Disastrous Devin Williams Demoted

For now, as Aaron Boone said, Devin Williams is no longer the closer. His latest meltdown cost the Yankees a victory Friday in the opener against Toronto, and as that news was settling in following a Saturday rainout, the Yankees went out Sunday and showed some grit by sweeping a doubleheader to improve to 17-11 and stay two games ahead of the Red Sox. Lets get to it. 

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The path from the Bronx to oblivion is littered with former Yankees who donned pinstripes because they wanted to play for the most historic franchise in baseball, maybe the most historic in all North American sports, and hell, maybe the world.

They arrived with smiles proclaiming they were ready to help the Yankees win another World Series, and that they would have no problem performing in a cauldron that combines the largest media market in the country with the most passionate and often ill-tempered fans, at least outside of Philadelphia.

And then it all goes to hell because, in fact, they could not handle the bright lights of Gotham.

In no particular order, the likes of Ed Whitson, Carl Pavano, Hideki Irabu, Kei Igawa, Kenny Rogers, Kevin Brown, Joey Gallo, Cliff Frazier, Jose Contreras, and Jacoby Ellsbury immediately come to mind, and I could probably list another 25 if I wanted to spend the time poring through some of that misery.

For now - Aaron Boone’s words - we’re adding another to the list. Devin Williams.

The righty reliever who we all thought was going to be the team’s best closer since Mariano Rivera retired more than a decade ago has been a colossal disaster. So much so, that Boone announced Sunday that he is no longer the closer.

“For right now, I’m gonna take him out of that role,’’ Boone said before Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of Toronto. “As I said to him, ‘You’ve still got everything to be great.’ This is a guy who’s in the prime of his career and is just going through it a little bit. It happens.”

Going through it a little bit? Yeah, I’d say so. The alleged great changeup of his, the one nicknamed the Airbender, has been more like an air ball during his first month as a Yankee. It has led to an 11.25 ERA and 2.375 WHIP, one official blown save, two losses, and three games where Boone had to lift him after he allowed three earned runs in each. This doesn’t even count the near blown save on Opening Day which he barely survived.

It has been incredibly aggravating to watch this pitcher, who was a stud in nowheresville up there in Milwaukee, come to the Big Apple and get crushed like a bug under the weight of pressure and poor performance.

Friday night, as he blew the game by allowing three runs in the ninth, the moment George Springer led off with a single, you could sense Williams checking out. His body language told the story of a guy who has no clue what has gone wrong, no clue how to fix it, and who knew - like everyone in Yankee Stadium or watching at home - in that moment as Springer reached first clapping his hands that the game was about to become a shit show.

What’s alarming is that when Williams first saw the size of the New York press corps in spring training, he remarked on it, and reporters have said he has mentioned it a few times since then when they swarm to his locker. Yeah, if he’s thinking about it, it’s a problem.

“There’s a lot of adjustments that I’ve had to make,” Williams said Friday night. “New life stuff that’s going on, but at the end of the day, I’m here to get outs, and I’m not doing that right now. So it doesn’t really matter.”

When Boone spoke to reporters Saturday after the game was postponed, he was asked about handling the pressure of New York, something he has experienced both as a player and manager.

“I think a lot of the times, it’s overblown,” Boone said. “Sometimes it’s baseball, but when it’s here, we say, it’s New York (that caused a player to) do well or didn’t. And a lot of times it’s just small samples and flashes in time. Sometimes it is real. Sometimes you’re adjusting to a new environment and situation. So again, we’ll look into all of that. But I feel like physically, he’s still got all the physical stuff to be an elite closer.”

Jazz Chisholm has been almost as bad as Williams this season. He’s been a terrible hitter and he’s made some stupid plays in the field, including a few very Gleyber Torres-like errors. The difference between him and Williams, though, is he has a world of confidence and his personality is a fit for New York, whereas Williams looks like he’s sitting in the dentist’s chair staring at the drill that’s about to grind into his teeth.

“It’s new; New York, it’s big, it’s a little different,” Chisholm said. “But I know my guy. I’ve faced him and I’ve talked to him a lot over the past years. I just know what he’s got. So I just went out there and told him, ‘Hey, this is your moment right here. You’re the guy every time. This is who we want to give it to, and that’s why you’re here. We all believe in you, and we’ve all got your back.’”

That was Friday during the pow-wow on the mound when Williams was pissing away the game. Obviously, Chisholm’s pep talk did nothing and as Williams walked off the mound, the crowd booed him with typical New York ferocity which, of course, isn’t going to help matters.

