Yankees' Devin Williams Says It's Not a 'Shock' to Be Removed from Closer's Role

New York Yankees relief pitcher Devin Williams will no longer be closing games for the team, and he is not surprised by the decision.

“With the way things have gone recently, it’s not really a shock to me,” Williams said after the Yankees Sunday win over the Toronto Blue Jays, per The Athletic's Brendan Kuty. “Being the closer is a position you have to earn, and you have to keep earning it to continue to be in that role. Lately, I haven’t been doing that.”

The change came after Williams struggled to close Friday night’s 4-2 loss against the Blue Jays. Over 10 appearances this season, he is 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA and four saves.

Williams did not play in either of the Yankees' doubleheader games against the Blue Jays on Sunday, with New York winning the two games by the scores of 11-2 and 5-1.

Right-hander Luke Weaver is expected to take his place for the Yankees after the 31-year-old pitched a scoreless ninth inning during Sunday's second win.

“It’s disappointing,” Williams said in regard to losing the closer role, per Kuty. “You work for years to get to that point. To have that taken away from you, it’s not a fun feeling. Can’t say it’s undeserved.”

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he spoke with Williams about the decision ahead of the doubleheader on Sunday.

“I thought we had a really good conversation yesterday about it. He’s ready to do whatever," Boone said, per Kuty. “For right now, I’m going to take him out of that role.”

Despite Boone's decision to remove the 30-year-old pitcher from the role, he said that Williams has “still got everything to be great.”

“This is a guy who’s in the prime of his career,” Boone said, per Kuty. “He’s just going through it, and it happens. As I tell you guys and I tell our players all the time, you make a career at this long enough and you’re going to face some challenging moments, you’re going to face some adversity along the way. The good news for Devin is that he’s got everything to get through this and come out better on the other side.”

The Yankees lead the American League East with a 17-11 record and head on the road to face the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.