Devin Williams agrees to 3-year, $51M deal with Mets, sources confirm
Devin Williams of the New York Yankees pitches in the ALDS. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Mets began the reconstruction of their depleted bullpen Monday by reaching agreement with former Yankee Devin Williams on a three-year, $51 million contract, a source confirmed.
The Mets remain interested in retaining former closer Edwin Diaz, a source said. Diaz exercised his opt-out and heads the free-agent reliever class.
Williams’ deal includes $5 million deferred each season plus a $6 million signing bonus prorated over three years.
Williams, the long-time Brewers closer best known for giving up a go-ahead three-run homer by Pete Alonso in the ninth inning of the clinching Game 3 of their 2024 Wild Card Series, was dominant during his first six years in the big leagues before a mercurial season with the Yankees in 2025.
He was shipped to the Bronx last December in a trade for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin and struggled. He pitched to a 4.79 ERA but improved toward the tail end of the season. In his final nine appearances, he allowed no runs, five hits and two walks in nine innings, striking out 12.
The two-time All-Star has a career 2.45 ERA in 297 2/3 innings, with 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Williams is best known for his deceptive “Airbender” changeup and last year had a whiff percentage in the 99th percentile in baseball, according to Baseball Savant.
His signing underlines the fact that president of baseball operations David Stearns is willing to spend big to bolster his bullpen — something he has been reluctant to do in the past.
Stearns, during the general managers’ meetings in Las Vegas last month, indicated that a change in approach might be necessary.
When asked about his desire to allocate significant payroll to the bullpen, he said he is “always evaluating each situation on the individual situation.”
He added: “I try not to draw lines in the sand. Certainly, we understand the benefits and risks of investments in every segment of the player market. That’s part of the work that we do. But we’re never going to rule out any particular type of player or going after any particular type of player.”
There’s a reason for that: The Mets have lost a significant chunk of their bullpen, and after a season destroyed by short outings from their starters and overtaxed relief pitchers, the focus has shifted toward longevity.
That said, their closer opted out, a number of relievers will be recovering from Tommy John surgery next year and the rest of the unit was mostly inconsistent.
It becomes much more precarious without Diaz, who, at a recent MLB awards event, said he wants to “get the best deal for me and my family.”
Diaz added: “I would love to stay in New York, but if I have to go to another place, I would be happy. I want to win a ring. If I go to another place and win a ring, I would be happy.”
The three-time All-Star, who already was the highest-paid closer in baseball, is projected to command $80 million to $90 million over four or five years.
Brooks Raley, Huascar Brozoban and A.J. Minter, who spent last year on the injured list with a left lat injury, are the only reliable bullpen arms expected to return next year.
Williams is a closer option if Diaz opts not to return, but he also can pitch in high-leverage situations in the sixth, seventh and eighth.
Stearns said he’s looking for a traditional long reliever option to strengthen the pitching staff. This likely will be a point of interest at the winter meetings in Orlando next week.
“After the trade deadline, we got to the point that we had a lot of one-inning relievers in our pen,” Stearns said last month. “You can do that for a short period of time, but you combine that with lack of length out of our starters, which is what we had, especially in the month of August, it taxes you, and we got taxed. There’s a recognition that having some multi-inning flexibility out of the pen is going to be important for us.”
Newsday’s David Lennon contributed to this story
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
