The Yankees traded for Devin Williams with the hope that he would solidify the back end of their bullpen for years to come. Instead, he's coughed up the closer's role after only a few months in the Bronx. His struggles open up the possibility that he might not finish the 2025 season in pinstripes.
Williams would not be the first pitcher to move to New York and struggle to handle the pressure cooker that is playing for the Yankees. His poor performance to date is still a major disappointment for GM Brian Cashman and his front office. The veteran right-hander is sporting an ERA of 9.24 in 15 appearances and has a negative WAR of 0.9 on the early season. That's why manager Aaron Boone made the decisive move to demote Williams and replace him with Luke Weaver as his ninth-inning option.
It's hard to point to anything that's been reliable about Williams' performance. His famous "airbender" changeup has lacked the movement that's made it his go-to pitch throughout his career. Williams' fastball has been even worse. Opposing hitters are squaring it up with alarming regularity which puts even more pressure on him to lean on his change.
Devin Williams could be gone if he doesn't turn it around soon
It should not be any surprise to hear that the Yankees might already be experiencing buyer's remorse. New York Post reporter Joel Sherman went on Jon Heyman's "The Show" podcast and openly raised the idea that New York might be willing to offload their disappointing closer. He cites Williams' upcoming free agency as a significant reason why the Yankees might be willing to trade him now as opposed to meeting his asking price on the open market.
Trading Williams would still represent a significant mark against Cashman's record in charge of the club. In fairness, nothing about his track record suggested that he would fail with the Yankees. Williams posted an ERA of under 2.00 in each of his last three seasons before making the move to the Bronx. Nothing about his recent play suggested his perfoamance would experience such a sharp decline.
Boone and his coaching staff have not given up on the troubled reliever. They chose to take him out of the closer's role to give him a chance to thrive in slightly less stressful circumstances. Williams has still regularly been deployed in high-leverage situations in the eighth inning after his demotion. He still has been an important part of the team's late-inning bullpen mix.
The question the Yankees have to ask themselves is just what they can get in return for Williams while his value is arguably at an all-time low. Plenty of teams might be interested in trading for him as a reclamation project. The list of teams willing to give New York a trade return capable of helping boost their World Series chances for this season is much smaller. That's the only sort of transaction that should work from Cashman's perspective.
That calculus could change if the Yankees fall out of the postseason picture but Cashman and his staff have bigger problems if that ugly eventuality comes to pass. Offloading Williams as a rental at the trade deadline should be the last resort for a team that's desperate to end their World Series drought.
The more likely outcome for the Yankees and Williams is that they try to work together to get him back on track. The franchise needs him to do that whether it's to help them win games or maximize his trade value. At his best, Williams still profiles as a dominant reliever who can help galvanize the Yankees' bullpen. There's no reason to think he's suddenly lost the ability to pitch at a high level during his age-30 season.
That might not be what Yankees fans frustrated with their new closer want to hear but it's Cashman's job to avoid the whims of the team's passionate fan base. Any path to postseason glory for the Yankees in 2025 will depend on Williams' ability to find his best stuff and reassert himself as one of MLB's best closers. If the Yankees trade him before he hits free agency it might represent disaster for the team and the big-name closer.