The New York Yankees had an eventful offseason. After losing out on retaining Juan Soto, the Yankees made a bevy of moves, with one of their largest being trading for Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams. The expectation was that Williams would be their surefire, perfect closer after dealing with the inconsistency of Clay Holmes last year.
Thus far, Williams has been anything but a sure thing for the Yankees. Before Saturday's game, Williams carried a 5.14 ERA in eight games (7.0 innings). Well, that ERA skyrocketed on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Williams was called upon by manager Aaron Boone to close out the game in the ninth inning, with the Yankees leading the Rays 8-4. Instead of getting a save, Williams blew a four-run lead, and the Rays sent the game into extra innings, which they would win on a two-run homer by Jonathan Aranda.
Williams' ERA after this game? 9.00.
A four-run 9th inning ties it in Tampa! pic.twitter.com/XRqoUVCykx
— MLB (@MLB) April 19, 2025
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Devin Williams' latest meltdown costs Yankees win vs. Rays
Williams' outing started off on the right note, as he forced Kameron Misner to ground out, bringing him two outs away from getting the save. But that's when the meltdown occurred. Williams allowed a single by Jose Caballero, issued a walk to Ben Rortvedt, before surrendering an RBI double to Chandler Simpson to cut the Yankees' lead to 8-5.
Shortly after Simpson's double, Williams gave up an RBI single to Yandy Diaz and a two-run single by Brandon Lowe to officially tie the game up at eight runs apiece. Before more damage could be done, Williams got Junior Caminero to ground out into a double play.
Luckily for Williams, this wasn't a save opportunity, so he is still four-for-four in save opportunities this season.
But still, the Yankees, who gave up Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin, have to be concerned. The Yankees overcame Holmes' struggles last year with the emergence of Luke Weaver. Williams was supposed to be a lock-solid closer that they'd have no worries about. But so far this season, he's been struggling out of the bullpen.