Devin Williams just added another valid excuse if Yankees struggles snowball

Devin Williams' debut with the Yankees wasn't perfect, but at the end of the day he got the job done. Still, needing 36 pitches to lock down his former club on Opening Day isn't what Yankees fans wanted to see. The righty gave up back to back hits before walking the bases loaded with nobody out. He allowed a run on a Brice Turang sacrifice fly before sitting down Jackson Chourio and Christian Yelich on strikes and putting his first save in a Yankees' uniform in the books.

After the game, Williams told reporters that he knew his command was a bit off, but also mentioned that the Brewers' hitters know him better than anyone, and that they had a good plan coming into the matchup. The last bit is a fair point, as Williams was drafted by Milwaukee in 2013 and had spent his entire career there prior to this winter's trade.

While Williams did walk off the mound with a Yankees victory last Thursday, he'll need to be more efficient if he's going to be successful this year. Whether he'll do so remains unclear, and we got a good sized wrench thrown into the situation this past week. Prior to rejoining the team Friday in Pittsburgh, Williams hadn't pitched since Opening Day; earlier this week, he was placed on the paternity list, and has spent the past few days with his family.

Devin Williams returns to the Yankees' roster after a brief trip to the paternity list

Speaking from experience, having a newborn in the house isn't particularly easy. It can affect many things, including sleep schedule, which can have brutal consequences for a professional athlete. That said, countless major leaguers have gone through this and have come out no worse for the wear. But if Williams' struggles continue, is it possible we'll see him lean on this as a crutch while he gets himself sorted out on the mound?

If he does, we can add having a newborn to a long list of potential excuses. After all, he's coming off a major back injury that caused him to miss the first four months of the 2024 season. While he looked good during August and September, he coughed up a game-losing home run to Pete Alonso in October that knocked the Brewers out of the postseason.

Williams is also in a new city for the first time in his career, and he's set to be a free agent after 2025. Both of those could be major factors in his performance this year. And we all know about the beard policy. While it's not a huge deal, Williams had been a beard guy for a long time, and baseball players can be superstitious about the smallest things. Clearly, he cared a lot about that reversal, taking it upon himself to have a hand in shifting the policy. You may laugh, but obviously that's another responsibility that was weighing on him (and goes hand-in-hand with the pressures of finding a long-term home).

With any luck, we won't have to worry about Williams making excuses for poor performance. This weekend's series against the Pirates should give him a runway to get back into proper form. From there, we'll have to trust that he's 100% healthy, and that the added stressors of his off-field concerns don't begin to pile up to a worrisome point. Ideally, that never happens, and every outing looks like Friday's return: scoreless.