Aug 4, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) during the game between the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Don't Let Yankees Fallen Closer Fool You

Originally posted on New York Yankees on SI
By Joseph Randazzo | Last updated Aug 18, 2025 7:00 AM ET

Devin Williams' tenure with the New York Yankees is likely to be remembered as a failure. The expectation was for him to fortify the back of the bullpen with Luke Weaver.

It hasn't played out that way, and after a long season of blowing big games, looking more like the second coming of Kyle Farnsworth, Williams has been relegated to lower leverage situations. It has sadly been a role in which he has excelled. Sunday was another one of those days where Williams had a successful outing far away from the ninth inning.

Things got a little dicey after he relieved Will Warren in the bottom of the fifth inning after he put Nolan Gorman on in eight pitches. After one of those patented Williams long at-bats, he made easy work of Jordan Walker.

Devin Williams comes in and escapes the jam pic.twitter.com/C3jq1M1kRy
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 17, 2025

Against Walker, it was vintage Williams, generating three swinging strikes in three pitches. He started with a 95 MPH fastball up in the zone. The second pitch of the at-bat was a change up at his feet, and then he finished off Walker with another heater. It was night and day from his battle with Gorman, where he looked like he lost control of the strike zone.

Williams was demoted to these lower-leverage situations after a putrid outing in the 10th against the Houston Astros. Since then, he has 3.1 IP. He has given up zero earned runs and has seven strikeouts. He has been hitless and issued his first base on balls on Sunday when he walked Gorman. The only time Williams had balls put in play against him was in Minnesota. Neither resulted in a barrel or a hard hit ball.

The numbers support how excellent he has been with less pressure. According to FanGraphs, Williams has given up two earned runs in 18 IP in low-leverage situations.

That number increases in medium leverage situations, where he has eight earned runs in 15.1 IP. In high-leverage situations, he has been at his worst, giving up 16 ER in 13.2 IP.

Becoming dominant when the stakes are low is something, but this is not what the Yankees were looking for when they traded Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin. Cortes hasn't done much and was even traded by the Brewers, but Durbin has had a solid rookie campaign. He's hitting .256 with a .706 OPS and 103 wRC+.

What is most frustrating is that Durbin could have also solved the Yankees' woes at third base much earlier, as he has seven defensive runs saved and two outs above average. It’s a lot to give up for somebody who will most likely be one-and-done with the Yankees.

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