"Two things going on at the same time": Adam Ottavino’s brutally honest take on Devin Williams’ performance woes

The 2025 campaign has proven more challenging for Devin Williams, the high-profile bullpen acquisition of the Yankees. An outing on May 5 against the Padres on the road exemplified this. Coming into the eighth inning with a 3-0 advantage, Williams could muster two strikeouts against two walks and the hit that loaded the bases. After that, Luke Weaver gave up a two-run double to Manny Machado and a two-run single to Xander Bogaerts, handing over a 4-3 loss to the Yankees.Former Yankee pitcher Adam Ottavino weighed in with a candid review of Williams.On "Baseball Night in New York," Ottavino said, "It looks like there are two things going on at the same time." He went on to explain that Williams appeared to have fought his mechanical problem or a confidence problem, which can be so bad for a closer.Ottavino continues to explain the “two things” during his appearance: “Number one, he’s getting unlucky. His batting average on balls in play is too high. It’s unsustainable. And number two, it’s the worst he’s ever pitched in his career.” He concluded by saying that while the situation looks bad now, Williams has the talent and tools to turn things around, but the clock is ticking.Despite the bad situation, Williams was supported by a few teammates. Carlos Rodon, the starting pitcher who managed to keep opponents scoreless for 6.2 innings during the same game, really felt for Williams and his current mental situation. "He's passing through it; I have gone through it," said Rodón postgame."I know what that feels like. It's not easy. But we acquired him for a reason. He's such a great pitcher." Rodón felt that "Confidence is important: He just needs to build that confidence, and he needs to know what kind of pitcher he is. He's so good. He's tremendous. He has an unbelievable changeup."Those struggles by Williams have been at the centre of Yankee bullpen misfortunes. In the eighth or later inning this season, the Yankees have somehow lost five games after having taken the lead, the most in all of MLB. Williams sports a 10.03 ERA in 14 games, which is exactly equal to the total number of earned runs he allowed during the last two seasons while he was with the Brewers.Manager Aaron Boone remains hopeful that Williams will still bounce back. Boone acknowledged the improvement in Williams' performance during his recent outings and that Williams just needs to get back to working on both his mechanics and mental approach to regain his form. With time going forward, the Yankees and Williams will be looking to put these matters behind them and work on getting their bullpen back on a competitive level.Also Read: “I definitely can relate to him”- Yankees pitching star Carlos Rodon relates to Devin Williams’ struggles