Browsing: Devin

Relief pitcher Devin Williams expressed interest in potentially re-signing with the New York Yankees following the team’s playoff elimination at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 4 of the American League Division Series on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters after the Yanks’ season-ending, 5-2 defeat, Williams said he is “definitely open” to signing a deal that would keep him in New York:

Williams added that he has enjoyed his time with the Yankees despite the challenges he faced during the 2025 season, saying, “At first, it was a challenge, but I’ve grown to love being here. I love the city. … I’ve really enjoyed my experience here.”

Blue Jays vs. Yankees (10/08/2025)

New York acquired Williams in an offseason trade that sent infielder Caleb Durbin and pitcher Nestor Cortes to the Milwaukee Brewers.

At the time, it felt like a small price to pay for a pitcher who had been among the most dominant closers in baseball the previous few seasons.

Over his six MLB seasons in Milwaukee before his arrival in New York, Williams posted a 27-10 record with 68 saves, a 1.83 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP and 375 strikeouts over 235.2 innings.

It seemed like a slam dunk pickup for the Yanks, adding a two-time All-Star, two-time Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year and the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year to the bullpen.

However, Williams struggled out of the gate in New York and never fully recovered. He struggled through what was the worst statistical season of his career by far, going 4-6 with 18 saves, a 4.79 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and 90 strikeouts over 62 innings.

Williams began the season as the Yankees’ closer, but he allowed runs in two of his first four outings and gave up three earned runs in three separate appearances in April alone.

That led to Williams being demoted from the closer role, and although he took it back momentarily, the job ended up going to David Bednar after the Yankees acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.

The totality of the season was not great for Williams, but he did not surrender a run in any of his final nine regular-season appearances, and from Aug. 10 to Sept. 28, he had a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings.

Williams was also effective in four playoff outings, allowing three hits, two walks and no earned runs, while striking out four.

It is fair to wonder if Williams did enough to interest the Yankees in retaining him, although that may largely depend on his asking price.

Williams, Luke Weaver, Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn are all set to hit free agency, while the Yankees have club options on Tim Hill and Jonathan Loaisiga.

Bednar, Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz and Mark Leiter Jr. are the top relievers still under contract for next season, potentially opening the door for the Yanks to have a much-needed overhaul of their bullpen.

Whether that includes Williams remains to be seen, but given how he ended the 2025 season, he could be a prime bounce-back candidate in 2026.

Source link

The 2025-26 NBA season is here! Over the next few weeks, we’re examining the biggest questions, best- and worst-case scenarios, and win projections for all 30 franchises — from the still-rebuilding teams to the true title contenders.

2024-25 finish

• Record: 36-46 (11th in the West, missed playoffs)

Offseason moves

• Additions: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Jordan Goodwin, Jared Butler, Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, Koby Brea, Isaiah Livers, CJ Huntley, general manager Brian Gregory and head coach Jordan Ott

• Subtractions: Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal, Tyus Jones, Mason Plumlee, Vasilije Micić, Cody Martin, Monte Morris, TyTy Washington Jr., Damion Lee, Bol Bol, Jalen Bridges, general manager James Jones and head coach Mike Budenholzer

Devin Booker signed a max extension with the Suns this summer. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration)

The Big Question: Can the Suns rebuild a respectable team on the fly?

OK, so … that didnâ€t work.

Advertisement

Donâ€t believe me? … Wait, really? Seems kind of odd that youâ€d dispute this, considering the Suns finished 10 games under .500, missed the playoffs for the first time since the bubble, fired their head coach (again), traded away the future Hall of Famer theyâ€d estranged by surreptitiously trying to move him at the 2025 trade deadline, and used the stretch provision to eat nearly $100 million worth of the former All-Star that theyâ€d mortgaged what remained of their future to get.

OK, well, if you donâ€t believe me, just ask the guy who signed off on it all.

[Yahoo Sports TV is here! Watch live shows and highlights 24/7]

“After last season, we said, ‘That old stuff that we did? It didnâ€t work,’†Suns owner Matt Ishbia told reporters at Phoenixâ€s media day session.

Advertisement

See? (One hopes that “trade for older stars†isnâ€t the only “old stuff†that the Suns plan to leave in the past.)

Out with the old, in with the new, in an offseason overhaul that has turned the Suns from the third-oldest roster in the NBA last season to whatâ€s projected to be a middle-of-the-pack group this season. The idea: Get younger, bigger, more athletic; develop more camaraderie and esprit de corps; form a new organizational ethos, developing an identity predicated on toughness, physicality and defense — a team, frankly, that sounds a lot like the one to whom they just traded Kevin Durant — while installing a more aggressive defense and demanding a more competitive, more enjoyable-to-watch brand of ball than what Phoenix mustered during what Devin Booker recently called the two toughest years of his career. (Hereâ€s where we remind you that the Suns didnâ€t win more than 24 games in his first four pro seasons.)

