Manager Aaron Boone announced Sunday that Williams has been removed from the closer role "for right now," Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.
The writing was on the wall after Williams blew his first save of the season Friday against Toronto, which was the second straight appearance in which he allowed three earned runs. The right-hander has yet to truly look like himself in 10 outings with the Yankees and has an 11.25 ERA and 8:7 K:BB across eight innings. New York presumably plans to return Williams to the closer job at some point this year, but he'll need to right the ship in a lesser role before getting that opportunity. Luke Weaver, who took over as the Yankees' closer down the stretch last season, has yet to allow a run through 11 outings this year and could get the bulk of the save chances in the meantime.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Temporary role change likely
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The Yankees appear to be making a temporary change at closer after Williams squandered a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning Friday against Toronto, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports. "We'll see," manager Aaron Boone said when asked if Williams would benefit from moving to lower-leverage situations. "We'll kind of talk through this stuff. This is raw right now. We want to do everything we can to get him right, because we know how good he is and how valuable he is going to be for us."
While Friday's blown save was Williams' first of the season, he has now allowed six earned runs in his last two appearances and sits with an 11.25 ERA through his first 10 appearances in pinstripes. Boone stopped short of announcing a role change, but Martino says there is virtually no way the skipper would have answered the questions the way he did "if he hadn't already decided to give Williams a break from save situations." Luke Weaver took well to the ninth-inning role down the stretch last season and has pitched brilliantly so far in 2025, making him the clear-cut favorite for saves while Williams tries to figure things out in lower-leverage spots.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Blows save opportunity
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Williams (0-2) took the loss after blowing the save Friday against the Blue Jays, giving up three runs on two hits in the ninth inning. He did not record an out.
Williams was brought in for the ninth inning to protect a 2-1 lead. After giving up a single and hitting Andres Gimenez with a pitch, Williams surrendered that lead when Alejandro Kirk doubled to center field. Williams was tagged for a third run after being lifted. Friday marked Williams' first blown save opportunity but the second game in a row in which he gave up three earned runs. He has an 11.25 ERA and 2.38 WHIP over eight innings, and more outings like Friday's could lead to a change in who takes on closing duties out of the Yankees' bullpen.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Tallies fourth save Thursday
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Williams earned the save after throwing a clean ninth inning in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Rays.
While he didn't record a strikeout, Williams put the Rays away on just six pitches (five strikes) Thursday. The All-Star closer has been shaky at times to begin his Yankees tenure, as evidenced by his 5.14 ERA, 1.86 WHIP and 8:6 K:BB over seven innings, but Williams is unscored upon in his past four outings and has still converted each of his first four save chances as New York's closer.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Logs third save
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Williams earned the save in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Royals, striking out one batter in a scoreless ninth inning.
Williams got the call to come into the ninth inning to protect a 4-2 lead. He needed 16 pitches (11 of which were strikes) to get through the frame, finishing things off by punching out MJ Melendez to record his third save of the season. Williams has not given up a run over his last three outings and has struck out three batters while allowing two hits and two walks in those three innings.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Secures second save
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Williams allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning while earning a save against the Royals on Monday.
Williams entered the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead and had to work out of a jam to close things out. He put two runners on base with one out but escaped unscathed with his first save since March 27. Through six appearances as a Yankee, Williams has yet to deliver a perfect inning out of the bullpen. He owns an uncharacteristic 7.20 ERA with a 7:6 K:BB through five innings.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Gets bailed out Wednesday
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Williams gave up three runs on two hits and two walks over two-thirds of an inning in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Tigers. He struck out two.
Brought in to protect a 4-0 lead in the ninth inning, Williams instead made a mess of things before Mark Leiter had to replace him and record the final out for his first save of the year. While it doesn't go down as a blown save or a loss for the Airbender, it's still the third time in his first four appearances as a Yankee that Williams has been charged with at least one run, leading to a 12.00 ERA and 5:4 K:BB through his first three innings in pinstripes. The average velocity on his fastball is down slightly to begin the season, but he topped out at 95.3 mph Wednesday on a strikeout of Colt Keith, and the movement on his elite changeup is in its usual range. All indicators suggest that Williams' numbers will quickly return to normal once the weather warms up.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Activated from paternity list
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The Yankees activated Williams from the paternity leave list Friday.
Williams missed this week's three-game series against the Diamondbacks while welcoming a new addition to his family. He'll be available to close as the Yankees begin a series in Pittsburgh this weekend.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Back from paternity leave Friday
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Thursday that Williams (personal) will be activated from the paternity leave list Friday, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.
Williams will miss a third straight game Thursday while tending to more important family matters, but he will be back to resume closer duties for the weekend series in Pittsburgh. The 30-year-old gave up one run but recorded a save in his lone appearance this season.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Going on paternity leave
Rotowire
The Yankees placed Williams on the paternity list Tuesday.
Williams will be away from the Yankees for anywhere between one and three games while he welcomes a new addition to his family. He made his Yankees debut over the weekend against his former Brewers squad, notching a save Thursday during a rocky ninth inning in which he yielded one earned run on two hits and one walk wile striking out two batters. Luke Weaver could step in as the Yankees' interim closer during the team's three-game home series versus the Diamondbacks if Williams ends up missing all of those games.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Labors through first save
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Williams earned the save Thursday after giving up one run on two hits and a walk over one inning in a 4-2 win over the Brewers. He struck out two.
