Devin Williams suggests Yankees pulled a Sonny Gray with him in 2025

Former New York Yankees reliever Devin Williams has spewed plenty of negative talk about the Yanks since he signed with the New York Mets, and it's only been a couple of days. First, Williams trolled Yankees fans on Instagram. Now, he's suggesting that the team itself messed with his mechanics and pitch selection in 2025.

In an introductory Mets interview, Williams attributed his Yankees struggles to multiple things (per NY Daily News' Gary Phillips), including "mechanical and pitch selection-type stuff."

Devin Williams suggests the Yankees messed with his mechanics, which draws a parallel to Sonny Gray's infamous complaints

Williams' apparent critique of the Yankees' pitching program came during a week in which new Boston Red Sox Sonny Gray also condemned the Yankees, bringing back into the spotlight Gray's reported issues with the Yankees' handling of his mechanics back in 2017-18.

Foul Territory's Erik Kratz, who was a Yankees catcher when Gray was in the Bronx, came out and reminded fans that Gray wasn't pleased at all with the adjustments the Yankees' pitching staff at the time made to his approach.

According to Kratz, the Yankees didn't allow Gray to continue his habit of changing pitch selection mid-delivery, and they also dictated his pitch arsenal in a fashion that made Gray uncomfortable, particularly in regard to his breaking ball usage. "It was a contradiction of pitch usage," Kratz said.

Did the Yankees mishandle Williams in the same fashion in 2025? First of all, it's important to note that New York's pitching coach during Gray's tenure, Larry Rothschild, was fired by the Yankees in 2019. This is relevant because Gray's main issue, per Kratz, appears to have been with Rothschild, whose rigid demands destroyed the sort of flexibility that Gray prefers.

If Williams is throwing shade at New York's pitching direction, Matt Blake is likely the guy he's targeting. Blake has been the Yankees' pitching coach since Rothschild was canned, and he'll be returning in 2026.

Whatever was going on between Blake and Williams early in the 2025 season is unclear, but we do know that Williams started calling his own pitches after he was removed from the closer role. In Williams' defense, that change may have contributed to greater success for him on the mound, as the former Milwaukee Brewer did indeed improve as the season wore on.

It's possible that Blake and the Yankees' staff messed with Williams unintentionally. After all, it was Williams' first few months with the club. It takes time for a staff to understand a player's tendencies and preferences, just as it takes time for a player to adjust to a new team and staff. That's all forgivable in either direction, and no one's denying that Williams deserves credit for showing resilience and ending the latter stage of the campaign with strength and honor.

What's bothersome is Williams' continual need to talk trash about the Yankees as an apparent means to boost the legacy of his 2025 season, which was undeniably mediocre when viewed in its totality. Williams deserves his new opportunity with the Mets and has a great chance to return to his dominant self in Queens. Why all the sour Yankees talk?