Has Yankees' Devin Williams Redeemed Himself?
Aug 20, 2025; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) throws a pitch in the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images
New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams has found himself among the favorite scapegoats for the team's failures this season, and for good reason. After three consecutive blown saves put him in the collective consciousness as a bad move every time, Yankee fans are hesitant to trust him when he steps up to the mound.
This mistrust has radiated to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, whose management has been questionable anyway, and who repeatedly put Williams in the game for high-leverage situations that didn't pan out one too many times. Folded in with Boone's insistence on playing shortstop Anthony Volpe, who is second in the league in errors and is batting abysmally of late, fans are chalking the team's poor position in their division up to bad management. With a stacked roster like theirs, how could this happen? Williams remains a poster boy for that kind of poor decision-making, but is it still warranted?
Over his last seven games, when he has been dropped in for low-leverage situations, Williams has excelled. He has allowed 0 earned runs and two hits with 15 strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched. His season numbers are rotted, with a 5.01 ERA and four blown saves total over 55 games.
On the Talkin' Yanks podcast, Jake Storiale described the relationship between Williams and Yankee fans as a toxic marriage.
"Basically this year with Devin Williams, we've had a bad relationship. So at this point, we're on vacation, things aren't going to be great with us. Things aren't going to be worked out, we're a struggling couple, we booked this trip to Mexico three months [ago], we're almost there, [we're like] let's just go on the trip together. We're going on the trip with Devin, let's enjoy the amenities, man!"
"If you could come in some seventh innings, if you can take down some righty lanes, let's do that. When we start daydreaming of our Seattle Mariners series, and there's a J-Rod/Eugenio Suarez lane, I want to think about [Williams] pitching that in the sixth, and maybe with a little bit of hope."
At the height of Williams' troubles, Yankee fans drew attention to the fact that the team changed their 50-year-old beard policy in part to accommodate the new pitcher this season, with some claiming that the Yankees need to shave again in order to restore their former glory. It's hard to blame the Yankees' losses this season on one guy's beard, but it's also a lot of fun.
Williams ended last season with a 1.25 ERA over 22 games. Now he's making the shif t to being a low-leverage guy amid a desperate bullpen riddled with injuries, and only time will tell what that means for his future.
