Mets'd Up Reax: Mets sign Devin Williams, Is Edwin Diaz gone?

00:00:10
Speaker 1: Mets just signed Devin Williams to a three year, fifty million dollar contract. The first thing that comes to everybody's mind is what does this mean? Freedwin Diaz, we will tell you everything along with our opinions thoughts about the.

00:00:23
Speaker 2: Devin Williams signing.

00:00:24
Speaker 1: Before we do, make sure you are subscribed to the Mets Up podcast. Also shout out all the members. We got a live stream coming to you guys soon. Don't worry, we got a live stream coming. I promise you it's coming soon. Subscribe, Subscribe, subscribe and also check out the merch Lincoln description if you want to get something for Christmas. Devin Williams James signed with the Mets three years fifty What are you thinking.

00:00:42
Speaker 3: Instant reaction in terms of the player.

00:00:44
Speaker 4: I think I definitely like the player more than maybe what his public perception is right now.

00:00:49
Speaker 3: The ra was high as a Yankee. It was kind of a disaster season.

00:00:52
Speaker 4: He allowed to earn run I have it here, I wrote it down here, allowed her to run in five of us for his fourteen appearances of the Yankees last year. I think that put them kind of on a that which sloped from the beginning, but still a really good pitcher, still striking guys out.

00:01:03
Speaker 3: Then the years and the money caught me very off guard here.

00:01:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, the years were shocking.

00:01:08
Speaker 1: I was truly surprised that Devin Williams won took a three year deal. But then when you see the money, you're like, oh, okay, I mean, I guess he kind of had to. Like Devin Williams coming off of the season that he had. While I think under the hood looked a lot better than what the r numbers, like you said, were three years fifty million, you can't say no to that if you're Devin Williams, no matter who's coming for you.

00:01:26
Speaker 2: He would have played for the Colorado Rockies at three for fifty.

00:01:29
Speaker 4: Definitely not And that's what does make me feel weirried about this trade, despite again liking the signing. What yeah, well, I'll talk more about the players we get through here, but the contract seems like a big commitment to a guy that at at worst is not a good closer, and at best you know there's going to be some erradicalness in production just based on the player archy type here.

00:01:50
Speaker 2: I mean.

00:01:50
Speaker 1: Shout out Diana the Queen of Mets Twitter. She put out a funny tweet that I book marked already. She was like Devin Williams and the David Stearns Run Organization one point eight ninet era David Stearns A non David Devin Williams and non David Stearns Run Organization three point four eight. This list address real quick the Edwin Das stuff. Everyone around the league, all the reporters, all the people that are in the know, are saying this has no impact, does not change anything with the Mets still being very interested in Edwin Diaz. And I think we have to say that quickly because I think the immediate reaction that anybody and I will say it makes sense, would have is what does this mean for Edwin Diaz? But I like the idea that if we don't get Edwin, which of course is a possibility, I still don't think we will miss out on him. We do still have what was a dynamite closer his entire career, except for when he was with the Yankees.

00:02:37
Speaker 4: Yes, exactly, But I do feel better about Devin Williams as the two with Edmund as the one.

00:02:42
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, no, I can't tell you. I'll be happy going Edwin DS and Devin Williams like.

00:02:48
Speaker 1: That, it's very much of what's been seems like all the David Sturtons moves so far this offseason, where it's like, well, if this is the only move, I don't feel great. I want to see what happens next, because if Devin Williams is our close are going into opening Day, I'm not gonna lie to you guys and say I feel good about it. Like, while I think the under the hood stuff is great, and he still strikes out a ton of guys, and it seems like last.

00:03:08
Speaker 2: Year was just a weird season with the Yankees.

