The New York Yankees took a massive gamble when they traded fan favorite Nestor Cortes and rising infield prospect Caleb Durbin to the Milwaukee Brewers for Devin Williams before the start of the 2025 season. It wasn’t just a roster shuffle — it was a statement. New York was betting that Williams, the two-time All-Star with the cartoonish “Airbender” changeup, would be the piece to stabilize the back end of their bullpen.

At the time, it felt like a swing-for-the-fences move. Williams had a career ERA under 2.00, the kind of number that makes even the most hardened hitters shake their heads. But in baseball, reputation doesn’t always travel, and in Williams’ first few months wearing pinstripes, he looked nothing like the elite closer who baffled the league for years.

A Rocky Start in Pinstripes

Instead of dominance, Williams has given the Yankees turbulence. His ERA so far is 5.03, placing him among the worst relievers in baseball with a comparable workload. The “Airbender” didn’t always bite, his fastball has caught too much of the plate on occasion, and the Bronx faithful has been left wondering if the front office made a mistake.

Every early-season appearance seemed to come with a wince. Would the Williams who closed out games in Milwaukee ever appear in New York? Or had the Yankees shipped out valuable assets for a name that no longer carried its weight?

Signs of a Turnaround

Just when patience was running thin, Williams began to flip the narrative. Over his last six outings, the right-hander has been nearly untouchable. He hasn’t allowed a run in those innings, holding opposing hitters to just three hits while piling up 10 strikeouts and issuing only one walk.

Stretch the lens a little wider, and the trend looks even more convincing. In his last 15 games, Williams owns a 3.21 ERA with 29 strikeouts in just 14 innings. That’s more than two strikeouts per inning, vintage Williams territory.

The star righty has allowed runs in just two of his last 16 appearances.

There are still blemishes — a blow-up here, a rough inning there — but the consistency is finally tilting in his favor. Earlier in the season, his bad days outnumbered the good. Now, it’s the other way around.

What’s Changed for Williams

The difference comes down to command and confidence. Williams is spotting his fastball again, setting up hitters instead of simply reacting. His trademark changeup is once again generating the kind of ugly swings that earned it its nickname.

It’s as if Williams has rediscovered his rhythm, the same way a hitter sometimes needs one perfect swing to break out of a slump. For months, he looked like a pitcher trying to force magic. Now, he looks like a pitcher who knows he has it.

For the Yankees, it feels like finally plugging the leak in a shaky dam. One reliable reliever can’t fix an entire bullpen, but when that reliever is firing on all cylinders, it changes the late-game equation dramatically.

Looking Ahead

Whether this version of Devin Williams is here to stay is still uncertain. His contract status complicates matters — he’ll hit free agency after the 2025 season, and a long-term reunion seems unlikely given the rocky start to his Yankee tenure.

But right now, that’s tomorrow’s problem. Today, Williams is pitching like the closer New York thought they were getting when they made the bold move to acquire him. And in a season where bullpen stability has been elusive, the Yankees will take every sharp outing they can get.

After months of frustration, Devin Williams is finally giving Yankee Stadium a glimpse of the pitcher who once owned Milwaukee — and maybe, just maybe, the gamble wasn’t in vain after all.