Re-grading the NY Mets signing of Devin Williams a month later

It became official on December 3, but on December 1, we knew Devin Williams was coming to the New York Mets. The initial thought was the Mets were moving on from Edwin Diaz although it was quickly reported they had intentions of bringing him back. A lot was left up in the air.

The original grade was a B-. Williams was a step down from Diaz. His struggles closing for the New York Yankees with no chance to redeem himself in that role by the end of the year left us all feeling a little bit doubtful about what he could bring to the Mets.

How are we feeling a month later knowing his role, what the signing may have led to, and what other relievers signed for?

Give the Mets free agent signing of Devin Williams a C

The grade has gotten worse. Oh no! What happened here.

Grading something as a C isn’t necessarily the end of the world even if it felt like that at times in middle school. For some kids. Their first C is like losing a limb. If you’re anything like me in middle school, you skip right over the C and go straight to a D. 8th grade algebra wasn’t easy. What’s a letter doing in a math problem?

Why the sudden change of heart? Without Diaz around, this isn’t as good. The Williams deal itself was no bargain and seems to correlate closely to what the market demanded. Furthermore, it appears by signing him so early in the offseason the Mets might have scared off others. Their plan to sign him and go after players like Diaz and Robert Suarez didn’t work out after all. Somehow, the Atlanta Braves still ended up with Suarez and Raisel Iglesias but maybe that’s because they brought back their guy first.

Diaz’s reported distaste for not being told the Mets were signing Williams may have been a big reason as to why he chose the Los Angeles Dodgers, among other things. Nothing about this signing has made it look any better in the month since the news first broke.

Short of pulling off a trade for Mason Miller, there’s little the Mets can do to improve the Williams signing. He appears ready to be their closer and one can’t help but feel added concern.