The All-Star closer's debut with the Yankees was almost disastrous, as nearly blew a three-run lead against his former team. Williams loaded the bases in the ninth inning before recording an out via a sacrifice fly, and he then proceeded to strike out Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich to end the game. Friday's team off day will provide Williams with a breather after he threw 36 pitches, but such a heavy workload early in the schedule could still affect his availability for Saturday.
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Yankees' Devin Williams: Set to earn $8.6 million
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Williams and the Yankees have agreed to a one-year, $8.6 million contract to avoid arbitration Thursday, Jorge Castillo of ESPN.com reports.
Williams was dealt to the Yankees earlier this offseason and has already been named the team's closer. Though he missed most of 2024 due to a back issue, he's maintained an ERA below 2.00 for each of the last three seasons while striking out at least 13.3 batters per nine innings in each of the last five campaigns. Williams will earn $1.6 million more than he did in 2024.
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Brewers' Devin Williams: Up to 14 saves
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Williams earned the save in Thursday's 5-2 win over Pittsburgh, allowing one hit while striking out one in a scoreless ninth inning.
Williams worked around a Nick Gonzales one-out double to secure his 14th save this season. The 30-year-old Williams has held opponents scoreless in his last 12 appearances (12 innings) while securing nine consecutive saves -- he's allowed just four hits while striking out 22 in that span. Overall, Willliams' ERA is down to 1.31 on the year with a 0.97 WHIP and 38:10 K:BB across 20.2 innings.
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Brewers' Devin Williams: Earns save Tuesday
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Williams earned a save against the Giants on Tuesday, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out two during a scoreless ninth inning.
Williams worked around a base hit and a walk in the inning with two strikeouts and a pop out to put the Giants away for his 10th save of the year. He's now working on seven straight scoreless appearances and has struck out 11 of the 20 batters he's faced over his last five outings. For the year, Williams has a 1.72 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 29:9 K:BB in 15.2 innings.
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Brewers' Devin Williams: Shaky in eighth save
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Williams walked two and hit one batter in a scoreless and hitless inning, adding two strikeouts to earn the save in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Reds.
Williams has allowed multiple baserunners in three of his last five outings, but he was able to escape a bases-loaded jam of his own making in Saturday's win. The right-hander is now 8-for-9 in save chances this year. He's pitched to a 2.31 ERA, but a 1.20 WHIP and eight walks over 11.2 innings show he's not quite all the way back from a command standpoint. Williams has also logged 20 strikeouts and doesn't appear to be at much risk of ceding closing duties back to Trevor Megill.
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Brewers' Devin Williams: Hangs on for 10th-inning save
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Williams earned the save in a 5-4 win over the Reds in the opening game of Friday's doubleheader, walking one while logging a strikeout in a scoreless 10th inning.
After Milwaukee took a one-run lead in the top of the 10th inning, Williams quickly recorded the first two outs in the bottom of the frame. He'd allow the phantom runner to reach third base on a wild pitch before issuing a two-out walk, but Williams managed to get Ty France to fly out to pick up his seventh save. The right-hander has converted back-to-back save chances after allowing two runs on three walks in a blown save against St. Louis last week. Overall, Williams sports a 2.53 ERA with 1.13 WHIP and 18:6 K:BB through 10.2 innings this season.
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Brewers' Devin Williams: Nursing left shoulder soreness
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Brewers manager Pat Murphy said Williams was unavailable to pitch Sunday against the Athletics due to left shoulder soreness, Bally Sports Wisconsin reports.
Murphy said that Williams felt a "pinch" in his non-throwing shoulder when he woke up Sunday morning, likely a result of sleeping on it wrong. Williams attempted to play catch prior to Sunday's game, but he was sore and "just didn't look right," per Murphy, who declared his closer off limits for the day. It sounds like a day-to-day type injury, but it's not yet clear whether Williams will be available for Tuesday's series opener versus the Giants. Trevor Megill would likely fill in as closer if Williams is not ready.
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Brewers' Devin Williams: Takes first blown save
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Williams allowed two runs on one hit, three walks and a hit batsman while striking out two over two-thirds of an inning to take a blown save in Wednesday's 10-6 extra-inning loss to the Cardinals.
Williams was shaky in earning a save Tuesday, and he was even worse Wednesday. He threw just 12 of his 31 pitches for strikes, and two of his three walks came with the bases loaded. Trevor Megill was able to escape the ninth inning with a groundout, but he would up surrendering a walk-off grand slam in the 10th to complete the Brewers' collapse. Williams is now at a 3.12 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 16:5 K:BB through 8.2 innings this season while converting five of his six save opportunities.
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Brewers' Devin Williams: Perfect inning for save
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Williams pitched a perfect inning to earn the save in Saturday's 2-1 win over the Guardians.
Williams failed to log a strikeout for the first time in his seven appearances this season. It was still a tidy save for the right-hander, who got the heart of Cleveland's order out on three straight groundouts. Williams has allowed one run -- on a solo home run versus Atlanta on Aug. 7 -- while earning four saves and posting an 11:1 K:BB over seven innings. All of his saves have been over his last four appearances, including three over the last four days, so it's safe to say Williams is back to being locked in as Milwaukee's closer.
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Brewers' Devin Williams: Records another save
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Williams earned a save against the Dodgers on Thursday, striking out two batters in a perfect ninth inning.
Williams was called upon to close the door on the Dodgers for the second straight day, and he again succeeded in impressive fashion. On Wednesday, he retired Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman in order, and he bested Ohtani and Betts -- both on strikeouts -- again Thursday. Williams has been as brilliant as ever since returning from a back injury July 28, recording three saves while allowing just one run and posting an 11:1 K:BB over six innings spanning six appearances.
