ORLANDO — David Stearns doesn’t need to speak about it.
Technically, he can’t say a lot about Edwin Diaz’s choice to signal with the Los Angeles Dodgers for 3 years and $69 million — solely $3 million greater than what the Mets supplied the All-Star nearer. The contract remains to be pending a bodily, and any public remark with the potential to have an effect on the phrases of the contract could possibly be thought-about tampering.
“Obviously, I’ve seen the reporting. Since the deal is not official, I can’t comment on it,” the Mets president of baseball operations mentioned Tuesday on the Winter Conferences in Orlando. “I’m very optimistic about where our offseason is headed. We’ve certainly got work to do, but there are a lot of good players out there, and I’m confident that we’re really going to like where our team is once we get to Opening Day.”
Nonetheless, Stearns may discuss in obscure phrases concerning the 31-year-old nearer. He may say Diaz represented the Mets nicely all through his six seasons in Queens, and he may say the membership now intends to amass a pitcher of his caliber.
He may even speak about how a lot he loves trumpet music. Or hates it. The CBA says nothing about music.
As an alternative, the baseball ops boss went the conservative route, declining to touch upon dropping the Diaz sweepstakes. In some unspecified time in the future, he’ll must say one thing as a result of the fanbase deserves accountability.
What Stearns can say now’s that he expects right-hander Devin Williams, who signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Mets final week, to be the nearer subsequent season.
“We’re very comfortable with that,” Stearns mentioned. “I’ve certainly seen Devin perform at a very high level for a long time. I have full confidence that he can be one of the best relievers in baseball. I think he’s very motivated to do that, and I’m looking forward to watching.”
Williams appeared as stunned as the remainder of baseball that Diaz selected the Dodgers. He agreed to deferrals in his contract so the Mets may allocate cash to signal Diaz and create an excellent bullpen.
“I kind of expected him to be back, honestly,” Williams mentioned throughout a go to to the Winter Conferences. “If I was a betting man, I would have thought he was going to be a Met. But he made whatever the right decision was for him and his family, so I wish him well.”
The Dodgers would possibly accomplish the purpose the Mets had for his or her bullpen if Tanner Scott can rebound from a wildly inconsistent season. The Mets would possibly need to contemplate Robert Suarez or Pete Fairbanks to proceed boosting their bullpen, and to insulate themselves in case Williams struggles once more.
They haven’t dominated out this chance.
“I think we’re having plenty of conversations,” Stearns mentioned. “I think there are different ways to build a bullpen, and we’re going to continue to explore all of them.”
Williams had a career-worst 4.79 ERA with the Yankees final season, and was demoted from the nearer position twice. The analytics didn’t present any sharp deviations or declines from his seasons in Milwaukee, and his stuff was nonetheless there. The Mets level to a .296 BaBIP as proof of unhealthy luck, however Williams had a .298 BaBIP throughout his sophomore season in 2021, however nonetheless pitched to a 2.50 ERA in 58 appearances with three saves, three blown saves and 23 holds as a setup man.
“A lot of this has been, frankly, pretty well documented and analyzed publicly in various ways,” Stearns mentioned. “He bought fairly unfortunate. The underlying elements have been nonetheless actually good. This may occur at instances with relievers the place there’s an anomalous time frame, or there’s an anomalous season. I believe what excites me about Devin is he’s not simply saying, ‘Oh, I got unlucky last year.’ He’s saying, ‘I want to get better, and there’s one other 12 months. And sure, I do know my stuff final 12 months was actually good, and the outcomes most likely didn’t essentially replicate how good I really was, however I can really get higher, and I can manipulate the ball a bit bit in a different way.’
“I think Devin is looking for another level, which is pretty cool.”
Stearns can discuss up Williams all he needs, but it surely’s of little solace to Mets followers who anticipate the group to aggressively go after the perfect gamers. A contract within the realm of 4 years at $75-80 million can be a stretch for a pitcher over 30 like Diaz, however when you might have the sources the Mets have, you can also make these presents.
Stearns spoke of a necessity to make use of the advantageous sources afforded to him by proprietor Steve Cohen in a “responsible” method, however the definition of accountable is totally different in Milwaukee than it’s in New York. A draft choose after the fourth spherical, the comfort for dropping Diaz, is of little curiosity to the followers.
If there’s something for the followers to derive some optimism from, it’s that Williams is prepared to work for that nearer spot.
“I think it’s something I may have the first crack at,” he mentioned. “But you have to earn it.”
