The New York Yankees have lost closer Luke Weaver for several weeks due to a hamstring injury, and it sounds like Devin Williams will now be getting his old job back.
Weaver is expected to miss more than a month after he suffered a hamstring injury during the Yankees’ series against the Los Angeles Dodgers over the weekend. The right-hander has been outstanding this season with a 1.05 ERA and 8 saves in 24 appearances.
Prior to Tuesday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians, Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that Williams will return to the closer’s role with Weaver sidelined.
Aaron Boone confirms that Devin Williams will do most of the closing while Luke Weaver is out
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 3, 2025
He also added that Fernando Cruz is retuning tonight pic.twitter.com/VQUxllDBpg
Boone held true to his word, as Williams recorded the save in a 3-2 win over Cleveland. The 30-year-old did give up a pair of hits and a run, but Boone said he has “a ton” of confidence in sticking with Williams as his closer.
“He’s been throwing the ball really well really for the better part of a month. I don’t expect that to change now with the role changing a little bit,” Boone told reporters. “Again, this is a guy that the role he was in today is what he knows. I think he’s got a lot of confidence going. Even though they got a run off of him tonight, I thought his confidence and his conviction on his pitches held throughout the outing.”
Aaron Boone says he has "a ton" of confidence in Devin Williams to close
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 4, 2025
"The role he's in tonight is what he knows" pic.twitter.com/bdZqcUT4rr
Williams previously lost his job to Weaver
The Yankees made a huge splash during the offseason when they acquired Williams in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers. An All-Star in 2022 and 2023, Williams entered the season as New York’s closer. He quickly lost his job, however.
Williams was demoted at the end of April after posting an 11.25 ERA across his first 10 appearances with the Yankees. He has since managed to straighten some things out, but his ERA on the season remains an ugly 6.35.
Now that Weaver is unavailable, Williams will have another chance to prove the Yankees were right to put their confidence in him.
