Devin Williams is Matt Blakes biggest Yankees pitching puzzle to date

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.For years, the Yankees and pitching coach Matt Blake have gained a reputation for taking relievers that have been mediocre — or worse — with other organizations and turning those afterthoughts into useful — or better — bullpen pieces in The Bronx.There was Clay Holmes, who went from wallowing with Pittsburgh to Yankees closer, and other lesser-known arms like lefties Wandy Peralta and Lucas Luetge, as well as right-hander Ian Hamilton.Even Fernando Cruz, whose stuff has always been recognized, is having more success with the Yankees than he did in his years in Cincinnati following his arrival in the trade that sent Jose Trevino to the Reds this past offseason.All of them came to the Yankees with unimpressive résumés and quickly became better with the Yankees.So why, with as good a track record as any in the majors over the past several seasons, has it gone so poorly for Devin Williams?And how have Blake and Co.

gone about trying to fix it?“It was shocking to everybody,” Blake said of Williams’ early season struggles, when he was battered around for 10 earned runs, a dozen hits and seven walks in just eight innings in his first 10 appearances.“Everybody was trying to figure out what was going on here and what are we missing?” Blake said.“He’s not getting the swing-and-miss and the strikes we were hoping for.

We had all those questions and had to get it fixed on the fly.”Williams is back in the closer role — at least temporarily, with Luke Weaver on the IL with a hamstring strain — but the former Brewer is beginning to resemble the pitcher he was in Milwaukee.After putting up a whiff rate of just 26.8 percent on his changeup and 25.6 percent with his four-seamer in March and April, Williams was at 39.6 percent with his change and 47.1 percent with his four-seamer in May.Those numbers are more in l...