Guess we should have talked about Devin Williams

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

Wow! I didn’t see this one coming!

[Centerfield]

Three years. $50 million. Per Jeff Passan.

I hope this doesn’t take them out of the Edwin Diaz sweepstakes.

[metirish]

Wow , I would think Diaz is gone

[Centerfield]

Still in on Diaz. Per diComo and Andy Martino.

[metirish]

Still in on Diaz. Per diComo and Andy Martino.

 

I hope so

[Benjamin Grimm]

I have one particular standout memory of Devin Williams...

[Marshmallowmilkshake]

If they get them both, and Minter is reasonably healthy, that's a bad assed end of the bullpen!

[Centerfield]

His 1.129 and 2.68 FIP indicate maybe he wasn’t as bad as his ERA suggests.

Let’s hope so. His ERA suggests he wasn’t pretty bad.

[Gwreck]

I don't always buy the "some guys can't really handle playing in New York" storyline that comes up from time to time...but I'm also not entirely sure it's wrong.

If this is a move to supplement Diaz in the bullpen, no problem. If this is the move to replace Diaz, I am in fierce disagreement.

[Lefty Specialist]

Yeah, that's where I am. I like Williams as the 8th inning guy, not the 9th inning guy.

[Centerfield]

MLB trade rumors projected his contract at 4 years, $68M.

So a year less than projected at nearly the exact AAV.

[metsmarathon]

Love this if as a setup man.

Less love if as the closer.

Just pour some damned sugar on me already!

[Fman99]

Fully agree with other folks who support this as a quality 8th inning guy. He's no Diaz though

[ashie62]

I would consider Devin Williams elite-ish

Jocularity!

[smg58]

Williams had a bizarrely bad 55% strand rate last year, which almost has to be flukey given his peripherals were otherwise very much in line with what he's been doing. And what he's been doing puts him in the short list of the league's top relievers.

[Centerfield]

I don't always buy the "some guys can't really handle playing in New York" storyline that comes up from time to time...but I'm also not entirely sure it's wrong.

If this is a move to supplement Diaz in the bullpen, no problem. If this is the move to replace Diaz, I am in fierce disagreement.

 

I agree to an extent. If the choice was Diaz or Williams, or really, Diaz or anyone else, then I agree, you have to bring back Diaz. That is, to the extent Diaz wants to come back. Which I think he does, but you never know. So bottom line, make or match the highest offer on Diaz.

If you do that, and Diaz elects to go elsewhere, then I think Williams is on the short list of guys that could adequately replace Edwin. Devin Williams, Robert Suarez, Pete Fairbanks. Maybe Kenly Jansen, though I think Jansen and Emilio Pagan are a step down. If the Mets were to lose Diaz, I'm guessing they'd be looking to bring one of these guys in to pair with Williams.

[The Hot Corner]

I like this signing, particularly if he ends up being in addition to Diaz. He offers insurance, in the event Diaz chooses to go somewhere else.

If Diaz returns, the Mets should have strong backend to their bullpen with Diaz, Williams, Minter, & Raley.

[Benjamin Grimm]

There seems to be a real consensus here, one that I'm on board with as well. We like this deal a lot better if it's a supplement for Diaz rather than a replacement.

Diaz has come a long way from his terrible first impression in 2019, hasn't he?

[Cowtipper]

Getting someone a couple years removed from when they were actually good. That's the Mets MO. Sounds like Dellin Betances.

[Edgy MD]

There seems to be a real consensus here, one that I'm on board with as well. We like this deal a lot better if it's a supplement for Diaz rather than a replacement.

 

 

Either way, the team is better the day after his signing than the day before. He probably enters as the top reliever on the team.

Signing a guy's potential replacement while you are still actively pursuing the guy is good strategy. It gives you leverage with the guy you really want, and you have a slot for the new guy no matter how negotiations with the old guy turn out.

[Frayed Knot]

Hey, we got a guy the Yanx gave up two players for, then had a (mostly) **** year for them AND was responsible for breaking their no-facial-hair policy.

It's like when the Yanx signed CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett in the same off-season (2009) and had to stop pretending that no Yanqui had tattoos because both guys had their limbs covered with ink. Prior to that, tatted up guys like Jason Giambi and a few others all seemed to have long-lasting arm injuries because they wore medical sleeves during every game for the entire season.

But now Williams pitches for us and hopefully puts what was essentially his lone bad season behind him.

And while it would be nice if they team him with Diaz -- he's still the top guy out there plus the incumbent and all that -- it doesn't have to be only him to make this signing worthwhile. There are other relievers still available with whom Williams can form a solid one-two punch at the end of games. If Edwin winds up elsewhere we're going to want the next top closer and we might already have him, so I'm not going to want to un-do the signing if Sugar takes a hike.

A few mentions above about how some of the peripheral stats indicate some bad luck making what was essentially the lone bad year of his career look even worse than it already was. He also finished strong: his final nine outings yielded 9 IP, 0 Runs, 5 Hits, 2 BBs (in fact, most of the **** show came in April: 820 OPS-against and a 2.00 WHIP) and then tacked on four scoreless post-season appearances: 4 IP, 2 H, 2 BB -- so maybe there's something in that as well.

[Edgy MD]

Looks like Devin is official.

And by my measurement, he is the top reliever in the house right now.

[Frayed Knot]

D. W. on Instagram [to NYY fans]: “For a bunch of people that didn’t want me back on your team, [y’all] sure are mad in the [DMs],”

[Centerfield]

Poor Devin Williams is not only going to have to be compared with Edwin Diaz (present in LA) but also the performance of Edwin Diaz during his peak with the NY Mets.