"Yankees didn't want a lawsuit on their hands" - Fans disappointed as NY designates Adam Ottavino for assignment

Devin Williams went on the paternity list earlier this week. The All-Star closer only made one save before taking a brief hiatus. In his absence, Adam Ottavino was brought back on a short contract.

That contract was only going to last until Williams returned. With the pitcher back on the active roster on Friday, Ottavino has been designated for assignment after two scoreless appearances.

New York Yankees fans shared their thoughts about the move. They're not surprised someone had to go for Williams; however, others preferred someone else, namely Ryan Yarbrough, to be the one to leave.

"Designate that a**hole Yarbrough," a fan tweeted.

"Can you please Designate Mark Leiter Jr as well? Maybe he can work with maintenance or the ground crew?" one fan wrote.

"Thank you for ur service Adam. Don’t come back!" another fan wrote.

"Rather have Otto than Yarbrough. Hill and Headrick are enough," one fan said.

"Yankees didn’t want a lawsuit on their hands. Smart. Savvy," one fan commented.

"Otto was doing better than MLJ and Yarbrough," a fan said.

"Ottavino in and out quicker than the subway," another fan tweeted.

"Yall coulda kept Otto, didn’t have to do bro like that," one fan commented.

Williams' absence might have cost the Yankees a game. Rather than turn to Luke Weaver in a tight spot in the top of the seventh, the Yankees tried to squeeze some outs out of Mark Leiter Jr. to allow Weaver to get the save. They led 4-2 at the time.

Leiter struggled, allowing five runs (including a Eugenio Suarez go-ahead grand slam) in the inning and the Yankees lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-5 on Tuesday. Had Williams been available, the Yankees could've turned to Weaver in that spot.

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Devin Williams struggled in debut

The New York Yankees dominated the Milwaukee Brewers in the opening series of the season, and Devin Williams only got one chance to save a game against his former team.

Devin Williams saved one game against his former team (Imagn)

The Yankees scored 20 and 12 runs in the final two games, not needing Williams. However, in the series opener, they had a 4-1 lead heading into the ninth and called on the star closer they traded Nestor Cortes for.

Williams proceeded to load the bases with no outs and force the Yankees to sweat out an otherwise seemingly straightforward win. He got a sacrifice fly and two strikeouts to end the threat but the Brewers got to him in his first appearance after leaving the team.