00:03:10
Speaker 1: And I'm gonna try and find the Petriello stat about how when Devin Williams left the game, basically the Yankees relievers couldn't stop anybody from scoring. Yeah, and he killed all the inherited runners when he came into the game. But I won't feel good about it if Devin Williams' closer on April first. No, there's also last year Devin Williams went from the Brewers to the Yankees. The Blue was always the best infield defense in baseball, one of the best. The Yankees usually either in the middle or closer to the bottom, but you also hope that we have the infield defense to help him next year. It's just it was such a weird season for him the way it started. That did make it look so ugly at the end. But I think he's he's good. Like, the strike up rate was thirty five percent, that's good. Like the wift rate was still up the league best, that's good. The ground ball rate was still good. The quality of contact against him was still pretty good. Not as good, was still quite good. Like it seems like, no matter what, there's a better floor in Devin Williams than.

00:03:58
Speaker 3: The guy that we saw last year.

00:04:00
Speaker 2: I got the numbers.

00:04:01
Speaker 1: So Williams inherited six runners when he entered the game this season, he allowed zero to score.

00:04:06
Speaker 2: I like hearing that. I think that's a good stat.

00:04:08
Speaker 1: Williams left ten runners on when departing the next relievers are allowed seven of them to score. So seventy percent of the time when he left the game, the Yankees relievers allowed him to score. One hundred percent of the time when he came into the game with inherited runners, none of them scored.

00:04:21
Speaker 3: Okay, that's great, So again was a big deal. But I just this is weird.

00:04:26
Speaker 4: This is now only one of like twelve three year reliever contracts in baseball, and a handful of those were signed to guys who were pre arbitration like in terms of aav I know that deferrals will kick in to bring this down from fifteen million, probably a little bit lower, but Josh Adam's nineteen year Tanner Scott eighteen r I SA Glacier sixteen. It'd be Devin Williams right after that.

00:04:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, the deferrals.

00:04:46
Speaker 4: It's empty to add the idd As contract on top of this with him saying is that it would still I know it's being reported like that. I would still be surprised if you put this much money into the back of a bullpen.

00:04:55
Speaker 2: Yes and no.

00:04:56
Speaker 1: And the reason I say this is because we know that one of the issues right right now was for the Mets. And I'm not gonna bring up the twenty fourteen to fifteen Kansasity Royals.

00:05:04
Speaker 2: Because I love doing it.

00:05:05
Speaker 1: That's like that's modern baseball, like love it Chef's Kiss, where it's like our starters are gonna be at their best if we can get them to go six innings, and then if we can lock down seven, eight to nine which is a lot to say a lot to say. That's a lot to say, but it works. It has worked in the past, and I think with the options that are available realistically pitching wise for the Mets, on the starting rotation market, both free agency and trade wise, I think this is the plan.

00:05:31
Speaker 2: I really do.

00:05:32
Speaker 1: I think that they're still gonna get Edwin Diaz, and they're gonna be like eighth to ninth inning interchangeable. Those guys can pitch out either moment it's gonna be shut down, and then we just kind of got to get to the seventh. If we can get to the seventh, we're feeling good. Obviously it's easier than done. But over a season, like you still love the idea that the final six outs of the game are pretty locked up.

00:05:52
Speaker 4: I came on here so ready to be so excited about this signing and like kind of wax poetic. Poetic can pontificate about all the reasons that Devin Williams like better luck next year, but seeing that deal and seeing the way that his relatives, the rest of relievers in baseball that but the deferrals.

00:06:06
Speaker 2: The deferrals are big though.

00:06:07
Speaker 4: Okay, so deferrals still bring it down to twelve million against the luxury tax a year maybe best case scenario.

00:06:13
Speaker 3: I don't know exactly how those are going to work.

00:06:14
Speaker 2: I don't know how those numbers work.

00:06:15
Speaker 1: But like in terms of AAV, I'm just we're just gonna talk about AV because we can't talk about luxury tax right now. Taking fifteen million off over those three years because of the deferrals, that's how much its gonna be five million a year. That puts them right around ten million dollars a year. Like that's what Lesson Tanner Scott got. This doesn't take better than Tanner Scott. That's like Leslan Kirbyate's got.

00:06:35
Speaker 2: It's scary when you look at, you know, Robert Stevenson too.

