Yankees' Boone to mull closer role as Williams flops again - ESPN

NEW YORK — New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone did not dismiss the possibility of removing Devin Williams from the closer role — at least temporarily — after Williams continued his struggles Friday, blowing a save and getting booed off the mound by the Yankee Stadium crowd in an eventual 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays.

«We'll see,» Boone said. «We'll have a talk through that stuff. 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, a two-time All-Star and one of the best relievers in the majors since his debut in 2020, entered Friday's game in the ninth inning with the Yankees leading 2-1. He allowed a leadoff single to George Springer, which immediately prompted antsy fans to begin chanting, «We want Weaver!» — a plea for setup man Luke Weaver, who has a spotless ERA in 11 outings this season, to close the game. Williams then plunked Andres Gimenez with a 2-2 fastball before the backbreaking blow: a two-run, go-ahead double from Alejandro Kirk on a changeup over the plate.

That ended Williams' night after just 12 pitches, five of which were strikes. He fell behind in the count 3-1 to Springer, 2-0 to Gimenez and 1-0 to Kirk, a problem that has haunted him all season. He walked off the mound to heavy booing from the home crowd.

«Just nothing's working right now,» said Williams, who has an 11.25 ERA across 10 appearances this season. «And all I can do is continue to work and hopefully get some better results here.»

The Yankees acquired Williams, 30, from the Milwaukee Brewers in December to replace Clay Holmes as closer in his final season before reaching free agency next winter.

With Williams and Weaver, a