Devin Williams open to re-signing with the Yankees after adjusting to New York in rocky first season

NEW YORK (AP) — After finishing a rocky first season in pinstripes with four scoreless postseason outings, Devin Williams is open to re-signing with the New York Yankees.

“At first it was a challenge, but I’ve grown to love being here,” the reliever said after the Yankees were eliminated with a 5-2 loss to Toronto in Game 4 of their AL Division Series. “I love this city. I love taking the train to the field every day. Yeah, I really enjoyed my experience here.”

A two-time All-Star acquired from Milwaukee in December, Williams had a career-worst 4.79 ERA and 18 saves in 22 chances, losing the closer's job, regaining it and losing it again. In his final appearance Wednesday night, he allowed a pair of inherited runners to score when Nathan Lukes singled in the seventh inning.

“Proud of him for going through certainly some, I'm sure, very tough moments professionally this year,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “That’s part of being a pro, though. That’s part of being great at this is handling those things and he’s done that."

A 31-year-old right-hander who made $8.6 million, Williams throws a fastball averaging 94 mph and a changeup known as the “Airbender.” After watching Williams and then Luke Weaver struggle, the Yankees obtained David Bednar from Pittsburgh at the July 31 trade deadline and installed him as their closer.

Bednar is under club control for next season, and Williams said having the chance to close will factor into his signing decision.

“I feel like it depends on the scenario,” he said. “But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

Williams started hearing boos just 18 pitches into his Yankees career, making the Division Series cheers especially satisfying.

“It’s nice to feel appreciated sometimes. Yeah, it was definitely a lot better than what I’ve heard for much of the year,” he said.

Control issues hurt him this season, when batters had a .391 average in at-bats after he fell behind 2-0 in the count and .455 after he went to 3-1.

For much of the season, Boone kept pointing out that advanced analytics showed Williams was pitching better than his statistics indicated. Williams' opponents' expected batting average of .198 ranked 17th among pitchers facing at least 100 hitters.

“That’s baseball sometimes," Williams said. "You hope that the math starts math-ing and stuff starts to go your way on balls that are typically outs. Instead of finding holes, they’re finding gloves."

His 2024 season ended in the NL Wild Card Series finale when he allowed a go-ahead, three-run homer to Mets slugger Pete Alonso, and Williams struggled from the outset in 2025. He loaded the bases with no outs against his former team on opening day, allowed a sacrifice fly and then struck out Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich to preserve a 4-2 win over the Brewers.

Demanding fans were livid.

Williams lost the closer's job by late April after allowing a go-ahead, two-run double to the Blue Jays' Alejandro Kirk in a 4-2 loss that left him 0-2 with an 11.25 ERA.

“I played in the smallest market in the league, to the biggest market in the league. I drove to the field every day ... it took me 10 minutes to get there in Milwaukee,” he said. “There’s just a lot of life stuff that it’s an adjustment. ... I got here a day before the season started and then had to figure out my routine kind of on the fly.”

Weaver took over as closer until straining a hamstring on May 31. Williams was thrust back into the finishing job and had converted 13 straight save chances before giving up a go-ahead, two-run homer to Tampa Bay's Josh Lowe on July 30 in a game New York rebounded to win in 11 innings.

Five days later, Williams allowed Joc Pederson’s tying homer in the ninth at Texas in a game the Yankees lost in 10 innings.

After Bednar arrived, Williams had just one more save over the final two months of the season and was handed his fourth blown save on Aug. 30 when Chase Meidroth hit a tying single in the seventh before the Yankees beat the Chicago White Sox in 11 innings.

“My mindset’s never changed throughout this whole year,” Williams said. “I just kept showing up and now I’m getting the results I want right now.”

Back when Williams was struggling, Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton urged him to “keep pushing.”

“It’s cool to see him get some appreciation for how hard he’s worked all year,” Stanton said.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams delivers against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning of Game 3 of baseball's American League Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams delivers against the Toronto Blue Jays during the seventh inning of Game 3 of baseball's American League Division Series, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams prepares for the next batter during the seventh inning of Game 3 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Yankees pitcher Devin Williams reacts after giving up a two-run RBI single to Toronto Blue Jays' Nathan Lukes during the seventh inning of Game 4 of baseball's American League Division Series, Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. launched a “powerful and deadly" strike against Islamic State forces in Nigeria, after spending weeks accusing the West African country's government of failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.

In a Christmas evening post on his social media site, Trump did not provide details or mention the extent of the damage caused by the strikes. But U.S. Africa Command said on X that strikes had been conducted “at the request of Nigerian authorities in Soboto State” and had killed "multiple ISIS terrorists.”

“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump wrote.

A Defense Department official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss details not made public, said the U.S. worked with Nigeria to carry out the strikes, and that they'd been approved by that country's government.

Nigeria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the cooperation included exchange of intelligence and strategic coordination in ways “consistent with international law, mutual respect for sovereignty and shared commitments to regional and global security."

“Terrorist violence in any form, whether directed at Christians, Muslims or other communities, remains an affront to Nigeria's values and to international peace and security," the ministry said in a statement.

Nigeria’s government has previously said in response to Trump’s criticisms that people of many faiths, not just Christians, have suffered attacks at the hands of extremists groups.

Trump ordered the Pentagon last month to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria to try and curb Christian persecution. The State Department recently announced it would restrict visas for Nigerians and their family members involved in mass killings and violence against Christians there.

And the U.S. recently designated Nigeria a “country of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act.

“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was,” Trump wrote Thursday night. He said that U.S. defense officials had “executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing" and added that “our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper.”

In its X post, the U.S. Africa Command wrote that “lethal strikes against ISIS demonstrate the strength of our military and our commitment to eliminating terrorist threats against Americans at home and abroad.”

Nigeria’s population of 220 million is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.

But attacks in Nigeria often have varying motives. There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.

The U.S. security footprint has diminished in Africa, where military partnerships have either been scaled down or canceled. U.S. forces likely would have to be drawn from other parts of the world for any larger-scale military intervention in Nigeria.

Trump has nonetheless kept up the pressure as Nigeria faced a series of attacks on schools and churches in violence that experts and residents say targets both Christians and Muslims.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted Thursday night on X: “The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end.”

Hegseth said that U.S. military forces are “always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas” and added, “More to come…Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation” before signing off, “Merry Christmas!”

Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed from Washington.

President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)