The Yankees have a knack for turning overlooked arms into dominant bullpen weapons, and Luke Weaver was their shining success story this season. As the trusted guardian of late-inning leads, he delivered time and again. But even the most talented players aren’t immune to setbacks, and now, with Weaver sidelined by injury, the Bronx Bombers face a critical challenge: finding a replacement who can fill his huge shoes. With Weaver placed on the Injured List this Tuesday, the spotlight quickly turned to a familiar name, a reliever the Yankees brought in last year precisely for that role.

Weaver had an incredible run this season as the closer, he acted as the Yankees’ safety net. Unfortunately, just as he warmed up for the series finale against the Dodgers, he strained his hamstring, and the Yankees placed him on the 15-day IL this Tuesday. Now, he is only expected to return after 4-6 weeks, which means the Bronx Bombers had to look for another plan, and Devin Williams seemed like the perfect option. He was called in to replace Weaver and closed against the Guardians on Tuesday. If analyses are correct, Weaver might be looking at a threat.

On his show Locked On Yankees, Brian McKeone explained that the Yankees may have big plans for Williams. “The Yankees acquired Devin Williams to be their closer of the future. They definitely intend on giving him a long-term deal at the end of this season and want to keep him in the Bronx for as long as humanly possible. So they want him to succeed, and they want him to play well,” said McKeone. Well, He’s not wrong about that.

When the Yankees signed Williams, he was one of the top closers in the league, and Weaver looked at a return to being the eighth-inning guy. Considering how good Williams was, that only seemed like the right plan. Williams had finished his 2024 season with the Milwaukee Brewers with a stellar 1.4 ERA. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep up to expectations this season and stumbled hard in his first New York month. On the other hand, Weaver was able to slide right in and do that role perfectly. “There was no justification for putting Williams in over Luke Weaver with how good Weaver looked—but now, Luke Weaver’s hurt. He can’t pitch. This is Devin Williams’ opportunity,” McKeone added.

Weaver had been the steadiest hand in the Yankees’ bullpen for the past two months. But, what about Williams? Over 26 games this season, he holds a troubling 6.5 ERA. Those shaky records clearly explain the anxiety in the stands when he stepped in for Weaver against the Guardians. In a nail-biting ninth inning, he barely escaped the threat and managed to secure a narrow 3-2 win. Even though he has been pitching better lately, the Yankees have other options that could help avoid last-minute tensions, but they lost the best of them to injury. All of this could’ve been prevented if the team had avoided a few questionable decisions. But when it came to Weaver, what Aaron Boone did was just that, and it didn’t go unnoticed.

Aaron Boone under fire for the Luke Weaver decision

Remember the second game of last week’s Yankees-Dodgers series? It’s hard to forget if you’re a Yankees fan. How can they get over an 18-2 loss that easily? Such a loss stings deeply. It was a tough night, and the Dodgers had already buried the Yankees under a wave of embarrassment, leaving them with no real chance to turn the game around. Yet, Aaron Boone decided to call upon Weaver to close out the night. And how did that end? Wasted arm strength. The move drew immediate criticism.

McKeone questioned the skipper’s decision on his show, “If you need him to get work, put him in a simulated game the next day. Why is he coming into an 18–2 game against the Dodgers? Why would you do that to the guy? None of it makes sense…” He didn’t stop there, “Boone has no rhyme or reason. He’s doing things on a whim—picking guys out of the rotation at random. That move just wasn’t worth it.” And how did that move end? The very next day, Weaver injured himself while warming up, and just like that, the Yankees lost their most reliable closer.

Weaver had been their most trusted option in the ninth. And guess what? His ERA was hovering under 1.00 all year, slightly rising to 1.05 after his outing against the Dodgers. He struck out 25 batters over 25.2 innings while maintaining a WHIP of just 0.70. As the New York Post’s Joel Sherman wrote, his performance last year definitely was “Rivera-esque.” And replacing someone like that isn’t going to be easy. Now Devin Williams has big shoes to fill. But, for Weaver, all he can do is wait.