NY Mets Monday Morning GM: David Stearns must remain open to original Devin Williams plan

There are certain New York Mets players we understand will be back in 2027. Exact roles for some have yet to be determined. Marcus Semien will need to earn second base reps. Sean Manaea will need to earn a spot in the rotation. Kodai Senga cannot start another game for this team, but is he trustworthy enough for big innings late in games?

Senga had a brief period where it looked like he was gunning for Devin Williams’ job. As preposterous as it felt, everything about 2026 was uncanny. This was a team that was built to compete, not drop out of the postseason race in April.

Williams was a culprit yet hardly one of the main ones. His presence on the Mets, however, was always questionable as he was signed with the rumored intent to be phase one of pairing him up with Edwin Diaz. Backpeddling to the original idea of paying Williams a closer-like salary to be a setup man shouldn’t be something the Mets completely ignore. Whether it’s through free agency or maybe a trade, demoting Williams to a setup role in the 2027 blueprints is something Stearns should be open-minded about.

The Mets shouldn’t overlook opportunities to replace Devin Williams as the closer

Williams “only” blew 3 saves last season. Two happened within a week of each other on July 6 and July 12. The other was on April 19.

It definitely wasn’t a horrific year for Williams. He actually was better in save situations than non-save situations with a 2.33 ERA in 20 chances to pick one up and a 6.33 ERA in 21.1 innings without a save on the line.

It’s the second straight year where Williams’ role as a closer came into question. With the New York Yankees in 2025, the same predictable pattern followed only far worse. He had a 4.15 ERA in save situations with a 5.60 ERA in spots where a save wasn’t viable. Just because he has been better in save situations doesn’t mean the job should continue to belong to him. You’d probably find most closers in the league have these results.

Free agency doesn’t offer much with Adrian Morejon as the headliner. Ironically, he hasn’t even been a closer much in his career. David Bednar has experienced some of the same hurdles as Williams, too. This includes a demotion to the minor leagues late in his Pittsburgh Pirates tenure.

The Mets got it right last winter when their response to not fulfilling the Williams-Diaz combo was to sign Luke Weaver. Some mild experience finishing games for the Yankees, he at least provided the Mets with an immediate option. The most similar example where this was tried is when David Robertson was signed to be a setup man for Diaz in 2023. It never happened due to the latter’s WBC injury. Robertson ended up sharing closer duties early with Adam Ottavino and later winning the job full-time. One could say the Mets had this intention in 2025 when A.J. Minter was signed. Injuries derailed most of his tenure in New York.

Rather than outright replace Williams from the start of the season, added competition for the ninth seems appropriate. Bryan Abreu is a guy who looks like he has closer capabilities. Emilio Pagan saved 32 and 25 games in the last two seasons each, but prior to that never reached 10 other than 2019 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Several of the game’s best or at least most important closers aren’t costing their teams’ much money. Finding the next Louis Varland and putting him into a closer role might be premature for the Mets to do in one season. What the Mets can’t do is tell us they’re secure with Williams when he was never apparently supposed to be the closer in the first place.

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