It’s early, it’s one month, and the ever-optimistic Boone thinks Williams will get it together, but in the meantime, he knew he couldn’t continue to use this guy as the closer, so Luke Weaver has the job and Williams will fit in somewhere else, preferably in low-leverage innings.

“It’s disappointing,” Williams said. “You work for years to get to that point and to have that taken away from you, it’s not a fun feeling at all. But I can’t say it’s undeserved.”

April 25: Blue Jays 4, Yankees 2

➤ Despite a lousy night of offense, the game was right there to be won because Carlos Carrasco stunned us all with five scoreless innings allowing just three hits and two walks. Yeah, that was unexpected. And after Tim Hill served up Vlad Guerrero’s go-ahead homer in the sixth, the Yankees responded by tying the game in the seventh and going ahead in the eighth before Williams turned victory into defeat in less than five minutes in the ninth.

➤ Naturally, Guerrero, who had one home run coming into the game, hit his second against the Yankees. What else is new with this guy when he comes to New York? That gave them their 1-0 lead in the sixth, but in the seventh, struggling Anthony Volpe led off with a double and scored on Oswaldo Cabrera’s single. Then in the eighth, struggling Cody Bellinger doubled and after struggling Chisholm walked and Volpe was hit by a pitch to load the bases, struggling Austin Wells hit a sacrifice fly. Yeah, that’s a lot of struggling players but somehow the Yankees had the lead.

➤ New York’s two runs came against the Blue Jays bullpen because earlier, they made starter Jose Berrios look like an All-Star. He came into Friday with a 5.02 ERA and 1.464 WHIP and then threw 5.1 scoreless innings against New York’s lineup which had the aforementioned four strugglers all at sub-.200. The Yankees had traffic, but they went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

➤ The Yankees dodged a bullet in the eighth when Chisholm made an idiotic decision in a 1-1 game. With a man on first, he fielded a ground ball and went to tag the runner who stopped in the baseline. Rather than just throw to second to get the lead runner, he threw to first and Nathan Lukes gladly went to second where the Jays had two cracks at driving him in with the go-ahead run. To his credit, Fernando Cruz, who showed his disbelief regarding Chisholm’s decision, was able to wiggle out of trouble.

➤ In the ninth, Williams faced three batters, they all reached and they all scored. Game over. Boone yanked him immediately. Mark Leiter came in and gave up the third run of the inning. What a disaster.

What they said in Friday’s clubhouse

• Williams on his struggles: “I mean, truthfully, I don’t know. It’s something I’ve been battling for most of the season. It’s getting pretty frustrating. Nothing’s working right now. All I can do is continue to work. I wish there was an easy answer, but I’m not really sure. It’s not a good feeling not being able to get the job done for the team. They put us in a great position to win there, and I couldn’t get it done today. The hitters tell you if it’s working or not, right? You can’t really just base that off what you’re doing in the bullpen. It’s the swings they’re having; I’m falling behind in counts. I’m not doing what I need to do.”

April 27 (Gm1): Yankees 11, Blue Jays 2

➤ Well, there was no need for Williams in this game as the Yankees put together a fascinating third inning which started them on their way to a nice, comfortable blowout. During that 30-minute half inning they made Jays starter Kevin Gausman throw 53 pitches as 11 men came to the plate, producing six runs. There were so many great at bats, none bigger than Wells who finished off a nine-pitch battle with a three-run double that broke the game open.

➤ With one out, Cabrera and Ben Rice started the uprising with walks, Aaron Judge ripped a single to load the bases, and Cody Bellinger worked an eight-pitch sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1. Then Paul Goldschmidt, Chisholm and Volpe walked - Volpe’s was also a nine-pitch battle - which forced in two runs. Wells then followed with his gapper to right-center and that was it for Gausman, who reached the dugout, started chirping at the umpire, and was officially ejected. All told, the Yankees drew six walks in the inning, their most in an inning since Aug. 25, 2011 when they drew seven against the A’s.

➤ Obviously, that was more than enough support for Max Fried. He didn’t have great command early and he gave up a run in the first, not helped by another Cabrera throwing error. And then in the second he gave up two hits and threw a wild pitch, but he bailed himself out when he picked off Myles Straw between second and third and got Guerrero on a fly ball to end the threat. Thereafter the Jays barely threatened and he finished six innings allowing six hits and two walks.

➤ Volpe showed some life as he doubled and homered, Cabrera had a two-run double and Goldschmidt had an RBI double as the Yankees finished with 12 hits and scored their most runs in a game since March 30 when they scored 12 against Milwaukee to complete the season-opening sweep.

