The Mets are in agreement with free agent closer Devin Williams on a three-year contract, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. It guarantees more than $50MM, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Jon Heyman of The New York Post suggests the deal pays $15MM salaries plus a $6MM signing bonus that includes $5MM in annual deferrals. The former star Milwaukee reliever reunites with president of baseball operations David Stearns in Queens.
Williams stays in New York after a frustrating lone season with the Yankees. The two-time All-Star is coming off a career-high 4.79 earned run average over 67 appearances. The Mets are betting on that ERA being a fluke, trusting Williams’ still excellent stuff and swing-and-miss rates to get back to the elite form he showed with the Brewers.
A second-round pick by the Brew Crew in 2013, Williams took a while to climb through the minor leagues as a starting pitcher. He took off after being moved to the bullpen in 2019, climbing from Double-A to the big leagues by the end of that season. Williams emerged as one of the sport’s best late-game weapons by his first full big league season. He turned in a 0.33 ERA across 27 innings during the shortened 2020 schedule to win NL Rookie of the Year and claims a seventh-place finish in Cy Young balloting.
More to come.