Devin Williams' Best MLB Fit After Turbulent Yankees Stint

Highlights
• After an uneven 2025 in New York, Williams hits the market.
• The New York Yankees fit hinges on a Bednar pairing, price, and luxury tax math.
• The Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, and Los Angeles Dodgers offer different tradeoffs.

The market for late-inning help is always active, but Devin Williams hits free agency in an interesting spot. 

He just lived through a challenging season in New York, rediscovered stretches of his elite swing-and-miss, and made it clear he is open to returning if the role and the money make sense. Are the Yankees ready to take that rollercoaster ride again when they have a closer in David Bednar locked? Would Williams be better off in a smaller market where he can close?

Here’s what Williams has to work through this winter. 

Why the Yankees still make sense on paper

The New York Yankees offer the best blend of stage, support, and October upside, no doubt.  Still, they have Bednar, whose presence forces Williams into an eighth-inning role at least to start. If the Yankees promise a 1A-1B setup with matchup flexibility, Williams slots into a high-leverage lane that protects him from overuse spikes and lets the stuff play when it matters. A sensible AAV on a shorter deal fits the way the Yankees typically treat the bullpen: pay for leverage, not save totals.

 The risk is also pretty obvious. Williams settled in New York, but he did not exactly look comfortable on the big stage. Bednar is not a placeholder, so Williams will have to accept he is not “the closer.”

Sure, Williams told MLB.com he’d love to come back to the Yankees, but what free agent is going to say they don’t want to play for one of the teams with the deepest pockets?.

If the ninth is priority one

The Miami Marlins can offer the role. 

They cycled through closers last season and would welcome a name closer who stabilizes the endgame while they retool. It is a value-shop destination: shorter deal, clear role, and a chance to rebuild value and re-enter free agency at 32. 

The Atlanta Braves are the win-now option to close. Williams becomes the bridge between a dominant rotation and an October bullpen that needs a finisher. Atlanta checks the contender box without New York’s pressure. The question there is price discipline; they spend, but they are selective on relievers.