SEE WHO THE NEW YORK YANKEES SOLD OUT DURING SEASON CLOSER AND REASONS……..

 

 

The New York Yankees might have acquired a pitcher in decline this past winter.

One of the most notable moves made by the New York Yankees this past offseason was their acquisition of star closer Devin Williams.

Trading Nestor Cortes, prospect Caleb Durbin and cash considerations to get back the two-time Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year winner, that looked like a slam dunk for the Yankees on paper.

However, it’s been anything but that on the field.

Williams has been awful to start his tenure, sitting with a 12.00 ERA across his four outings where he’s walked four and struck out five in four innings of work.

After almost blowing the season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers when he entered with a 4-1 lead against his former team and allowed a run and had traffic on the basepaths throughout the inning, he almost did it again in the finale against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.

In what should have been a comfortable ending for New York, Williams wasn’t sharp.

While he struck out two batters in a row following his leadoff walk, the right-hander proceeded to give up a single, walk the bases loaded, give up a run on a wild pitch and another on an RBI single.

With the score 4-3 instead of the four-run cushion the Yankees had entering the final frame, manager Aaron Boone took no chances and pulled his closer in favor of Mark Leiter Jr.

New York won and staved off a sweep, but this was the latest alarming outing for Williams.

Now, there is real concern that the Yankees were sold a dud at closer this winter, with the Brewers potentially knowing his elite days might be behind him following the two stress fractures in his back he suffered last season that caused him to miss three months of action.

Anytime those injuries pop up for a pitcher, that’s not a good sign.

At 30 years old with only 238 innings on his body at the Major League level, that isn’t a profile that suggests he should be in decline. But back injuries have a way of affecting players and speeding up their clock, something that could be happening right now.

This could also just be a blip on the radar, though.

After all, the MLB season is a long one, and there is plenty of time for Williams to recover. However, he made some comments that doesn’t necessarily bring confidence that his elite form will be returning anytime soon.

“I haven’t felt like 100 percent myself up to this point, but I would say I’m getting closer,” he said following Wednesday’s action per Greg Joyce of The New York Post.

Williams also added that he feels fine physically, he just needs to execute better.

This can be taken one of two ways.

In an optimistic view, the new closer isn’t injured and isn’t being affected by lingering issues with his back, so once he gets things figured out — having spent time on the paternity list — then he’ll return to his past dominant self.

But in the pessimistic view, this is a huge cause for concern.

Williams says he’s healthy, and if this is how he’s performed when not hampered by some sort of ailment, then that does not bode well for what could took place over the entirety of the year.

The saving grace of this deal right now for New York is Milwaukee didn’t come out smelling like roses, either.

Cortes was already moved to the injured list and Durbin is still in the minors, although performing very well at the Triple-A level.

Still, Williams was brought in to be a difference maker, hoping he would give the Yankees more consistency at their closer position after moving on from Clay Holmes this winter following his own roller coaster play the past couple seasons.

Whether he can be that guy for New York in 2025 remains to be seen.