As reporters introduced themselves to Devin Williams on the first day of spring training, the Yankees’ newly-acquired closer noted the size of the large press contingent surrounding him.
It is an observation – and a change after spending the first six years of his career in Milwaukee – that Williams has repeated numerous times in the weeks and months since. That stretch has also seen Williams play a catalytic role in the Yankees changing their decades-old facial hair policy; become a first-time father; talk his way through a few testy postgame scrums; and get off to the worst start of his career.
All the while, fans have wondered just how comfortable Williams is under the New York spotlight, a thought that first permeated when he said that he thought he’d end up traded to the Dodgers on an introductory Zoom call in December.
“There’s a lot of adjustments that I’ve had to make,” Williams acknowledged after he imploded yet again in the Yankees’ 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Friday. “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.”
Contrary to his job responsibilities, Williams has not gotten many outs. In fact, he didn’t record any as he failed to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning on Friday, as Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk followed a single and a hit-by-pitch with a two-run double.
Aaron Boone quickly pulled Williams in favor of Mark Leiter Jr. at that point, but the damage had been done. As Williams exited, a rancorous round of boos accompanied the two-time National League Reliever of the Year’s walk to the dugout.
“It’s something I’ve been battling for most of the season. So it’s getting pretty frustrating,” said Williams, who has primarily blamed a lack of command and an overreliance on his Airbender changeup for the 11.25 ERA he’s posted over his first 10 games as a Yankee. “They only thing you can do is keep working, continue to show up every day, and give it everything I’ve got.
“Nothing’s working right now.”
While poor control and a lacking signature pitch have certainly contributed to Williams’ struggles, there’s also been some speculation that he hasn’t felt at ease in New York.
On Friday, Boone was asked if he senses Williams is comfortable with everything that comes with the pinstripes.
“I don’t know that I’ve looked at it like that,” Boone said. “We’re not even a month into this yet. And because he’s had some struggling outings, that makes it a little tougher. We’re all human doing this too. So at the end of the day, obviously, he’s great at this, and I believe that’ll win the day in the end.”
Williams, meanwhile, was asked if he’s found it easy to settle in off the mound given all the changes he’s experienced. In answering, he did note his new location.
“Yeah,” Williams said. “I mean, easy enough as New York City can be, but I gotta get things rolling in the right direction.”
While Boone could have simply said “yes” and Williams could have left out the caveat, other Yankees don’t feel discomfort is causing the closer’s pitching problems.
“It’s new, you know?” said Jazz Chisholm Jr., who tried to hype Williams up by initiating a mid-inning mound visit on Friday. “In New York, it’s big, it’s a little different. But I know my guy, and I’ve faced him and talked to him a lot over the past years, and I just know what he’s got.
“I think he’s a very confident guy. I think he’s very comfortable, even though he had a bad start. Baseball is baseball. You’re not always going to be the best in the world every day.”
One team source, granted anonymity so that they could speak freely, agreed, telling the Daily News, “I think he’s fine.”
“Honestly, we’re still getting to know him, so I don’t know how he normally is,” the source continued. “I mean, he’s got a certain demeanor to him, but I don’t see any issues.”
The source added that Williams has gotten along with teammates, though they noted that they could understand the New York media landscape creating culture shock for the soft-spoken righty.
A free agent at the end of the season, no one wants Williams to shine more than Williams himself. However, his abysmal start to the year – he’s typically flailed over the first month, though not this much – has left fans begging for Luke Weaver’s return to the closer’s role.
Such was the case Friday, as the Bronx faithful loudly chanted “We want Weaver” in the middle of William’s outing.
“Everyone has their opinions,” Williams said of the vocal demands.
Did those chants bother him?
“I don’t have an opinion,” he replied.
Weaver, who hasn’t allowed a run this season, took over the closing job from Clay Holmes last season when the current Met endured a similarly rough stretch at the end of the season. Weaver thrived in the role, holding onto it throughout the postseason. But the Yankees traded Nestor Cortes and infield prospect Caleb Durbin to the Brewers anyway because Williams has been nothing short of sensational throughout his career, taking a 1.83 ERA into this season.
And yet, Boone found himself fielding questions about whether another change was needed on Friday.
“Game just ended,” he said of potentially switching things up in the ninth. But asked if lower-leverage situations could benefit Williams, Boone gave a telling, “We’ll see.”
“We’ll kind of talk through that stuff,” the manager continued. “This is raw right now. We want to do everything we can to get him right because we know how good he is and how valuable he’s going to be for us.”
Williams didn’t discuss a potential title change, but he did express that his confidence remains high.
“At the end of the day, I still believe in myself,” Williams said. “I believe in my ability to go out there and shut it down. So I’m just going to keep working.”
Chisholm put it a different way.
“I have all the confidence in the world,” the second baseman said. “That’s why he’s one of the best relievers in the game. I’ve faced him before. I know what he’s got, and I know the heart he has.
“He’s going to get into his groove, and when he gets in his groove he’s going to be unstoppable.”