00:06:38
Speaker 1: Also the fact that Robert Stevenson also never had the to say success Devin Williams had either, that's I think that's it's it's hard when you see Devin Williams really stinking up like he did with the Yankees, Like there's no doubt that having not gonna spin you that A four era was ever good for him by any means. But he had the sustained success and was dominant before that, Like disgustingly dominant, similar way where Edwin dis when he came to the Mets, had the one horrendous season and then has been quite literally the best reliever in baseball.

00:07:04
Speaker 4: Since I am only talking about it in the context of I'm still assuming my head when Diaz is not back.

00:07:10
Speaker 1: Honestly, that's how I'm taking these back. That's how I feel.

00:07:13
Speaker 3: AFT is.

00:07:13
Speaker 4: If if I were to tell you a world maybe you can get in my head space here. You know, Edwin Diaz is not back.

00:07:17
Speaker 3: What do you think of this?

00:07:19
Speaker 1: Don't love it? That's I kind of said that at the beginning. As I said, that's been Sterens' offseason is He's made moves where I'm like, well, there's gotta be more to this, right like this this can't be the move, just like sime and trade couldn't be the move. Like you're you're worst off trading Simeon for Nimo if that's the only thing that you do. Simeon does not make this team better than brand Nemo does. If you go from Edwin das Devin Williams, the Mets are a worst team.

00:07:43
Speaker 4: I just want to be more excited about this. I'm sad I'm not letting myself get this. Well, listen, I'm not excited. I'm not pretending like I'm excited.

00:07:51
Speaker 3: You seem like you're excited.

00:07:52
Speaker 1: I think it's just a different vibe right now of where we're at in the night, where you know, I might I just have a little more energy.

00:07:58
Speaker 2: Maybe that.

00:07:58
Speaker 4: But man like, if he's the closer, I just you pay them kind of closer ish money. This is the closes thing, the closer money that. But maybe especially with that third year.

00:08:07
Speaker 1: Maybe because Uncle Steve he got that casino today, maybe he's like, we got all it, Hey on it, big brain, Uncle Steve goes, I'm gonna own a casino next to City Field, all the hotels, the casino property. I'm gonna be making such boatloads of money. And we saw the reports that came out about is networth now being close to thirty billion dollars, which is double basically where it was when he bought the Mets, which is absolutely insane because the Mets still haven't done shit and his net worth is doubled in terms of billions.

00:08:35
Speaker 2: Maybe he was just like, go get Devin Williams.

00:08:37
Speaker 1: It's our eighth and guy, we're gonna pay Edwin Das to maybe he goes nuclear and he pulls kind of a Dodger and said, we want our guys.

00:08:43
Speaker 2: We're just gonna pay him. We're gonna pay the guys that we want to hear. How many years do you think Edwin Diaz going to get his contract?

00:08:48
Speaker 3: Now?

00:08:49
Speaker 2: Five?

00:08:49
Speaker 3: You think he's going to get five? Five?

00:08:51
Speaker 1: Five for the record was what five for one hundred, right, that's what he originally signed and that was the record five for.

00:08:56
Speaker 2: Like one hundred two. Okay, so he'll probably go five.

00:08:58
Speaker 1: He'll probably go five for one oh three, like just whatever, whatever is the minimum to break it.

00:09:02
Speaker 2: I think that's what's gonna happen.

00:09:03
Speaker 3: My brain went there too when this happened. If like for Devin Williams getting three, like Edward.

00:09:07
Speaker 4: Has to get, Ryan Helsy just got too like I mean, I think also with an opt out.

00:09:11
Speaker 3: The surprising thing about the.

