After six seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and a one-year stint with the New York Yankees, reliever Devin Williams hit free company final winter. He ultimately chose to reunite with David Stearns, now the President of Baseball Operations for the New York Mets, and the similar government who helped oversee Williams’ rise into one in all the sport’s high closers in Milwaukee. The Mets, aided by their seemingly limitless funds, signed Williams to a three-year, $51 million deal.
Despite Williams’ eye-popping 2.52 career ERA and 88 saves, Brewers and Yankees fans are already familiar with how things can look when things are not going his way. In Milwaukee, it presented as long outings with elevated pitch counts often ending in Williams escaping the jam, but with the Yankees, he wasn’t as fortunate to emerge unscathed from those situations.
For reference, Williams allowed just 48 earned runs across his six-year tenure with the Brewers, but with the Yankees, he allowed 33 in just one season, resulting in a 4.79 ERA. 10 blow-up outings where he allowed crooked numbers certainly didn’t help, and ultimately left Yankees fans frustrated as the organization gave up Nestor Cortes and eventual NL Rookie of the Year candidate Caleb Durbin for his services.
Now with the Mets, Williams had appeared sharp to open the 2026 season by not permitting a run over his first 5 appearances. However, his first tough outing, coming amid a prolonged dropping streak, has given Mets fans a clearer have a look at the highs and lows that come together with his profile as a pitcher.
Devin Williams shows first signal of volatility since becoming a member of the Mets this offseason
Against the Los Angeles Dodgers final Wednesday evening, Mets supervisor Carlos Mendoza turned to Williams in the eighth inning to strive and preserve New York inside putting distance, as they trailed 3-1 to the defending World Series champions. With New York in the midst of a seven-game dropping streak at the time, Williams was not solely tasked with giving his staff an opportunity to remain in the sport, however he merely wanted the work.
That transfer in the end backfired, as Williams allowed three hits and issued one walk, including a grand slam that put the Mets out of striking distance. He was solely capable of document a single out, additional straining an already overworked bullpen.
Williams’ incapacity to ship solely compounded a tough evening, leading to the staff’s eighth straight loss, a streak that has since grown to 9 after a Friday defeat in opposition to the Chicago Cubs. With the Mets already struggling to cease the slide, Williams can’t afford to have outings like this, as New York wants its high-leverage arms to stabilize video games and assist stop the dropping streak from spiraling additional.