Acquired this offseason from Milwaukee, Devin Williams now has an unfortunate new title in the Bronx.
Ex-closer.
The right-hander delved deep into what his issues have been of late, and how he expects to get back to form.
“For right now, I’m gonna take him out of that role,’’ Manager Aaron Boone said of Williams. “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.”
For Williams, the disappointment is plenty understandable.
“It’s disappointing. You work for years to get to that point and then have that taken away from you,” Williams said. “It’s not a fun feeling at all, but I can’t say it’s undeserved.”
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“Being a closer is a position you have to earn, and you have to keep earning it to continue to be in that role. Lately, I haven’t been doing that.”
Although the prevailing sentiment for Williams is an understandable frustration, the former closer has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over years past. The Yankees certainly hope he can regain form soon.
“I mean, I’d like to be back on the mound as soon as I can,” Williams said. “With the way things have gone recently, it’s not really a shock to me.”
Although April is typically Williams’ toughest month of the season, he’s never pitched this poorly. Time will tell if he’s able to get back into a groove on the bump.
