The upper echelon of the reliever market is starting to thin.
On Monday evening, it was reported by The Athletic’s Will Sammon that the New York Mets have signed Devin Williams. The other day, it was reported that several teams were interested in Williams, and although the Toronto Blue Jays weren’t specifically mentioned, it wouldn’t be surprising if they had interest in the 31-year-old.
Reliever Devin Williams and the Mets are in agreement on a three-year deal, league source tells The Athletic.
— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) December 2, 2025
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It’s a three-year deal that could be worth more than $50 million, with some deferred money. That seems to be the going price for high-leverage relievers this season, as Raisel Iglesias signed for $16 million earlier this season.
Reliever Devin Williams and the New York Mets are in agreement on a three-year contract that guarantees more than $50 million, sources tell ESPN.
First on the agreement was @WillSammon.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 2, 2025
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On the surface, Williams’ 2025 season wasn’t a great one after the New York Yankees acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers. In 62 innings pitched, the 31-year-old had a 4.79 ERA and 2.68 FIP, with a 34.7 K% and 9.7 BB%. Aside from 13.2 innings pitched in 2019, Williams’ K% in 2025 was the lowest of his career.
Williams was also one of the most dominant relievers in baseball from 2020 until 2024 with the Brewers, authoring a 1.70 ERA and 2.44 FIP in 222 innings pitched, with a 40.8 K% and 12 BB%. During the 2025 season, Williams lost his closing job twice, once early in the season after Alejandro Kirk hit a double off the righty, and again when the Yankees “won the trade deadline” by acquiring David Bednar, Camilo Doval, and Jake Bird.
Under the hood, the stuff was still great as Williams was one of the best relievers at generating whiffs and chases. There’s a strong likelihood that Williams will bounce back in 2026 with the Mets.
Williams isn’t the first high-leverage reliever to sign in recent times. On Saturday, the Baltimore Orioles signed Ryan Helsley, while Raisel Iglesias and Phil Maton signed earlier this off-season. Even though Williams signed with the Mets, it doesn’t seem like the Mets are out of the race to re-sign Edwin Díaz.
This does not take the Mets out of the market for Edwin Diaz. It doesn’t mean they’ll def sign him, but they’re still in. https://t.co/h0fwvvtXhd
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) December 2, 2025
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Thankfully, there are still a handful of options remaining for the Blue Jays. Díaz is the best of the bunch, but Robet Suárez and Pete Fairbanks are two other interesting names who could end up closing for the Jays in 2026. Fairbanks, in particular, was linked to the Blue Jays earlier on Monday.
It’ll be interesting to see how everything plays out ahead of next week’s Winter Meetings!
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.