➤Lefty Tyler Matzek made his Yankee debut in the ninth and it didn’t go well as he gave up a run on two doubles and a walk.

April 27 (Gm2): Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1

➤ Sweeping doubleheaders is no easy feat but the Yankees did it as Clarke Schmidt pitched very well to keep the game in range until a big three-run sixth inning decided it. Schmidt went five innings and the only hit he allowed was a solo homer to Anthony Santander in the third. He walked two men in the first but then whiffed Springer and Gimenez to escape, and he had two other walks but neither cost him. He also struck out six, but did not get the win because the game was 1-1 when he left.

➤ Chris Bassitt was mowing down the Yankees for five innings. Trent Grisham led off the first with a home run, and then in the second, the Yankees loaded the bases as Volpe and Jasson Dominguez singled and Grisham walked, but Bassitt got Rice to fly out. That started a run of 10 straight men retired, but Bassitt came unglued in the sixth.

➤ Judge led off with a home run, his first since April 16 and just his second since April 5, so that was good to see. Chisholm singled, and then with two outs, Dominguez doubled to make it 3-1 and that chased Bassitt. JC Escarra greeted reliever Brendon Little with an RBI single to cap the rally, and Escarra later closed the scoring with a solo homer in the eighth, the first bomb of his MLB career.

➤ After Schmidt left, Hill, Leiter, Cruz and Weaver all pitched a scoreless inning allowing just two hits combined to close it out. For the day, the Blue Jays went 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position. It’s nice when other teams suck in those situations.

➤ This was just the eighth time the Yankees have swept a doubleheader against the Blue Jays and the first since Aug. 20, 2013, so that was a very nice afternoon and evening of baseball, especially after the way the series began.

What they said in Sunday’s clubhouse

• Fried on his performance: “The most important thing for me is to be able to give us a chance to win. I just wanted to be aggressive and try to get us to the dugout as quickly as possible.”

• Boone on the at bats against Gausman: “Outstanding. Just really good, disciplined at-bats. If you start chasing Gausman at all, he’s too good. You have to be disciplined in that inning.”

• Escarra on his home run: “I didn’t feel the ball off the bat. It was the first MLB home run. I did it here at home at Yankee Stadium. … It’s very special. This is my family’s team. It’s a dream come true. I’m doing everything as a Yankee. It can’t get better than this.”

The Yankees are back on the road for three games against the Orioles, and if we’ve been complaining about how a few things have gone early in the season, it’s a much louder conversation happening in Baltimore.

The Orioles just got swept by the Tigers in Detroit, the first time in 30 series dating back to last July that they’ve been swept. They’ve lost six of their last seven and at 10-17 are in last place in the AL East, already 6.5 games behind the Yankees. The Orioles’ team ERA of 5.37 is the worst in MLB, and the team batting average of .223 is 26th. It’s simply amazing how this talented team is playing so poorly. Lets hope it continues this week.

Here are a few of their best players to watch:

➤ C Adley Rutschman: Here’s the poster boy for the struggles as he has gotten off to terrible start with a .209 average, .314 on-base and .677 OPS.

➤ SS Gunnar Henderson: If Rutschman’s start is stunning, ditto for Henderson who is one of the rising superstars in MLB. He missed the first week and still hasn’t ignited as his on-base is .256 with two homers and a whopping 24 strikeouts in 82 plate appearances.

➤ CF Cedric Mullins: He has surprisingly been the Orioles’ most consistent hitter as he leads the team in homers (6), RBI (20), OPS (.967), walks (19) and steals (5).

➤ 2B Jackson Holliday: The No. 1 prospect in MLB last year struggled when he came up and was sent back to the minors, but now he’s probably up for good as he tries to figure things out while hitting .243.

➤ RP Felix Bautista: He was one of the best closers in MLB before he missed all of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery. He has three saves and a 2.57 ERA so far.

The pitching matchups are scheduled to be:

• Monday, 6:35, YES: Will Warren (4.79 ERA) vs. Tomoyuki Sugano (3.54), the 35-year-old Japanese free agent righty the Orioles signed.

• Tuesday, 6:35, YES: Carlos Rodon (3.50) vs. a pitcher the Orioles have not yet decided on, but it won’t be two of their best, Zach Eflin or Grayson Rodriguez, because both are on the IL.

• Wednesday, 6:35, Amazon Prime: Carlos Carrasco (5.26) vs. Cade Povich (5.04) who the Orioles acquired in a 2022 trade from the Twins that also included stud reliever Yennier Cano.