ORLANDO — With Devin Williams bolting the Bronx for the crosstown rival Mets, Brian Cashman said that he never made the reliever a formal offer.
The Yankees general manager did speak to Williams’ rep once or twice and asked for updates on the right-hander’s market. However, Cashman never got a call back.
“I’m not saying he needed to,” Cashman continued Sunday night at the Winter Meetings in Orlando.
A representative for Williams declined to comment on Cashman’s version of events when contacted by the Daily News.
Williams ended up getting a three-year, $51 million deal from the Mets. The payday followed a turbulent season for the 31-year-old, as the Yankees had to pull him from the closer’s role twice. Hindered by a few implosions and blown saves, especially early on in the season, Williams ended the season with a 4.79 ERA over 62 innings.
Acquired by the Yankees from the Brewers for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin last offseason, Williams also played a catalytic role in the Yankees ending the long-standing facial hair ban last spring. That didn’t do him any favors in the eyes of some fans as he struggled.
While Williams didn’t post great surface numbers last season, the two-time National League Reliever of the Year had strong free agent interest after maintaining impressive metrics. His xBA, Chase%, Whiff% & K% were all in the 95th percentile or better, and his Stuff+ was 114. His xERA (3.09) and FIP (2.68) were drastically better than his ERA, and he finished the year with 13 straight scoreless outings, including the playoffs.
Results aside, Williams has repeatedly said that he liked the way he threw the ball for most of last season. Cashman didn’t disagree with that evaluation.
“He had a handful of games that destroyed the overall numbers,” Cashman said. “I thought he pitched pretty close to what he’d always pitched in the years gone by.
“He was a weapon that [Aaron Boone] could deploy. He helped us. At the end of the day, I don’t disagree with how he would describe the season. So bringing him back, I wouldn’t have made the phone call if it wasn’t a possibility. We didn’t make an offer, but I did have that conversation.”
Williams wasn’t the only Yankees reliever to hit the open market this winter, as Luke Weaver remains a free agent. Cashman said he has spoken to the righty’s rep, though he didn’t say more than that.
The Yankees have several holes to fill in their bullpen, but they do have a closer in David Bednar, who was acquired from the Pirates last summer. Bednar would make free agent closers like Edwin Díaz and Robert Suarez luxuries for a club with other needs, but Cashman wouldn’t rule anything out.
“Bednar is our guy, but my job is to be open-minded to see what more I can add,” he said.
