The New York Yankees have been a hard team to figure out this season. New York has all the pieces to win the World Series, but as of right now, it is holding on to the top Wild Card playoff spot.
New york knew they needed to upgrade the back end of their bullpen, and they did by adding three pitchers: Camilo Doval, David Bednar, and Jake Bird.
Major League Baseball postseason games are won with great bullpens, and that's why the Yankees went all out for relievers.
The Yankees took the same approach this offseason when they traded for Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams. The 30-year-old closer was supposed to fix the back end of the Yankees bullpen, but has done the exact opposite.
Williams only has 17 saves in 45 games and a 5.01 ERA, which is the highest in his career. Williams' struggles were the reason why the Yankees had to trade for three relief pitchers at the deadline.
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With Williams on the final year of $8.6 million contract, it doesn't seem like he will be back in New York next season, and Adam Weinrib from Fansided thinks the trade deadline impacted Williams' Yankees future.
"Nobody wants to admit it because of how much fun his turnaround was in May/June, but Williams is slipping dangerously close to another downward slope of his roller coaster ride, if he isn't already on one. After putting up an 0.93 ERA in June, Williams has posted a 5.73 mark in 11 July outings, allowing at least one earned run in four of his last six appearances," Weinrib wrote. "Relievers are inherently volatile, and while there's been plenty of good with Williams in 2025 (54 Ks in 41 1/3 innings pitched, surprisingly low 1.137 WHIP), the Yankees' most surprising trade of last offseason already felt like a one-year engagement before the trade deadline. Now, with two high-profile options with closer experience arriving in Bednar (controlled through 2026) and Doval (through 2027), the Yankees are highly unlikely to even go through a song-and-dance with Williams this offseason, though they might risk tying the qualifying offer to him in order to receive another draft pick when he departs. Would he really take a one-year, $20+ million deal in a city in which he hasn't been entirely comfortable when a three- or four-year offer surely awaits? QO or no, Williams won't be coming back next year, and the Yankees prepared for his departure on Thursday."
Williams has a chance to figure things out in the next two months and get a nice payday from another team, but his days with the Yankees are coming to an end.
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