The rain has given the Yankees an extra day to let the Devin Williams decision marinate.
But a day after Williams blew a save in the ninth inning with his struggles continuing to mount, manager Aaron Boone continued to leave the door open for a change in the closer’s role just a month into the season.
“We’ll still talk through this,” Boone said Saturday morning, after the game against the Blue Jays was postponed by the threat of inclement weather, when asked if Williams was still his closer. “I haven’t seen Devin yet.
“We’ll try to do what’s best for the team and Devin. Knowing that, let’s get through this bump in the road and still expecting great things.”
In giving up three runs Friday night and turning a 2-1, ninth-inning lead into a 4-2 loss, Williams’ ERA grew to 11.25 across his first 10 appearances as a Yankee.
The right-hander’s trademark changeup has been much more hittable this season than in years past and he has struggled with his command, leaving him in bad counts.
Asked about the case to keep Williams as closer, Boone pointed to his track record.
“He’s been one of the dominant closers in the league,” Boone said. “I know the results haven’t been great yet. A lot of the stuff is still there, the profile of the changeup is still there. Obviously hitters have had success [against it]. He hasn’t gotten swung and miss. He’s been behind in the count a little bit. Once he starts flipping that and starts getting some count leverage, I expect him to go back to being the dominant closer he’s been.”
The fanbase has quickly lost patience with the two-time All-Star acquired from the Brewers last offseason, chanting, “We Want [Luke] Weaver” Friday night and then booing Williams off the mound.
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Meanwhile, Williams seemed to be at a loss for answers Friday, saying simply, “Nothing is working right now.”
Asked if he was concerned about where Williams’ confidence was at, Boone talked around it.
“I start with the baseline of, he has all the equipment to be great at this,” Boone said. “So that’s a good place to start. This isn’t a guy that’s past his prime, anything like that. This is a guy that’s in the middle and had a track record of not just success, but dominance.
“So when you have that baseline, there’s always a way out and there’s always a way to get there. So we’ll continue to lean into that and try to help him unlock it. I feel like once he gets on a roll, he will.”