The New York Yankees had one of the best and most underrated closers in the game in Luke Weaver. He took over in the second half and never looked back, dominating in the regular season and also in the playoffs. Eventually, the Yanks’ lack of depth in the bullpen affected them, but it certainly wasn’t because of their ninth-inning stopper.
The Yankees added another elite bullpen arm
They did realize, however, that the relief corps of a true contender has to be good and deep on alternatives. The Yankees kept running Weaver, Tommy Kahnle, and Clay Holmes almost exclusively and eventually paid the price.
To really compete against the elite, they needed more options who could miss bats consistently. It cost them Nestor Cortes and potential starting second baseman Caleb Durbin, but the Yankees recently acquired All-Star Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Yankees have a deadly 1-2 bullpen combo now
That WW at the back of the bullpen — Weaver/Williams — looks incredible. Analysts say that the former Brewer is an elite option, likely a top-two closer in the sport:
“‘When this guy is healthy… he’s one of the two best closers, in my book, along with Emmanuel Clase. This is a big deal for the Yankees.’ Matty V and Harold react to the Yankees acquiring Devin Williams,” MLB Network posted on X with the analysis of Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds.
Williams, due to his track record and status as a top reliever in MLB, is expected to take over closing duties for the Yankees at least for 2025. He will be a free agent after that and all bets are off, but he will be quite the asset for the 2025 Yanks.
His 2024 was abbreviated due to injury, but he had a 1.25 ERA in 21.2 frames, with 38 strikeouts. He didn’t have the best postseason, but we prefer to judge for his career 1.83 ERA rather than an appearance or two. He and Clase really do appear to be on a tier of their own when it comes to MLB relievers, and his presence will virtually force the Yankees to compete and try to go all the way next year.
