The Devin Williams era as the closer of the New York Yankees is over — at least for now.
Aaron Boone announced on Sunday a change will be made at the back end of his bullpen.
“For right now, I’m going to take (Williams) out of that role,” Boone told reporters, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic.
Now, the Yankees are back to square one with who they will deploy in the ninth inning. However, one possibility could be Jhoan Durán from the Minnesota Twins.
Through 12 games so far this season, Durán holds a 1.59 ERA and two saves. However, his lack of saves is simply because the Twins aren’t a good team currently.
Over his last two seasons, Durán has posted 50 saves in a Minnesota uniform to showcase he can handle the pressure of the ninth inning.
While the Yankees aren’t writing off Williams completely, there’s certainly an argument he could benefit from a closer-by-committee situation. Durán would help fit this perfectly.
“We want to do everything we can to get him right because we know how good he is and how valuable he’s going to be for us,” Boone told reporters about Williams, according to The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner.
Boone may be correct, but he couldn’t continue to trot Williams out there when it matters the most despite his success in the same role in Milwaukee. Durán has shown he can handle the pressure and should be a target for the Yankees.
If the Yankees pursued Durán, it may require them to cough up a strong return. The 27-year-old closer has 2 1/2 years of team control remaining with the Twins.