Devin Williams wanted to sign with the Cubs, not the Mets

With the departure of Edwin Diaz to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Mets closer will be Devin Williams for the 2026 campaign. This is far from ideal.

Especially since the main interested party didn't even want to line up for the Queens representatives for the next few seasons. In fact,according to what Bruce Levine reported on 670 The Score's Spiegel and Holmes show during the winter meetings, the reliever wanted to return to his former manager Craig Counsell, and thus to the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs met with Pete Alonso before he signed with the Orioles.

Also, Devin Williams' preference, all things equal, was to sign with the Cubs over the Mets, sources told @MLBBruceLevine, but the Cubs' offer didn't get to the $51 million that Williams got. pic.twitter.com/oC4au5hJxx

– 670 The Score (@670TheScore) December 10, 2025

His preference, according to some sources, was that he wanted to go to the Cubs. I heard the Cubs offered three years for Devin Williams, but it wasn't for the $51 million he signed with the Mets.

Nothing surprising here. First, Williams wanting to get back with his old skipper, then the Cubs not wanting to spend and finally the Mets finding themselves on the wrong side of the equation.

Presumably, since the Bears didn't stretch out the missing dollars to get their hands on a reliever who wanted to play for them, Chicago's offer was probably well below what Williams ultimately received, which is unacceptable for a franchise that can spend.

After missing out on reliever Ryan Helsley, let's just say that the Cubs' offseason isn't going quite the way their fans would like so far.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Mets find themselves with a pitcher who's only in New York for the money and who's decided to stay in a market, the Big Apple, where he's had all kinds of difficulties in 2025.

It doesn't bode well for the New Yorkers, and with the departures of Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, and Pete Alonso, the grumbling continues.

This content was created with the help of AI.