The New York Yankees acquired Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason. He has not been great this year, and the Yankees could be in the market for a new closer soon.
The New York Yankees acquired Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason. He has not been great this year, and the Yankees could be in the market for a new closer soon.
Williams was a two-time All-Star and two-time Trevor Hoffman National League reliever of the Year with the Brewers. He has struggled with the Yankees, and while he has not been as bad recently as the start of the year, the Yankees may let him walk in free agency. ESPN's Tristan Cockcroft suggested the Yankees trade for his replacement now instead of trying to replace him in the winter.
Jhoan Durán could be on the move this week. He is under club control through 2027. He could bring stability to the closer role right now, or set up Williams this year, if the Yankees do not want to remove Williams from the closer role, and take over as closer next year.
"Minnesota sends the right-hander to New York in exchange for starting pitcher Carlos Lagrange and second baseman Roc Riggio," wrote Cockcroft. "The Yankees are sorely in need of bullpen help: Among their top five relievers from the Opening Day roster, two have underperformed expectations (Devin Williams and Luke Weaver) and two are sidelined with long-term injuries (Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr.). They rank 21st in bullpen ERA (4.25)."
Durán has a 2.01 ERA this season and 16 saves. He has electric stuff out of the bullpen, and would not be cheap given his success and club control. However, he may be worth the cost.
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"Acquiring Duran will be costly -- Lagrange has a similarly filthy fastball to Duran's and has been dominating in Double-A (2.35 ERA, 38.8 K% in his past six starts) -- but why not go big when you're a defending league champion in need? Duran, with his 100 mph heater, presents a nice contrast in styles to Williams' Airbender and Weaver's rising fastball," wrote Cockcroft. "Remember, a dominant bullpen was critical to the Yankees' playoff run last year -- theirs had a 2.67 postseason ERA."
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