Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Have Zero Reasons To Be Concerned With Shockingly Slow Start for Star Closer

The New York Yankees' star closer has gotten off to a very slow start, but there is no reason for concern yet.

Kenneth Teape

Apr 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park.
Apr 4, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees have a lot of new faces on their roster in 2025 who weren’t on the team during their run to the World Series a few months ago.

One of the big offseason acquisitions they made was acquiring closer Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for starting pitcher Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin.

His addition to the back end of the bullpen was expected to help put the Yankees' bullpen over the top. They had a lot of talented relievers ahead of him, as it was viewed as the strongest part of the team heading into the season.

It was easy to see why, given just how dominant Williams has been throughout his career.

A strong argument could be made that he is the best relief pitcher in baseball. Through his first six MLB seasons, he made 241 appearances, throwing 235.2 innings.

He had a minuscule 1.83 ERA to go along with an eyebrow-raising 375 strikeouts. That resulted in an impressive 14.3 K/9 ratio and a career strikeout rate of 39.2%; the league average is 22.8%.

The only issue that Williams struggled with at points is walks. His 12.0% walk rate is above the league average of 8.5% and he had a 4.3 BB/9 ratio.

But, that wasn’t enough to get him into much trouble, routinely shutting the door down with his world-class changeup. Whenever a pitch gets a nickname, as Williams’ offering did being called “Airbender,” you are doing something right.

Unfortunately for the Yankees, they have yet to see that form of him on the mound.

His early season performance has left a lot to be desired.

He has made four appearances, pitching 3.0 innings, allowing five hits and issuing four walks. Five runs have been charged against him, four of which are earned, for an ugly 12.00 ERA.

There are some people worried about him already, but there is zero reason to panic yet.

These slow starts are nothing new for the two-time All-Star, who has provided the least production of his career in March and April.

As shared by Yankees Apple on X, Williams has a career ERA of 3.86 and .317 xOBA in the first month of the season. After that, he heats up along with the weather, looking more like the award-winning reliever the baseball world has become accustomed to.

His numbers are elite the rest of the season, with a 2.51 ERA in May being the second-worst mark of any month during the season. A .246 wOBA in July is the second highest for that statistic.

When taking that into account, along with his absence being on the paternity list, it is easy to see why he has gotten off to a slow start. Weather conditions haven’t been ideal either in some of his appearances, pitching in frigid temperatures.

Once he gets back into a rhythm and has his legs under him with a new team, he will start to showcase the elite talent he possesses.

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Kenneth Teape
KENNETH TEAPE

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