The New York Yankees acquired three relief pitchers at the MLB trade deadline, yet not even a week later and the team still has a glaring issue in the back end of its bullpen.
Devin Williams, who Aaron Boone said would remain New York's closer despite its recent influx of relievers, has been dreadful in his first season with the organization. The acquisition of Williams was expected to provide some stability to the bullpen following the departure of Clay Holmes. Instead, he's had the worst year of his career and has been a liability in high-leverage situations.
Williams owns a 5.10 ERA with 55 strikeouts, 17 walks and four home runs surrendered across 46 appearances. He has 17 saves in 20 save opportunities, but has surrendered at least one run in each of his last three outings.
One glaring stat from Williams's numbers this year pops out as particularly worrisome, however. During his time with the Brewers, Williams surrendered a total of 48 earned runs across six seasons and 235 2/3 innings. He let up just 26 runs over his last three years with the organization, as he emerged as one of baseball's best relievers. In his first 42 1/3 innings with the Yankees, however, Williams has already been tagged for 24 earned runs.
Per Codify Baseball, Williams surrendered 24 earned runs in his final 145 appearances for Milwaukee, and has now allowed 24 earned runs in his first 46 appearances for New York.
Despite his struggles, Aaron Boone has continued to deploy him as the Yankees' primary closer, and said he intends to continue to do so despite trading for David Bednar and Camilo Doval. Whether that stance changes if Williams' woes continue remains to be seen.
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as One Brutal Devin Williams Stat Perfectly Sums Up Yankees Closer's Struggles.