There was a moment this season when New York Yankees fans held their breath — not in anticipation, but in sheer disbelief.
The Devin Williams they thought they were getting, the one with a career ERA under 2.00 and a changeup from another dimension, had seemingly vanished overnight.
When the Yankees traded fan-favorite Nestor Cortes and top prospect Caleb Durbin to land Williams, it was a gamble fueled by championship dreams.
They weren’t just acquiring a closer — they were getting the artist behind the ‘airbender’, a pitch so elusive it felt like it broke the laws of physics.
Instead, they watched him implode.
A brutal start had Yankees fans questioning everything
By April 25, when Williams allowed three earned runs without recording a single out, his ERA had ballooned to an incomprehensible 11.25.
Walks were piling up, strikeouts were scarce, and his fastball control seemed to vanish into thin air.
Yankee Stadium, known for its passion and pressure, isn’t a place for slow starts. Fans were already uneasy about giving up Cortes and Durbin, and now their new closer was unraveling.
Watching Williams early on was like seeing a virtuoso pianist forget the keys. The mechanics were there, the history was there — but the rhythm was missing.
Now the music is back — and it’s menacing
One month later, the difference is startling. Since that nightmare outing, Williams has been a man possessed. His ERA in that span sits at 2.45, backed by a dominant 1.45 FIP and 18 strikeouts in just 11 innings.
That’s not just a bounce back — that’s a statement.
More importantly, he’s found his fastball again. Once erratic and unpredictable, it now sets the table perfectly for his devastating changeup. Hitters know it’s coming — and still can’t do anything with it.
It’s like watching a boxer rediscover his jab after weeks of swinging wild. The fundamentals are back, and with them, the fear.
Devin Williams is finally moving the needle in the Bronx
Williams’ confidence has returned — and so has the Yankees’ trust in him. With 11 scoreless outings in his last 12 games, he’s finally becoming the reliable stopper the team desperately needed.
That trust means everything in a bullpen role. When your job is to get high-leverage outs, there’s no room for doubt.
Every team needs a player who can wear the weight of expectation like armor. For the Yankees, that player might finally be Devin Williams.
Why this turnaround matters more than the numbers
It’s tempting to look at stats and stop there. A 6.16 ERA still looks ugly. But dig deeper, and you’ll find a pitcher shedding the skin of an early-season slump and stepping fully into his potential.
His Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) sits at 2.56 — a sign that the results are catching up to the performance. He’s not just pitching better; he’s pitching like the elite reliever the Yankees thought they acquired.
Baseball is funny like that. Sometimes the storm hits before the sunshine, and sometimes it takes a disaster to find greatness again.
As the season unfolds, Devin Williams is proving that one bad month doesn’t define a season — especially not in the Bronx.
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