Yankees Have Clear Closer Decision

A New York Yankees bullpen that was lacking depth following injuries to both Mark Leiter Jr. and Fernando Cruz is now brimming with electric relievers.

The organization accomplished its goal of bringing in multiple late-inning options ahead of Thursday's trade deadline by acquiring David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird from the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies, respectively.

While each member of that trio floundered in their debuts for the Yankees in Friday night's disheartening 13-12 loss to the Miami Marlins, giving up a combined seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, they should all fill important roles throughout the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.

Though New York has a hodge-podge of arms to choose from as its closer, the correct decision for the club to make on that front is sticking by Devin Williams.

While the 30-year-old's first season with the Yankees following an offseason trade from the Milwaukee Brewers hasn't always been smooth-sailing, evidenced by a 5.01 ERA in 45 appearances and 41 1/3 innings, his underlying metrics suggest that he should perform at his typical elite level moving forward.

For example, his 2.95 FIP indicates that his ERA on the year should be far closer to his career mark of 2.31 than it is in actuality. Furthermore, Williams is striking out hitters at an elite rate (31.0 percent) and has a hard-hit rate against him of 35.4 percent that places in the 84th percentile, per Baseball Savant.

Though Williams struggled to the tune of a 5.73 ERA in July, he was among the league's most dominant bullpen arms just a month prior in June with a 0.93 ERA. He's a two-time All-Star and two-time National League Reliever of the year for a reason, even if he hasn't always shown it in the Bronx.

Either Bednar or Doval will likely enter the 2026 campaign as the Yankees' closer with both Luke Weaver and Williams set to hit free agency, but the latter should be the top dog in the team's bullpen for the rest of this season.

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