Aaron Boone stated that he still thought of Devin Williams as his closer and that he wasn’t necessary considering using a committee for the position just minutes after the Yankees overhauled their bullpen during the trade deadline.
Boone could have followed the committee way because the Yankees signed Camilo Doval and David Bednar, two seasoned closers. Since Williams is a free agent this winter, both are within the team’s control for the upcoming season and may wind up in the position.
Following dismal club debuts in Miami on Friday, Doval and Bednar had great comeback outings on Monday in Texas, recording scoreless frames in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. But in the eighth, Joc Pederson hit a solo home run that tied the game for Williams. The Rangers, who are vying with the Yankees for a Wild Card position, won 8-5 in 10 innings thanks to the backbreaking bomb.
The Yankees subsequently failed to score in the tenth inning before purposefully walking Wyatt Langford and replacing Josh Jung with two men. Jung hit Jake Bird, another new addition to the Yankees bullpen, with a walk-off homer in response.
The Yankees were put in that position by Williams, who blew his third save of the season, but Bird delivered the final blow.
After being acquired from the Brewers during the summer, the two-time National League Reliever of the Year has had a lot of run-ins in his first season with the Bombers.
Williams had so much trouble right away that, by the end of April, he was relieved of his closer duties. After Luke Weaver was placed on the injured list in early June, he took back the role.
With a 1.45 ERA from May 7 through the end of June, Williams was absolutely wicked. But since July started, he has already made 12 appearances and given up at least one earned run in six of them.
For the first time in his career, the right-hander gave up an earned run in three consecutive games after Pederson’s home shot.
Paul Goldschmidt opened the game with his first home run since June 19 before Williams’ errors. Cody Bellinger and Amed Rosario each contributed an RBI single in the second.
Max Fried tied the game with RBI knocks from Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran, former pinstriped prospects who were traded for Joey Gallo in 2021, but the Rangers erased the Yankees’ three-run lead in the bottom of the second.
The lefty then attempted a pickoff at second base, but Fried shot himself in the foot after a Sam Haggerty single loaded the bases with one out. He gave up a run rather than stealing one, when the throw slipped into center field and was scored by Jonah Heim.
Fried was able to finish five frames in spite of the tough inning. Before handing the game over to the Yankees’ redesigned bullpen, he had eight hits, four earned runs, three walks, seven strikeouts, and 105 pitches.
In the fourth inning, Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer off a frozen rope to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. This season, he has now hit ten home runs. After two tennis elbow injuries postponed the start of the 35-year-old’s 16th major league season, all of them have occurred in his previous 24 games.
However, Stanton’s missile was insufficient to give the Yankees the victory.
The Yankees are now 60-53 on the season and have lost four straight after suffering a series-opening defeat. The Mariners hold the third wild card berth in the American League, while the third-place team holds the second spot. In contrast, the Rangers are 1.5 games away from the third wild card position.
Mark Leiter Jr. and Aaron Judge should be released from the disabled list on Tuesday, which is good news for the Yankees, who haven’t responded well to an aggressive trade deadline.