Good thing, then, that one of the key pieces coming back to the Valley in the KD deal was Dillon Brooks — a perennial habitual line-stepper and tone-setting, vibe-shifting perimeter stopper who played an integral role in Houstonâ€s transformation from one of the NBAâ€s most permissive defenses into one that finished seventh and fourth in defensive efficiency after his arrival.

Advertisement

The 29-year-old was one of just three players in the NBA last season to rank in the 95th percentile or higher in average matchup difficulty, individual perimeter defense and defensive positional versatility, according to The BBall Indexâ€s metrics, alongside Jeremy Sochan and Dorian Finney-Smith. He did so while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range on 6.3 attempts in 31.8 minutes per game across 75 starts — all career highs.

The hope: Veterans Brooks, Royce Oâ€Neale and EuroLeague standout Nigel Hayes-Davis take on top opposing options and wreak havoc in the gaps; young wings like second-year forward Ryan Dunn and rookie Rasheer Fleming follow suit, generating deflections, steals and blocks; Booker and Jalen Green just hold their own at the point of attack; an intriguing but unproven center room led by ex-Hornets Mark Williams and Nick Richards, backed by rising sophomore Oso Ighodaro and 7-foot-2 No. 10 overall pick Khaman Maluach, provides more rim protection than the Suns have seen in a minute.

[Get more Suns news: Phoenix team feed]

Get all that to work out, and maybe Phoenix has the positional size, quickness, athleticism and tenacity to climb out of the bottom 10 and back toward league-average defensive efficiency. Get that, and find a path toward more efficient offense in no-traditional-point-guard lineups helmed by the newly re-extended Booker and the inarguably explosive Green than they did when Booker, Durant and Beal failed to mesh, and maybe the Suns wonâ€t wander through the desert in their search for respectability for quite as long as most predict.

Advertisement

Would that kind of change result in a dramatic shift in the win column? Maybe not right away. But this yearâ€s Suns arenâ€t going to be measured in wins and losses; theyâ€re going to be measured in success.

Donâ€t believe me? Tell â€em, Mat:

See? (Câ€mon, you know what he means.)

Best-case scenario

Booker turns the page on the failed experiments of the last two seasons and turns in the kind of full-tilt scoring and playmaking season that us “Point Book†heads have been clamoring for, vying for the league lead in scoring while putting up career-best assist numbers and vaulting back into the conversation for an All-NBA spot. Green finds shot-selection and rim-pressure religion, blossoming into an increasingly efficient and exciting second banana for a better-than-expected offense. Williams finally stays healthy, turning those flashes he showed in Charlotte into consistent two-way impact. The Suns grind their way to play-in contention; this time, that doesnâ€t feel like a disappointment.

Advertisement

If everything falls apart

The vibe shift is short-lived. New coach Jordan Ott looks overmatched, the defense doesnâ€t come together, and Booker and Green mesh about as well as Book/KD/Beal did — which is to say, very badly. Add it all up, and the Suns, elevated levels of scrappiness aside, look like one of the worst teams in the West. And with their 2026 first-rounder leveraged to all hell, no tradable firsts through 2032 and $23 million worth of waived-and-stretched salary on their books for the next half-decade, they canâ€t even enjoy the fruits of the badness; the long walk through the desert is just starting.

2025-26 schedule

• Season opener: Oct. 22 vs. Sacramento

Even in a roundly disappointing season, the Suns had the point differential of a 34-win team with Booker on the court, according to Cleaning the Glass. If the star guard — who last season played more than 70 games for the first time since 2017 — stays healthy, Phoenix would seem to stand a good chance of flirting with a win total closer to the mid-to-high 30s.

More season previews

East: Atlanta Hawks • Boston Celtics • Brooklyn Nets • Charlotte Hornets • Chicago Bulls • Cleveland Cavaliers • Detroit Pistons • Indiana Pacers • Miami Heat • Milwaukee Bucks • New York Knicks • Orlando Magic • Philadelphia 76ers • Toronto Raptors • Washington Wizards

Advertisement

West: Dallas Mavericks • Denver Nuggets • Golden State Warriors • Houston Rockets • Los Angeles Clippers • Los Angeles Lakers • Memphis Grizzlies • Minnesota Timberwolves • New Orleans Pelicans • Oklahoma City Thunder • Phoenix Suns • Portland Trail Blazers • Sacramento Kings • San Antonio Spurs • Utah Jazz

Source link

The Yankees blew a three-run lead and had a disastrous eighth inning, losing to the Houston Astros, 8-7, on Wednesday…