Yankees Hint At Major Bullpen Change

In the aftermath of another late-game collapse by Devin Williams in Monday's series opener against the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone kept the door ajar for a potential closer change.

“We have really good guys down there, Devin included,” Boone said, per the New York Post's Greg Joyce. “We’ve got to be able to close out these games though. … We’ve got to get it tightened up. We all have to be better, starting tomorrow. There’s no time.”

After suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins over the weekend, New York was hoping to get back on track with ace Max Fried on the mound at Globe Life Field.

While Fried was far from perfect, allowing four earned runs in five innings, the Yankees scored five times in the first four frames and held a tight 5-4 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.

Williams entered the game in hopes of notching his 18th save, but Joc Pederson put a wrench in those plans by launching a game-tying solo home run with one out.

After the Yankees didn't score in the top of the 10th, Josh Jung blasted a walk-off three-run homer in the back half of the frame off Jake Bird, who was subsequently optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

After the game, Williams acknowledged that the club is mired in a rut and stated that he simply has to get his job done in save situations.

“Things haven’t been going well [for the team] for a while,” Williams said. “I think everyone’s well aware of that. I would say I’m trying my best. Sometimes that leads to the opposite outcome that you’re trying to achieve. But at the end of the day, you got to get it done.”

While relievers are typically volatile, the Yankees had every reason to believe Williams was going to remain one of the league's top shutdown arms after acquiring him from the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason.

A two-time All-Star and two-time National League Reliever of the Year Award winner, Williams logged a 1.83 ERA with 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings over 241 appearances with the Brewers.

In New York, however, he's now responsible for a 5.10 ERA over 46 outings and 42 1/3 innings. Williams looked to be rounding into form during June with a 0.93 ERA following a rough start to the year, but he immediately regressed to the tune of a 5.73 ERA in July.

Williams is still supremely talented, but he may no longer fill the closer's role in New York. The club landed a pair of former All-Stars in Camilo Doval and David Bednar at the trade deadline who have recorded over 100 saves in their careers, so perhaps they'll get more ninth-inning opportunities moving forward after also holding Texas scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings on Monday, respectively.

The Yankees are now only 1 1/2 games up on the Rangers, the first team out of the playoff field in the American League, adding extra pressure to figure out their struggles finishing games before it's too late.

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