Jon ConahanThu, November 27, 2025 at 5:30 AM UTC·2 min readYankees' Devin Williams predicted to take deal with Cubs in MLB free agency originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
There seems to be an expectation around Major League Baseball that Devin Williams could leave the New York Yankees. Reports have indicated that the Yankees have some level of interest in Williams, but after a down 2025 campaign, and with David Bednar expected to be the closer moving forward, Williams might not be willing to take a shorter deal to stay with the Yankees.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe understands that his value will be much higher as a closer elsewhere, and other teams should be able to offer that.
One team that can is the Chicago Cubs, and with the bullpen issues the Cubs faced a campaign ago, he'd make a bit too much sense even beyond what it seems on paper.
Will Laws of Sports Illustrated believes that's the case as well, predicting him to land a deal with Chicago.
“The Yankees traded for Williams with the expectation he’d be the team’s shut-down closer. Instead, the two-time All-Star got off to a calamitous start to the year that left him with a 5.01 ERA and out of ninth-inning duties by the end of July. But the underlying numbers show that Williams hasn’t lost any of his elite-level stuff. There’s risk here, of course (we’re talking about relief pitchers, after all), but if Williams can successfully hit the reset button after the most tumultuous season of his otherwise very successful career, he’ll end up being a steal,” he wrote.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWhile Williams didn't have the season he was looking for in terms of basic numbers, he still had an above-average FIP, posting a 2.68. When he had a 1.53 ERA in 2023, he had a 2.66 FIP.
Compared to barely being higher in 2025 and a 4.79 ERA, it shows that he was rather unlucky on the mound.
More news:
Elijah Moore release epitomizes Bills' problem with Josh Allen WR plan
Olympic sensation Quincy Wilson commits to a Big Ten school
Tom Brady's son Jack is incredibly tall
Caitlin Clark might be the reason Steph Curry left Under Armour
Shedeur Sanders makes Browns history as he begins to write a story all his own
Travis Kelce showed off his style with a $526,000 watch