00:09:12
Speaker 4: Devin Williams is the no opt out, because there is a world where like you're saying, like it's definitely possible. Here like Devin Williams reverts to being an easy top five closing in baseball, Yes, you wouldn't be knocked one hundred percent, very possible, probably better than fifty percent chance of that happening. Now you're locking yourself into everything I'm saying against. Now you're locking yourself into like eight million lower av than you actually could get if you got right back on the market. That's what makes this very weird to me. It feels like both teams made the really honest concession. Like usually deals like this, teams seem to avoid more risk and like just throw the opt out but give you more money. This is kind of like, this is a huge bet on Devin Williams, this huge bet that Devin warms and kind of a lack of a lack of bet at Devin Williams on itself a little bit.

00:09:51
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00:10:52
Speaker 1: It's also like a big player flag moment for David Stearns possibly as well.

00:10:55
Speaker 4: Kind of Yeah, this is one that if the two ways this could go, could say a lot about what happens the next few years, maybe with just the public perception of David Sterns wherever it is right now.

00:11:06
Speaker 1: I mean, we've been two of the biggest Sterns guys and this is the first time we've truthfully.

00:11:10
Speaker 2: Been like, what's going on here.

00:11:13
Speaker 3: It's a funny end though, because again, like before coming on.

00:11:16
Speaker 4: Just seeing an instant reaction see the update, I'm like, yes' happy because I can't wait.

00:11:19
Speaker 3: Talked about Devin Williams. Then seeing the money, it totally shifted my entire perspective.

00:11:24
Speaker 1: I mean, couldn't Devin Williams wait the years in the money like be like I need the three years because it takes you through the lockout too, like you just don't want to think about it, and then you have a clean year after the lockout.

00:11:33
Speaker 4: Maybe I guess if we're already get into the lockout though we can't.

00:11:35
Speaker 3: I think these guys are.

00:11:37
Speaker 2: For thinking about that, and front officers too.

00:11:39
Speaker 4: We're all seeing like the reversal on that because we've seen more guys take the qualifying offer than years past, and possibly Devin Williams taking away some aav that gives some extra years. This also seemed to me like the Luis Everarno deal of I don't want to move out of New York, but I don't have an offer out there that I want good enough yet, which is why I was like, nice, one year, two year opt out, no risk, Let's have some fun. It's this is strange, This is not a risk of move.

00:12:00
Speaker 2: No this is this is risk move.

00:12:02
Speaker 1: This is another guy that Stern's taken back from his Milwaukee days as well.

00:12:07
Speaker 2: The first one did not work out well.

00:12:09
Speaker 4: It seemed weird because that's the way definitely was let me walk in. Know David Stearns wasn't there at the time. It was kind of like bye bye, steal lads.

00:12:15
Speaker 2: Let the door hit you on the way out. We could figure out the new version of you.

00:12:19
Speaker 4: I mean, there's also going to be the narrative people can be like, he can't pitch in New York, we kept him in New York again, I don't think fair.

00:12:24
Speaker 2: He is a bit of a head case. Devid Williams is.

00:12:27
Speaker 4: He'd he barked at some umpires, but also he got that from his manager last year.

00:12:30
Speaker 2: That was kind of part of the Yankee way. Yeah, I've heard things he's a head case off the field, So.

00:12:35
Speaker 3: For sure he probably might he might be, definitely could be.

00:12:37
Speaker 4: I guess Sterens knows him kind of well, yeah, definitely doesn't better than us.

00:12:40
Speaker 3: It's for the confidence right there.

00:12:42
Speaker 4: The other big thing with Devin Williams that was very weird is that just for some reason last year he gave up a lot more singles on pitches outside the strike zone.

00:12:49
Speaker 3: Strange anomally that happened.

00:12:51
Speaker 4: Hitter swung on pitches outside the strike zone a good bit more than they did the previous year.

00:12:54
Speaker 3: The whiff rate and those went down.

00:12:56
Speaker 4: The batting average went up, but the slugging percentage, the quality of contact and those didn't go.

00:13:00
Speaker 3: So that's kind of something that.

00:13:01
Speaker 2: We're alluding to before.

00:13:02
Speaker 4: Just hit it, throwing the bat out there, trying to get through the Yankee infield. It's just he I can't gut over how weird of the season it was, and I can't get over the fact that be guaranteed.

