Reliever Devin Williams and the New York Mets have agreed to terms on a three-year, $51 million contract. Will Sammon of The Athletic was the first to report the deal.
Williams is trying to bounce back after a subpar 2025 campaign with the New York Yankees. He reunites with Mets President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, who previously guided the Milwaukee Brewers, where Williams was a star closer.
The Mets look to shore up their bullpen, which was a big bugaboo as they collapsed down the stretch. Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, Gregory Soto, Ryne Stanek, and Edwin Diaz all hit free agency, and Reed Garrett underwent Tommy John Surgery. The Mets needed to rebuild their relief corps, and signing Williams was a big first step.
Shaky Season
Williams is coming of the worst season of his career. After six stellar seasons with the Brewers, the Yankees acquired Williams to be their closer. But Williams didn’t perform well, pitching to a 9.00 ERA in April and losing the closer role.
He finished the year with a 4.79 ERA and surrendered a career-high 45 hits. Williams struggled to put up zeroes consistently; his 2.6 Goose Egg/Broken Egg ratio was below the American League average of 3.2.
Despite the struggles, Williams thought he pitched better than his numbers. He struck out 90 batters in 62 innings, and his walk rate dropped significantly from his time in Milwaukee. His strikeout rate — 34.7% — and his home run rate — 1.9% — were well above league average.
“As far as my stuff, I felt it was as good (as), if not better than, it has been in years past,” he said last month to The Athletic.
Williams’ Role in Queens
Devin Williams heads to the Mets with some uncertainty around his role.
Diaz, the Mets’ longtime closer, opted out of his contract and hit free agency this offseason. The Mets hope to bring him back for next year, and Anthony DiComo of MLB.com says the Williams signing doesn’t take them out of the running for Diaz.
Whether or not the Mets re-sign Diaz impacts the quality of this deal. With Diaz, the Mets could form one of the best back-end combinations in the league. Without Diaz, the Mets might not have a quality fallback option if Williams struggles again.
The Mets are hoping Williams’ 2025 was a fluke and returns to his form with the Brewers, when he was one of the most dominant relievers in the league.
Williams has a career 2.45 ERA and 86 saves in seven seasons. From 2022–24, he had a 1.66 ERA in 141 innings, and had 14 Goose Eggs with just one Broken Egg in 2024.
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