As the most tumultuous season of Devin Williams’ career came to a close, the impending free agent insisted he wouldn’t mind running it back with the Yankees.
“I’m definitely open to that,” Williams, who doesn’t stand to gain anything from publicly ruling out a potential suitor, said of returning to the pinstripers after they were eliminated by the Blue Jays in the ALDS. “It takes two parties for that. I would definitely be open to that.”
A reunion would be still surprising for a few reasons, the first being that the Yankees have typically avoided high salaries for free agent relievers. Williams still has a nice payday coming his way, even after the two-time National League Reliever of the Year, who previously spent his entire career with the Brewers before being traded last winter, recorded a career-high 4.79 ERA over 67 games in 2025.
The year also saw the 30-year-old removed as the Yankees’ closer twice, become a first-time father, and play a catalytic role in the team changing its decades-old facial hair policy. Early-season struggles – a norm throughout his seven-year career – had him hearing boos for the first time and conducting testy postgame scrums as he introduced himself to the Bronx faithful, and Williams repeatedly noted how much more press there is in New York than in Milwaukee.
Simply put, he had to deal with a lot of change in a short period of time. He acknowledged it was a “challenge” at first and that “it took me some time to adjust,” but Williams also said, “I’ve grown to love being here.”
“I love the city,” he continued. “I love taking the train to the field every day. I really enjoyed my experience.
“I [went from] the smallest market in the league to the biggest market in the league. I drove to the field every day; it took me 10 minutes to get there in Milwaukee. There’s just a lot of life stuff — it’s an adjustment. Having never played here — I got here a day before the season started, and then had to figure out my routine on the fly. Just things like that. Just this, right here, the number of people that want to talk to you. It was different, but I feel like I adjusted pretty well.”
As Williams became more acclimated with his surroundings, he did produce some dominant stretches.
He had a 1.45 ERA over 20 games from May 7 to June 27, as well as a 2.50 ERA over his last 19 regular season games and a 0.00 ERA over his last nine. Williams also didn’t allow an earned run over four postseason appearances.
“First and foremost, it starts with he’s great at this,” Aaron Boone said during the ALDS of Williams bouncing back. “Even when he struggled early or whatever, that didn’t go away. We weren’t trying to salvage a guy that had lost some things or lost a tick on his stuff. He’s been one of the best relievers in the sport for several years, and everything kind of suggested, stuff-wise, he was the same guy. So I think [it was] just a little bit getting more settled in his environment and kind of keeping his head down and making sure you’re sticking to routine and your work, and he persevered through it.
“I’m proud of him for going through, certainly, I’m sure, some very tough moments professionally this year.”
While Williams ended on a strong note, he lost the closer’s role for the second time after another round of midseason struggles and the Yankees’ acquisition of David Bednar before the trade deadline. Bednar brought stability to the role, tallying a 2.19 ERA and 10 saves for the Yankees before adding two saves and one earned run over six postseason innings.
He totaled a 2.30 ERA and 27 saves during the regular season between Pittsburgh and New York. With Bednar under team control for another season, he has earned the chance to be the Yankees’ closer going into the 2026 campaign.
That brings us back to Williams’ impending free agency, as he said an opportunity to close again will be a consideration for him this winter.
“It’s a factor,” he said when asked how important the job is to him. “I don’t know. I can’t really answer that right now. It depends on the scenario. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
A handful of other experienced closers could become free agents this offseason, including Edwin Díaz and Robert Suarez, who can opt out of their deals. There’s also Raisel Iglesias, Ryan Helsley, Kenley Jansen and Kyle Finnegan, among others.
Williams’ Yankee teammate, Luke Weaver, has ninth-inning experience and is headed for free agency, but his poor end to the season could dissuade teams from looking at him as a closer.
