Yankees’ plan for closer revealed

Boone held true to his word, as Williams recorded the save in a 3-2 win over Cleveland. The 30-year-old did give up a pair of hits and a run, but Boone said he has “a ton” of confidence in sticking with Williams as his closer.

“He’s been throwing the ball really well really for the better part of a month. I don’t expect that to change now with the role changing a little bit,” Boone told reporters. “Again, this is a guy that the role he was in today is what he knows. I think he’s got a lot of confidence going. Even though they got a run off of him tonight, I thought his confidence and his conviction on his pitches held throughout the outing.”

Williams previously lost his job to Weaver

The Yankees made a huge splash during the offseason when they acquired Williams in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. An All-Star in 2022 and 2023, Williams entered the season as New York’s closer. He quickly lost his job, however.

Williams was demoted at the end of April after posting an 11.25 ERA across his first 10 appearances with the Yankees. He has since managed to straighten some things out, but his ERA on the season remains an ugly 6.35.

Now that Weaver is unavailable, Williams will have another chance to prove the Yankees were right to put their confidence in him.