CINCINNATI — There may come a time when the Yankees are willing to use Devin Williams for more than three outs.
But that time has not yet arrived.
This was quite apparent on Tuesday when Williams pitched a perfect ninth inning with just nine pitches. However, he did not return for the 10th inning, despite the Yankees’ bullpen being overworked, in a 5-4, 11-inning defeat against the Reds.
“He’s mainly been utilized as a one-inning pitcher, and that’s what we’ve seen over the past couple of years,” Boone commented on Wednesday before the 7-1 win at the end of the series with the Reds. “I anticipate opportunities for him to pitch in a four-out stint, but I’m not ready to have him take on a two-inning effort just yet.”
Williams, a pending free agent, said he was not asked to go more than one inning on Tuesday and indicated it was Boone’s decision.
“I feel like the bullpen works better when guys are going one inning,” said Williams, who did not pitch in Wednesday’s win.
Williams, who was sidelined for over half of last season due to a stress fracture in his back, last pitched beyond three outs in September 2023.
Between 2021-23, only seven of his 184 regular-season outings lasted more than one inning, and none of those were for more than five outs.
Late in the 2020 season, Williams threw three straight two-inning outings in a single week and ended up getting hurt with a shoulder issue that forced him to be left off the wild-card series roster.
“It definitely keeps guys healthier [going one inning], I think,” he said.
In relief of Williams, Mark Leiter Jr. (after throwing 27 pitches Monday) threw the 10th and 11th innings before the Reds walked off with the win.
The Yankees have not yet decided whether Marcus Stroman (knee) will make his next start with them or pitch another rehab outing.
The veteran got tagged for 10 hits and five runs in 3 ²/₃ innings Tuesday at Double-A Somerset while building his pitch count up to 65.
“Obviously got roughed up a little bit in the outing and the line wasn’t great,” Boone said. “But we’ll dig into it some more and see what the best next move is.”
J.C. Escarra was initially in the lineup Wednesday, but that changed when his wife went into labor a few hours before first pitch.
So Escarra left the stadium shortly before 5 p.m. to fly back home to be with his wife for the birth of their first child.
Jonathan Loáisiga also left the stadium early on Wednesday afternoon, wearing a mask, with an undisclosed illness.
Boone said it was not something that would require an IL stint.
The Yankees are using Thursday’s off-day to flip Clarke Schmidt and Will Warren in the rotation this weekend.
Schmidt will be pitching on his seventh day after his recovery between his past two starts — the most recent one being seven no-hit innings on Saturday — has gone slower.
Warren will pitch on normal rest Friday.
