ORLANDO — David Stearns doesn’t want to talk about it.
Technically, he can’t say much about Edwin Diaz’s decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers for three years and $69 million — only $3 million more than what the Mets offered the All-Star closer. The contract is still pending a physical, and any public comment with the potential to affect the terms of the contract could be considered 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 said Tuesday at the Winter Meetings 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.”
Still, Stearns could talk in vague terms about the 31-year-old closer. He could say Diaz represented the Mets well throughout his six seasons in Queens, and he could say the club now intends to acquire a pitcher of his caliber.
He could even talk about how much he loves trumpet music. Or hates it. The CBA says nothing about music.
Instead, the baseball ops boss went the conservative route, declining to comment on losing the Diaz sweepstakes. At some point, he’ll need to say something because the fanbase deserves accountability.
What Stearns can say now is that he expects right-hander Devin Williams, who signed a three-year, $51 million contract with the Mets last week, to be the closer next season.
“We’re very comfortable with that,” Stearns said. “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 seemed as surprised as the rest of baseball that Diaz chose the Dodgers. He agreed to deferrals in his contract so the Mets could allocate money to sign Diaz and create a super bullpen.
“I kind of expected him to be back, honestly,” Williams said during a visit to the Winter Meetings. “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 might accomplish the goal the Mets had for their bullpen if Tanner Scott can rebound from a wildly inconsistent season. The Mets might want to consider Robert Suarez or Pete Fairbanks to continue boosting their bullpen, and to insulate themselves in case Williams struggles again.
They haven’t ruled out this possibility.
“I think we’re having plenty of conversations,” Stearns said. “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 last season, and was demoted from the closer role twice. The analytics didn’t show any sharp deviations or declines from his seasons in Milwaukee, and his stuff was still there. The Mets point to a .296 BaBIP as evidence of bad luck, but Williams had a .298 BaBIP during his sophomore season in 2021, but still 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 said. “He got pretty unlucky. The underlying ingredients were still really good. This can happen at times with relievers where there’s an anomalous period of time, or there’s an anomalous season. I think what excites me about Devin is he’s not just saying, ‘Oh, I got unlucky last year.’ He’s saying, ‘I want to get better, and there’s another year. And yes, I know my stuff last year was really good, and the results probably didn’t necessarily reflect how good I actually was, but I can actually get better, and I can manipulate the ball a little bit differently.’
“I think Devin is looking for another level, which is pretty cool.”
Stearns can talk up Williams all he wants, but it’s of little solace to Mets fans who expect the team to aggressively go after the best players. A contract in the realm of four years at $75-80 million would be a stretch for a pitcher over 30 like Diaz, but when you have the resources the Mets have, you can make those offers.
Stearns spoke of a need to use the advantageous resources afforded to him by owner Steve Cohen in a “responsible” way, but the definition of responsible is different in Milwaukee than it is in New York. A draft pick after the fourth round, the consolation for losing Diaz, is of little interest to the fans.
If there’s anything for the fans to derive some optimism from, it’s that Williams is willing to work for that closer spot.
“I think it’s something I may have the first crack at,” he said. “But you have to earn it.”
