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Aaron Boone's decision to keep Devin Williams as closer is drawing scary comparisons

Repeating old habits can have bad results. Just ask Aaron Boone.
ByJoseph Kallan|
Jul 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) reacts after giving up a two run home run in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Jul 30, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) reacts after giving up a two run home run in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees dropped a gut-punch 8-5 loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday night — a game many fans dubbed the most important of the season.

Clinging to the second Wild Card spot in the American League by just half a game, the Yankees needed a win to stop the bleeding after being swept by the Miami Marlins and reclaim some footing in the standings. Instead, they found a familiar way to lose.

Leading 5-4 heading into the top of the ninth, all New York needed were three outs to halt their losing skid. But when Devin Williams entered the game, disaster followed. Joc Pederson launched a game-tying solo homer, and just like that, Williams had blown his third save of the season.

It’s not just a bad night — it’s a pattern.

Williams has now allowed six earned runs in his last seven outings, raising his ERA in that stretch to 7.71. The broader trend is just as troubling:

  • First 23 games: 6.75 ERA
  • Next 11 games: 0.87 ERA
  • Last 12 games: 6.00 ERA

What was once considered a “rough patch” has become a season-defining liability. And fans are right to wonder: Why is Aaron Boone still trusting him in the ninth?

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Aaron Boone is making the same mistakes all over again with Devin Williams

Earlier this year, Williams lost his closing role and was shifted into seventh- and eighth-inning situations — and it worked. He stopped giving up runs. The Yankees started winning again. Problem solved … until it wasn’t. Boone moved him back into the closer spot, and now the nightmare is on repeat.

Sound familiar?

Just rewind to 2024 and swap in Clay Holmes. That season began as a redemption arc — Holmes gave up just four earned runs in his first 27 appearances (all in one outing against Seattle). Then the wheels came off.

  • July 2024: 3.38 ERA, 4 blown saves in 10.2 innings
  • August 2024: Strong bounce back — 1.93 ERA, 7 saves
  • September 2024: Another collapse — 6.00 ERA, 6 earned runs in 9 innings

Boone finally pulled the plug, handing the ball to Luke Weaver, and it changed everything. Weaver dazzled, saving four games, striking out 25 in 12 innings and leading the Yankees to a late-season surge into the playoffs.

But now, in 2025, Boone seems stuck in the same loop. The Yankees aren’t leading the division. They’re not even comfortably in the playoffs. They’re scraping and clawing for survival in the Wild Card race.

And Devin Williams isn’t magically going to “find his stuff” overnight.

This team doesn’t have time for patience or pride. It needs a change — fast. Whether it’s Weaver again or another recently acquired bullpen arm, Boone needs to show he can adapt like he did last September.

The question is: Can he learn from his past, or will history repeat itself?

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