Devin Williams is destined to break the hearts of Mets fans everywhere

If the New York Mets need to replace Edwin Díaz this winter, then they’ve already found another former All-Star closer they can turn to. Former New York Yankees reliever Devin Williams is staying in the Big Apple, with the reliever surprisingly signing a three-year, $51 million contract with the crosstown Mets on Monday.

Williams, the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year with the Milwaukee Brewers, comes to the Mets after a career-worst season in the Bronx. The 31-year-old recorded a 4.79 ERA over 62 innings with the Yankees and lost his closer role multiple times. Although Williams' 3.6 walks per nine was his best in five seasons, he allowed 33 earned runs after giving up just 41 over 195 innings from 2021-24.

Don’t present those numbers to the mainstream media, though. Multiple high-profile reporters have spent the offseason stumping for Williams, insisting that his rough 2025 season wasn’t as bad as one might think.

Don’t buy the false hope surrounding Mets reliever Devin Williams

Multiple things can be true. Williams has a proven history and a decorated resume, finishing his tenure in Milwaukee as one of the sport’s premier closers. At the same time, Williams was dreadful throughout his lone season with the Yankees. He didn’t even last a month as the Yankees’ closer before Aaron Boone moved him to a setup role before the end of April.

Williams regained his closer position only to lose it again in August. The Yankees acquired multiple relievers, including Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star David Bednar, at the trade deadline. Bednar is the favorite to open next season as the Yankees’ closer.

“But underlying metrics — including a 2.68 FIP, a .195 expected batting average against, and elite strikeout, whiff and chase rates — suggest the bloated ERA is misleading,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote on Monday. Passan didn’t mention that Williams ended the season with -0.3 bWAR in 67 games. 

Keep in mind that the Yankees and Blue Jays tied for the AL East lead, but the Yankees lost out because they went 5-8 in head-to-head matchups. Williams finished 0-2 and allowed five runs over three innings against the Blue Jays. Even if one argues that FIP is a more effective statistic than ERA, that doesn’t change the fact that Williams repeatedly failed against a divisional opponent. 

“He really did find his footing in a different role toward the second half,” MLB Network’s Jon Morosi said in November. We must have been watching different games, seeing as Williams went 1-3 with a 5.06 ERA and allowed four home runs in 26 ⅔ innings following the All-Star break.

None of this is to say that Williams can’t rebound with the Mets. There have been plenty of pitchers, especially recently, who struggled with the Yankees only to turn things around elsewhere. Sonny Gray had a 4.51 ERA in nearly 200 innings with the Yankees from 2017-18, but he’s been one of the league’s more consistent starters over the last seven seasons. Dennis Santana had a 6.26 ERA for the Yankees in 2024, yet he’s since posted a 2.28 ERA and a 110-28 K-BB ratio across 114 ⅔ innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

However, let’s not pretend that Williams’ 2025 season was anything short of below-mediocre at best. If it weren’t, then Boone wouldn’t have changed Williams’ role multiple times. If Williams truly pitched as well as people continue to insist, then maybe the Yankees would have snatched the AL East title from the Blue Jays’ hands. The eye test is still enough in some instances, and the tape doesn’t lie when explaining why Yankees fans gave up on Williams long before Memorial Day.