rewrite this title Devin Williams ready for 2026 rebound with Mets

The Mets introduced a high-powered reliever who is aware there is another looming. 

Devin Williams, who has been a closer and has been a setup man in his career and had spurts in both roles last season with the Yankees, is like many Mets fans and hoping he will have help shutting down the late innings: He wants Edwin Díaz in the club’s bullpen, too. 

“I think it’s just a good situation,” Williams said in his introductory video call Friday. “If he comes back, I think we’re going to have a really good back end of the pen. So, more good arms is always a good thing.” 

The Mets believe they reeled in one good arm with Williams, who arrives on a three-year, $51 million pact with an encouraging history with David Stearns and a mixed history with New York. 

Williams, a Missouri native who was drafted by the Brewers in 2013, had not experienced a big city until last season, when he was flipped from Milwaukee to The Bronx. 

The walk-year campaign that followed was chaotic.

In his three previous seasons with the Brewers, he had pitched to a 1.66 ERA and allowed a total of 26 earned runs. In 2025 with the Yankees, he finished with a 4.79 ERA and 33 earned runs.

By the end of April he had lost his closer role, had another string of implosions in late July and early August and became accustomed to loud boos from his home crowd.

It did not help that Williams — who showed up to spring training in Tampa with a beard that he was not thrilled to cut — became the, well, face of the Yankees’ facial hair policy change. 

In analyzing the struggles from segments of his season, Williams pinned blame on correctable items rather than a discomfort in his environment. 

“I feel like there were kind of a lot of factors really, some mechanical, some pitch-selection type stuff,” the 31-year-old said. “Looking back on it, just kind of reflecting on that and using that to help me prepare for this next season.” 

Williams has acknowledged there was a learning curve to becoming comfortable with the Yankees and within New York, but he said the city is “familiar now.”

He took the Subway to Yankees games and now may have to learn the 7 line.

He weathered the blows from opposing batters and his own fans and bounced back, ending the 2025 season with 13 consecutive outings without allowing a run (including four in the postseason). 

“I’m comfortable there,” Williams said of New York. 

He also is comfortable with Stearns, who had been his president of baseball operations in Milwaukee, and increasingly comfortable with an arsenal that is expanding. 

Williams rose to among the game’s most dominant relievers — he has been the third-most valuable reliever (trailing only Emmanuel Clase and Díaz, per FanGraphs) from 2020-25, during which he has owned a 2.38 ERA with 14.29 strikeouts per nine innings — behind a unique, often unhittable changeup nicknamed the “Airbender” and a mid-90s four-seamer. 

Though both remained elite pitches metrically last season — each induced whiffs at least 37 percent of the time — they were less effective in bottom-line results.

Opposing batters slugged .341 against his changeup with five home runs in 2025 after not homering against the pitch all of 2024 (apart from Pete Alonso’s season-saving playoff blast).

Opposing hitters elevated their batting average against his fastball from .111 to .204. 

Maybe being less predictable can help. Williams revealed he has been “tinkering” with a cutter he threw just two times last season and is hoping to unveil a new, hard slider. 

“Seeing if I can add those to what I do and give myself a little more breathing room with the fastball and changeup,” said Williams, who added he has felt he has “needed” to expand his repertoire for a while. 

A Williams who can be comfortable in his environment immediately with double the number of weapons helps explain why the Mets invested $51 million on a relief pitcher coming off of a down season who might not be a closer. 

And why did Williams, who had other suitors, pick the Mets? 

“They’re a team that wants to win, you know?” Williams said. “Steve [Cohen is] doing all he can to put a winning product on the field, and I’d love to be a part of that.”