The New York Mets have signed a pitcher from their in-city rival New York Yankees for the second consecutive free agency period. Last year, the Mets signed relief pitcher Clay Holmes and converted him to a starter. This year, they picked up Devin Williams, the enigmatic reliever the Yankees acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade for Nestor Cortes, and signed him to a three-year deal, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic.
According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Mets' agreement with Williams guarantees him over $50 million.
Williams did go through his fair share of struggles in his lone season in pinstripes, but he did right the ship towards the end of the season and was a bright spot in the Yankees' bullpen during the postseason.
The Mets will certainly be expecting to get the version of Williams who didn't allow a single run in four high-leverage innings against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS (although he did allow some runs that weren't charged to him in the Yankees' season-ending Game 4 loss).
During the 2025 regular season, Williams finished with a 4.79 ERA in 67 games (62 innings pitched). What this signing means for the Mets' ability to retain Edwin Diaz remains unclear.
It is a bit poetic as well that it's the Mets that gave Williams his first big-money contract in MLB. After all, it was the Mets that tagged him for a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning of Game 3 of their NL Wild Card clash against the Brewers — leading to Milwaukee's 2024 playoff exit and Williams' eventual exodus from the team.
Mets are far from done in MLB free agency
Considering how poorly the 2025 season ended for the Mets, they should be very motivated to get back to business for the 2026 campaign. Williams' addition to reinforce the bullpen should help, but they have to address their starting rotation as well.
Moreover, their first base situation remains up in the air, as it's not quite clear if they have room in the budget to re-sign Pete Alonso to the kind of contract that he'll be demanding after a resurgent year.