00:13:10
Speaker 3: In three seasons.

00:13:10
Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe it just maybe it doesn't matter that much. Maybe this is maybe this.

00:13:14
Speaker 1: Is us being a little PTSD two of like old Mets, Yeah, where it's like three years, like we're never gonna sign another reliever.

00:13:21
Speaker 2: But maybe it doesn't matter.

00:13:22
Speaker 1: I mean, you see how important these guys can be in the back end of the games. Maybe Edwin Diaz asking for crazy maybe once one hundred and twenty million, Like we don't know where he's actually going with all this. Maybe this is just the insurance if for some reason that when Diaz gets absolutely insane in.

00:13:37
Speaker 2: His asking price.

00:13:38
Speaker 3: I guess that's true.

00:13:39
Speaker 4: So we just became the third team in baseball to have two relievers in our bullpen, even without it. When Diaz signed to at least two to each of them signed a ten million dollars AAV contract. Try and name the other teams, Dodgers. Dodgers are one of them. Any one of these teams shows up here in the contracts. But one of the guys originally was signed as a starting pitchers. I'm not counting him.

00:13:59
Speaker 2: In this, Okay, Dodgers. How many teams are there?

00:14:02
Speaker 3: There's one more?

00:14:03
Speaker 1: Is it going to be the Boston Red Sows?

00:14:07
Speaker 4: They were the team that was the technicality because they've hicks, But I'm not Countingham's for these fair.

00:14:11
Speaker 1: What and then so there's still one more team? One more team Alanta Braves, No Toronto Blue Jays, No?

00:14:19
Speaker 2: Oh, is it? Is it the Orioles.

00:14:23
Speaker 4: It's the Baltimore Orioles. Just kick just got them both, Ryan Helsey Andrew Kittridge. So this is this is strange. We have three of them, will be the only team to have that.

00:14:32
Speaker 1: We're We're the only team that's where it got an owner who's got thirty billion dollars.

00:14:36
Speaker 4: Hopefully that's the case. Maybe just spend just absolutely spent out of our assets. Maybe this, if this is the sign for that, that's great. If this is going to be the only big bullpen acquisition, I'll feel a little bit uneasy despite liking Devin Wood.

00:14:47
Speaker 1: Okay, now to just really give you some crazy hypotheticals. Here, Edwin Diaz one hundred million for five, right, we're just gonna give that a round number, just so for eazy math. Ed Devin Williams fifty million for the three theoretically fifty million more dollar to play with. Could you put those fifty million more dollars now towards Pete Alonzo Cody Bellinger? Do you feel better if that money saved by going to Williams goes towards getting better players overall, or maybe even the starting pitcher.

00:15:12
Speaker 3: Possibly that's also the opposite of what you're saying.

00:15:14
Speaker 4: We're saying this deal. I just I just want to know this deal should mean that money's limitless. But I'm gonna throw you, would you rather right back? Because it just hit me in the head.

00:15:21
Speaker 1: So you're not gonna answer mine. You're just gonna throw it right back.

00:15:23
Speaker 4: I think, I think yes, but I also still assume those guys aren't effected.

00:15:26
Speaker 3: I think the most direct correlation here has to be Edwin.

00:15:29
Speaker 4: So I'll give you one for this for five for one hundred pretends even the exact same contract. Or maybe we'll give it five for one hundred verus of five for one to twenty. Would you either Edwin or Cody Bellinger?

00:15:40
Speaker 2: Oh? Wow, ed now knowing that Devin Williams is on the team.

00:15:44
Speaker 4: Yes, Bellinger a little bit more expensive, same length of a deal for two kind of interesting risk, differently risked players.

00:15:50
Speaker 2: God, I love Edwin.

00:15:51
Speaker 4: Give me Edwin, bring it back, bring back boys. I thought that too, But is that stupid? Are we stupid for thinking that?

00:15:56
Speaker 2: Rob who attached?

