New York Yankees Should Not Panic After Poor Start from Superstar Reliever

The New York Yankees shouldn't panic after a poor start to the season for their star reliever.

May 2, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) delivers a pitch during the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

It has been a fantastic start to the season for the New York Yankees, but despite a lot of success, there has been an area of concern.

Coming into the year, there was a lot of cause for concern for the Yankees. The team was hit hard by injuries in during spring training and the roster saw a lot of turnover after winning the American League pennant.

Despite these issues, the team has performed extremely well overall and are in first place in the AL East once again.

The Yankees have been led by one of the best offenses in the league led by Aaron Judge. As one of the best hitters in baseball, Judge is capable of carrying an offense and he is doing just that.

In the rotation, while there are concerns with the back end, Max Fried has delivered as the new ace of the staff with Gerrit Cole out for the rest of the campaign.

Unfortunately, while there are a lot of positives for the team, there has been a weakness in a key area.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about the Yankees biggest weakness being the performance of Devin Willliams so far this season and why they should be patient with him.

“The Yankees aren't exercising patience, already bumping him from the closer role. But he'll probably get his mojo and his job back by the All-Star Break,” he wrote.

The trade for Williams this winter was one of the most significant moves that New York made to strengthen the team after losing Juan Soto.

With the Milwaukee Brewers, the All-Star closer was one of the best in the game. In 2024, he totaled a 1.25 ERA, which was his third straight year with an ERA under 2.00.

Unfortunately for Williams and the Yankees, the star closer has got off to a bad start in 2025. So far this campaign, he has totaled an 8.18 ERA and has at least temporarily lost the closer job to Luke Weaver.

However, even though he might have been removed from the closer spot early on, there is reason to believe based on his success in the past that he will turn it around.

The reset for the former All-Star will hopefully be what he needs to regain his confidence and once again be a shutdown player in the ninth inning.

If the Yankees can get Williams and Weaver firing on all cylinders come October, this could be one of the best one-two punches to close out a game in baseball.

Even though it was a bad month, New York shouldn’t quite hit the panic button on Williams.