Devin Williams DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams continued his dismal start to the season in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Padres. Williams came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning with a 3-0 lead. He got the first out on a strikeout, allowed a walk and a single, and got the second out on a strikeout. He then allowed another walk before being relieved by Luke Weaver, who allowed two more runs to score, one of which was charged to Williams. The 30-year-old, who has been an excellent reliever throughout his career, has already been removed as the team's closer and owns a 10.03 ERA, a 1.97 WHIP, and a 10.03 K/9 rate in 11 2/3 innings of work. While Williams could theoretically earn his way back into save opportunities, he will need to drastically turn things around to make that a potential chance. Ideally, fantasy managers could hold onto Williams on their bench to wait for that chance if they can afford the roster spot.

New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams has been removed from the closer role for now, according to manager Aaron Boone. This news comes a few days after Williams blew a three-run lead to the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. The Yankees had to make this move given nothing is going right for Williams right now. He holds a 11.25 ERA, allowing 12 hits, 10 earned runs, and has walked seven batters in 10 games. It's best for the Yankees to pull him from the closer role and give him low-leverage situations to build up his confidence. The Yankees haven't named another closer, but the assumption is that Luke Weaver will be the favorite right now. Fantasy managers looking for bullpen help might want to snag Weaver before it's too late. As for Williams, fantasy managers should hold him for now as he'll hopefully return to the closer role after getting back on track.

New York Yankees reliever Devin Williams allowed three runs on two hits in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. He did not record an out and was tagged with his second loss of the season. The 30-year-old entered Friday's game in the ninth inning to protect a one-run lead. Williams was shaky right off the bat, allowing a leadoff single to George Springer, hitting Andres Gimenez with a pitch, and allowing a two-run double to Alejandro Kirk. He surrendered an RBI single to Addison Barger before being removed from the game. Williams was charged with his first blown save of the season and owns an 11.25 ERA, 2.38 WHIP, and eight strikeouts over eight innings. After the game, Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked if Williams would remain the closer. "We'll see," Boone said when asked if Williams would benefit from moving to lower leverage situations. "We'll kind of talk through this 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 is going to be from us." Williams has struggled and could benefit from temporarily being removed from the closer role until he gets things right. Luke Weaver would be the biggest beneficiary and handle ninth-inning duties until the Yankees are ready to return to Williams. Fantasy managers searching for saves should add Weaver in all league formats.