Yankees Deliver Bad News to $8.6 Million Pitcher Amid Struggles

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New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams

The New York Yankees aimed to fill a major hole when they signed reliever Devin Williams to a one-year, $8.6 million deal this offseason, but he lost the closing job within the first month of the season and now faces more bad news from the team.

Williams struggled during some early outings in April, leading the team to tap Luke Weaver as their closer. Now, Yankees manager Aaron Boone has floated a new restriction for the veteran reliever going forward.

Boone said this week that Williams will only be used in situations where the team needs three outs, saying it could be a while before he gets tapped for any longer outings.

“Look, he’s here as kind of a one-inning guy and that’s what he’s done the last couple years,” Boone said Wednesday, via Greg Joyce of the New York Post. “I think there’s going to be a time when there’s a four-out scenario, but I’m not prepared right now to send him out there for a two-inning outing.”

Williams seemed to accept his new assignment, saying he understands the team’s strategy with relievers.

“I feel like the bullpen works better when guys are going one inning,” Williams said, via Yankees reporter Bryan Hoch in a post on X.

It’s not a new strategy for Williams, with Joyce noting that he has not been asked to record more than three outs in a game since September 2023. Williams missed more than half of last season with a stress fracture in his back, Joyce noted.

Yankees Face Another Big Pitching Decision

The Yankees will face another pending move in their pitching staff as veteran starter Marcus Stroman struggled in a rehab outing with Double-A Somerset and could need more time in the minors before returning to the Bronx.

As Joyce noted, Stroman gave up 10 hits and five earned runs in 3 and 2/3 innings with Somerset.

“Obviously got roughed up a little bit in the outing and the line wasn’t great,” Boone said. “But we’ll dig into it some more and see what the best next move is.”

The Yankees were already shorthanded after Ryan Yarbrough was placed on the injured list on Sunday with an oblique strain. The team did not decide whether Stroman will fill his place for Sunday’s start against the Athletics, noted The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner.

Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said the team is still in the process of deciding whether Stroman is ready to return to the big club or if they will tap another candidate to take over Yarbrough’s place in the rotation.

“It’s a conversation to see where we’re at,” Blake said. “I think that’s the two main guys (Allan Winans and Stroman) in conversation for that spot with Yarbrough on the IL. As a group, we’ll figure out what makes sense for us from an inventory standpoint, when is Marcus ready to come back, all of those things. I don’t think we know for sure what we’re going to do after this outing.”

Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty