pitcher. Even the best pitchers can go through stints where they pitch, like Nestor Cortes against Freddie Freeman. What he needs is time and some of the heavy load he bears taken off his shoulders. Right now, he’s reeling due to multiple bad showings which have crushed his confidence. Being away from the closer role for the foreseeable future will do him some good. He will make more appearances, build consistency, feel at ease on the mound again and be back to pitching as well as we know he can before too long. In the meantime, I am confident that I can entrust the end-of-game success of my favorite team to Weaver.
