While New York Yankees fans are ready to call the trade a failure, around the league, executives aren’t so sure. At least one saud that 10 games was way too early to judge Devin Williams.

“When you go from a small market to New York, it’s a different animal. It just takes a while to get acclimated. He’ll be all right,” one MLB executive told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.

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Monday night, Williams got started proving that executive right.

Williams delivered a scoreless eighth inning in New York’s loss to the Orioles.

It was his first appearance since being removed from the closer role. The outing may not have changed the result, but it nudged the right-hander in the right direction. It lowered his ERA from 11.25 to 10.00. You could also see a difference in his body language, more confidence and less dread.

It was a glimpse of the stability the Yankees thought they had traded for.

New York acquired Williams in December, sending starter Nestor Cortes and infielder Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee in a deal to bolster an already strong bullpen. A two-time All-Star with one of the most unhittable changeups in the game, called the “Airbender”, Williams was expected to anchor the ninth.

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Instead, he was unmoored at the end of the game and let loose the wrath of the Bronx faithful.

He was removed from the closer’s role after just a handful of appearances.

The hope, internally, is that Williams simply needs time to adjust.

He’s not the first pitcher to struggle under New York’s brighter lights. He definitely will not be the last. But if the Yankees are going to contend deep into October, they’ll need Williams in the form they thought they were getting.

Monday was the first step in getting him back there.