00:15:57
Speaker 3: Are we too attached to Edwin Diaz for this conversation right now?

00:16:00
Speaker 2: Probably it's probably not really a fair conversation.

00:16:02
Speaker 1: But also at the same time, we know how important it is to just lock down the last three outs of the game or the last four sometimes with how Edwin's been and when you look around the league, it's almost impossible to find someone that's had the consistency that Edwin Diaz has had since the juice Ball era, Like, besides blowing out his knee in the World Baseball Classic, he's basically been unhittable since what twenty twenty one.

00:16:27
Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely, But even when all those things were happening, there was never actually, I mean again, you actually had a lot of doubt about it. But everything you looked at for Edmond Diaz looked like it was totally fine. Like everything philosophy, everything movement wise, everything swinging miss and that is the same thing that just happened with Devin Williams. Devin Williams last he did go down, but also during twenty twenty four just went up for some reason. He was always like a ninety four to ninety five guy. Then he went to ninety six and this year went back to ninety four. So that's also in line with where he was when he was elite. Like it's this is kind of one of those things where we saw another team make a deal would be like, wow, what a fun risk to take.

00:16:59
Speaker 2: Yeah, and now we're making this deal. We're like, oh, we're taking the risk.

00:17:03
Speaker 4: You're like kind of like the Dylan Ce's picture contracts, Yeah, Pitcher contracts.

00:17:06
Speaker 1: It's one of those where Uh again, I'll say one more time, Gotta see what the next move is for David Stearns. Like again, this can't be the only one, because then I don't like it if it is the only one.

00:17:17
Speaker 2: Eh.

00:17:17
Speaker 1: If this is in addition to Edwin Diaz or in addition to maybe now we're more involved in some other players that we haven't even been thinking.

00:17:25
Speaker 2: About, that could be good.

00:17:26
Speaker 1: Okay, great, But if Devin Williams is the closer, and that's kind of like that's our best arm in the bullpen going into the twenty twenty sixth season, don't don't love it, don't love it, No, do not do not love it that much. That being said, And David Stearns, we trust, I trust them. I trust him's gonna get the job done.

00:17:41
Speaker 2: And still like Devin Williams, like Devin won. Yeah, like Devin Williams.

00:17:44
Speaker 3: Love Devin Williams.

00:17:45
Speaker 2: Like the contract scary. It's just it's scary.

00:17:48
Speaker 1: It's scary when you think the guy that was never gonna leave is gonna possibly leave.

00:17:51
Speaker 4: Would you push them chips into the table like this, It's like, all right, now you gotta start paying attention, Like you tighten up a little bit, this is like.

00:17:57
Speaker 1: This is like for gamblers out there, like playing blackjack. You get the you get the split, and then it gives you another eight on top of right. You have to splay a game like this is why we gamble. This is why we play the game. You don't play to just have to stick around the zero. You try and make a big move here.

00:18:09
Speaker 3: It's kind of also like Texas, hold them.

00:18:10
Speaker 4: If you're bluffing and you put a big bet, everyone falls, one person stays in and they hit you back.

00:18:15
Speaker 3: You're like, all right, let's let's play ball.

00:18:17
Speaker 2: Let's play some ball.

00:18:18
Speaker 3: This is a play This is a playball move.

00:18:20
Speaker 2: This is a playball move.

00:18:20
Speaker 1: We'd love to know what you guys have to think about it down in the comments section below. Don't forget to subscribe to mess Up, not only just on YouTube, but also on the audio side.

00:18:29
Speaker 2: Google Audio, Google Audio. No, we're not promoting them.

00:18:32
Speaker 1: First, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google if you listen on there, wherever you listen to your podcast, subscribe to us download, leave us a rating, leave us a review. We do appreciate. You can follow James on social media at James Giana. I'm Draftneckmark with the Sea. Thank you guys for listening and watching. We will all catch you later this week. James said it it's gonna be a crazy week and it's already off to a ridiculous start.

00:18:54
Speaker 3: Let's go Mets, baby,