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NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Devin Williams could be the closer for the New York Mets next season. Or he might be a setup man for Edwin D\u00edaz.\nEach possibility sounds intriguing to Williams, who finalized a $51 million, three-year contract<\/a> with the Mets on Wednesday.
\nThe 31-year-old D\u00edaz is a free agent after going 6-3 with a 1.63 ERA and 28 saves this year. The right-hander has 144 saves in six seasons with the Mets.
\n\u201cIf he comes back, I think we\u2019re going to have a really good back end of the bullpen,\u201d Williams said Friday in his first public comments since joining New York. \u201cMore good arms is always a good thing.\u201d
\nWilliams said his mindset won\u2019t be impacted by his role.
\n\u201cJust being prepared mentally and physically,\u201d Williams said. \u201cIf you\u2019re going in before the ninth inning, you just need to be ready earlier. I don\u2019t think that really changes your mindset at all. It\u2019s just a preparation thing.\u201d
\nWilliams said he is working on a cutter and a \u201cgyro slider\u201d to go along with his fastball and famed changeup. He is expected to help stabilize a bullpen that is in flux behind D\u00edaz.
\nLeft-handers Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter and Richard Lovelady as well as right-hander Huascar Brazob\u00e1n are all under contract, but none of the quartet spent the entire 2025 season with the Mets.
\nRaley returned in June from Tommy John surgery. Minter didn\u2019t pitch after April 26 due to a torn left lat. Lovelady and Brazoban each spent time with Triple-A Syracuse.
\n\u201cThey\u2019re a team that wants to win,\u201d Williams said. \u201cSteve (Mets owner Steve Cohen) is doing all he can to put a winning product out on the field and I\u2019d love to be a part of that.\u201d
\nWilliams spent last season with the New York Yankees, going 4-6 with a career-worst 4.79 ERA and 18 saves in 22 chances. He lost the closer\u2019s job, regained it and then lost it again before finishing the year with four scoreless outings during the American League playoffs.
\nThe two-time All-Star was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Yankees last December<\/a>. He acknowledged that the transition from Milwaukee \u2014 where he was the 2020 NL Rookie of the Year and twice won the Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year award while Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was running the Brewers \u2014 was difficult.
\nBut after the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason, Williams said he was open to re-signing with the team.<\/a>
\n\u201cIt\u2019s familiar now,\u201d Williams said Friday. \u201cI know what I\u2019m going to need to do in order to get to the field, all the things like that. Getting home, just life stuff. So I\u2019ve got all that figured out already. I\u2019m comfortable there.\u201d
\nWilliams is 31-16 with a 2.45 ERA and 86 saves in 308 relief appearances over seven major league seasons. He has 465 strikeouts and 137 walks in 297 2\/3 innings.
\nHe becomes the latest member of the Mets brought over from the Yankees organization by Cohen and Stearns in recent years, including outfielder Juan Soto, pitcher Clay Holmes, catcher Luis Torrens and manager Carlos Mendoza.
\nWilliams gets a $6 million signing bonus from the Mets payable in three equal installments on April 1 from 2026-28 and salaries of $15 million annually, of which $5 million per year will be deferred.
\n___
\nAP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/MLB<\/a><\/p>\n
Jerry Beach, The Associated Press<\/p>\n
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