Speaking from the Winter Meetings in Orlando, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns couldn’t comment on Edwin Diaz reportedly agreeing to a three-year deal with the Dodgers.
But Stearns did express his confidence in Devin Williams’ ability to step into the closer’s role.
“Yeah, and we’re very comfortable with that,” Stearns replied when asked if Williams would be the team’s closer at this very moment. “I’ve certainly seen Devin perform at a very high level for a long time. I have full confidence that he can be one of the best relievers in baseball. I think he’s very motivated to do that, and I’m looking forward to watching that.”
Williams, who signed a three-year deal with the Mets earlier this month, has plenty of history with Stearns, as the pair were together in Milwaukee before Stearns left to join the Mets, with Williams going on to pitch one season with the Yankees.
As a member of the Brewers, Williams quickly established himself as one of the best relievers in baseball. The NL Rookie of the Year in 2020, Williams went on to win two NL Reliever of the Year Awards and made two All-Star teams, pitching to a 1.83 ERA with 68 saves over six seasons with the Brewers.
When Stearns and Mets signed Williams, they did so with options. Williams could be one of, if not the premier setup men in all of baseball behind Diaz, or – the option that has turned out to be the case – Williams could step into the closer’s role to take over for the now-Dodger Diaz.
“I think when we go into an offseason, we have lots of different paths that an offseason can take,” Stearns explained. “We thought it important to bring in a reliever of really high quality. We’re really excited that we were able to do that with Devin Williams. We think he’s going to fit our club really well. I’m also confident we’re going to continue to add to the pen and have a very good one when we get to the regular season.”
“I’m very optimistic about where our offseason is headed,” Stearns added. “We’ve got, certainly, work to do, but there are a lot of good players out there, and I am confident that we’re really going to like where our team is when we get to opening day.”
While Stearns noted that the Mets obviously still need to add to their bullpen, he wouldn’t say specifically if the club was still in the market for a backend bullpen piece, with options like Robert Suarez and Pete Fairbanks among the most notable free agent options.
“I think we’re having plenty of conversations,” he said. “I think there are different ways to build a bullpen, and we’re going to continue to explore all of them.”
Williams, of course, comes to the Mets with experience when it comes to playing in New York. And while his one season with the Yankees was forgettable, as he pitched to a 4.79 ERA and lost his closer’s role at one point, the 31-year-old is ready to take things to a new level in Queens.
“He got pretty unlucky. The underlying ingredients were still really good,” Stearns said. “This can happen at times with relievers, where there’s an anomalous period of time, or an anomalous season. I think what excites me about Devin is, he’s not just saying, ‘Oh, I got unlucky last year.’ He’s saying, ‘I want to get better, and there’s another gear, and yes, I know my stuff last year was really good and the results didn’t necessarily reflect how good I was, but I can actually get better, and I can manipulate the ball a little bit differently.’
“And so, I think Devin is looking for another level, which is pretty cool.”
