How Devin Williams signing with Mets completely changed Dodgers offseason in MLB shocker
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.Devin Williams should get a cut of Edwin Diaz’s signing bonus.Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman revealed that his team only seriously considered signing Diaz after the Mets brought in Williams.“He was at the top of the list, but starting the offseason we just didn’t think it was that realistic,” Friedman told SportsNet LA on Friday after welcoming Diaz to Los Angeles.“We logged in our interest call, made sure and checked in but it was very much in the back of our mind like, ‘Let’s not waste a ton of time on this.’ The likelihood that he’ll leave New York seems really low, and it wasn’t until Devin Williams signed with the Mets that I think two or three minutes later called the agent, checked in, and noticed a little bit more openness.“That’s when we started to get work on it and it wasn’t until Monday night, really into Tuesday morning that we felt like, ‘OK, we got a real shot here.'”The Dodgers signing Diaz is one of the most stunning moves of the offseason since most expected he would stay in Flushing due to his individual success with the team and the owner Steve Cohen’s deep pockets.Free agency is never a given, though, and the Mets had to operate in free agency with the idea they could possibly lose the flamethrower.They acquired Williams for three years and $51 million on Dec.
1, a move that gave them a top setup man had they retained Diaz and a potential closer replacement if Diaz left.The Mets still tried to land Diaz, but they would not go to the lengths the Dodgers would.The Dodgers offered three years and $69 million while the Mets came in at $66 million, although that included some wiggle room.The Post reported that the Mets did not help their cause by dumping pitching coach Jeremy Hefner in a move that left Diaz unhappy.“Once you add to a certain part of your...