Struggling Devin Williams Removed as Yankees Closer

The New York Yankees are making a big move in their bullpen. On Sunday morning, manager Aaron Boone announced that Devin Williams will no longer be the team’s closer, at least for now. The team will turn to right-handed reliever Luke Weaver to take over the job.

“For right now,” Boone said, “I’m going to take him out of that role.”

A Difficult Choice

The decision came after a tough 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Williams came in with a chance to save the win but blew the save, leading to another disappointing loss. It continued what has been a rough start to the season for the two-time All-Star. Williams has struggled badly in 2025. In 10 appearances, he is 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA. He has given up 10 earned runs in just 8 innings. That’s a huge drop-off from his previous seasons.

Before this year, Williams had been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball, with a career ERA of just 1.83 in 241 games. He also won the Reliever of the Year award twice.

The Yankees acquired Williams this offseason in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. They gave up starting pitcher Nestor Cortes and minor league infielder Caleb Durbin to get him. New York was hoping Williams would bring consistency and dominance to the ninth inning, but after a few costly blown saves, Boone felt it was time to make a change.

Williams handled the news professionally and admitted he understood the move. “With the way things have gone, it’s not a shock to me,” Williams said. “Being a closer is a position you have to earn and you have to keep earning it to continue to be in that role. I haven’t been doing that. It’s disappointing. You work for years to get to that point and you have it taken away from you. It’s not a fun feeling at all. I can’t say it’s undeserved.”

Going Forward

Now, the Yankees are turning to Luke Weaver. Weaver isn’t new to closing. He took over the closer role for the Yankees during the last two months of the 2024 season and held it through the postseason. This year, he’s been even better. In 14 innings, Weaver has not allowed a single run and has struck out 14 batters.

Weaver says he’s ready for the challenge. “The ninth inning brings a different animal to it. You want to see all the hard work get done,” Weaver said. “At the end of the day, I think it’s a big league game. I prepare the same way. I try not to look at the situation any different. I need to get outs.”

Boone showed strong confidence in Weaver when announcing the move.

“[Weaver] has a little more swag on the mound and gets outs,” Boone said. “Look, with all that he has gone through in his career, his emergence throughout the entire year last year, getting massive outs and having big-time success through the postseason, is a confidence-builder. But Luke the person feels the exact same.”

The Yankees are hoping that Weaver’s strong start will continue as he takes over the ninth inning. As for Williams, he will continue to pitch in different roles as he works to get back to the dominant form that made him one of the best closers in baseball.

Even with the recent bullpen struggles, the Yankees have been playing strong baseball overall. They are currently 17-10 and sit atop the American League East. With Weaver stepping into the closer role and the team getting solid performances across the roster, the Yankees are hoping to stay hot and continue building momentum as the season moves forward.