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NY Mets preparing to build dominant bullpen around Devin Williams after clarifying role

How the Mets are approaching their bullpen this offseason.
ByPat Ragazzo
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Aug 7, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Aug 7, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Devin Williams (38) pitches against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the ninth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Mets must upgrade both their starting rotation and bullpen this offseason. While the Mets are expected to be heavily in on two-time Cy Young Award winner and ace starter Tarik Skubal, they also need to focus on bringing in relievers as well.

The Mets shipped out a number of high-leverage arms at last season's trade deadline in: A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley, Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazoban. And although their replacements performed well down the stretch, the bullpen still requires some more proven pieces to shore up the unit heading into 2027.

How the Mets plan to construct their bullpen

The Mets view Devin Williams as their closer and are looking to add high-leverage relief help to build around him in the bullpen, sources told FanSided. The Mets have been actively pursuing relievers in free agency and have checked in on their old friends Minter and Raley. They have also shown interest in Alex Vesia, Tim Hill and Jonathan Loaisiga.

Williams had another down season in 2026, which was his first with the Mets and second straight campaign in New York after spending 2025 with the Yankees. The right-hander posted a 4.43 ERA, 92 ERA+, 1.57 WHIP, 3.05 FIP, 52 strikeouts, 11.4 percent walk rate, 16 saves in 19 chances and a -0.5 bWAR across 40.2 innings.

However, Williams had a much better expected ERA of 3.22 and expected batting average against of .218. He also had a 29.7 percent hard hit rate, 28.3 percent strikeout rate, 34.4 percent whiff rate and 38.6 percent chase rate, per Baseball Savant.

So, the Mets plan on rolling with Williams as their closer in 2027 and will look for high-leverage relievers to bring in to complement him. Williams, 32, signed a three-year, $51 million deal with the Mets last offseason and ultimately replaced closer Edwin Diaz, who bolted for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns recently commented on what the team is prioritizing when building their bullpen.

"It's really 'can we just get guys out?'" Whether it's right-handed, left-handed, where they've pitched before, how they get guys out - a little bit less important for us" Stearns told reporters at GM Meetings earlier in the week.

The Mets are searching for arms that can get big outs in their bullpen. They aren't going after relievers that could replace Williams, who the team views as their closer going into next season. It would be wise for the Mets to signs some hurlers to serve as setup options to Williams in the late innings.

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