The New York Mets have signed free agent relief pitcher Devin Williams to a three-year, $51 million deal, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic and other Mets reporters. That’s a good get for the Mets, who are looking to add some bullpen help this winter. But that’s not the part of the headlines that could have an impact on the A’s offseason.
Instead, it was the report that followed from Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, who said, “multiple sources said the Mets still have interest in re-signing incumbent closer Edwin DÃaz even after agreeing to terms with Williams.”
So how does any of this impact the A’s exactly?
Well, if the Mets end up getting both Williams and DÃaz this winter, that would mean that another team in the market for a high leverage relief arm could be forced to either look elsewhere to fill their own need, or could be forced to hit the trade market instead.
The A’s are already fighting an uphill battle, attempting to convince players to come to a minor-league facility in West Sacramento for any length of time. This could ultimately make the options available to the A’s dwindle, unless they act quickly to secure their target of choice.
Even if the A’s do move with haste, that doesn’t mean that things will work out for them. The free agent market is fairly full still, and that means that those players can still believe that they have plenty of options to consider. For most free agents, Sacramento is going to be towards the bottom of their wish lists.
Could that lead to the A’s bumping off their offer(s) to relief targets? It wouldn’t be the worst idea if it’ll make the team better in 2026, with the team hoping to contend for a postseason berth in the coming year. An improved bullpen would certainly help them achieve that goal.
On the Other Hand..
While the A’s could certainly be after a ninth inning reliever heading into 2026, we came up with three options for the A’s in the ninth inning for next year, and two of them ended up being internal options. The first was Hogan Harris, who went from swingman to full-time relief pitcher last year. He could be the key lefty out of the bullpen for the green and gold next year.
The other main option would be Jack Perkins, who certainly has the stuff to be a late inning option for the club. He’s a hard-throwing right-hander that missed some time during his rookie season, and could be seen as a relief option—so basically the Mason Miller trajectory.
The Athletics front office would love for Perkins to remain a starter, but they have to be thinking that he could end up in the bullpen with another injury. They could also go out and add a starting pitcher, essentially giving up the spot in the rotation that is believed to belong to Perkins the way the roster is constructed right now. That would free up Perkins to go dominate in relief in 2026.
One way or another, the Mets offseason plans could be having an impact on how the A’s are not only going to go about their offseason, but also how they’re going to construct their own roster in the coming weeks.
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