2021 Mets Report Card: Trevor Williams, RHP
Player Data: Age: 29 (4/25/1992), B/T: R/R
Primary Stats: 10 G, 32 1/3 IP, 0-0 W/L record, 3.06 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 29 K, 3.22 SO/BB
Advanced Stats: 132 ERA+. 20.6 K%, 6.4 BB%, 2.71 FIP, 3.89 xFIP, 0.5 bWAR, 0.6 fWAR
2021 salary: $2,500,000
Grade: B
2021 Review
On July 30, the Mets acquired Trevor Williams along with Javier Báez from the Chicago Cubs for Pete Crow-Armstrong. Williams was probably an overlooked part of the deal to most Met fans, as Báez is a one of the game’s biggest stars and Crow-Armstrong was a recent first-round pick. Williams was acquired to be a depth piece for the rotation, but with injuries piling up, it didn’t take long for him to get a permanent spot on the roster. Despite spending nearly two weeks with Triple-A Syracuse to start his Mets career, Williams found success during his short time in Queens.
New York recalled Williams on August 12 to start in a seven-inning game against the Washington Nationals. He only pitched 4 1/3 innings that day, but he held the Nationals to just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out two in a 5-4 win. The following day, the Mets optioned Williams back to Syracuse, but he was recalled just three days later to split time between a bullpen role and spot starts.
In his first two relief appearances, Williams had multi-inning scoreless outings against baseball’s two best teams, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. Against the Dodgers on August 19, Williams went two hitless innings, allowing just one walk and hitting a batter. Five days later, he allowed just one hit and a walk over 2 1/3 innings against the Giants. In his final August outing, Williams started against the Miami Marlins in another seven-inning game. He only lasted 4 1/3 again, but he held the Marlins to just four hits and one unearned run while striking out four in another Mets win.
Through 13 innings in August, the right-hander had an ERA of just 0.69 with a 0.92 WHIP while holding batters to a .182 average.
Unfortunately, September was not as kind. His first outing was a start in Washington against the Nationals on September 6. Facing the Nationals for the second time in less than a month, he allowed 10 hits and two walks in just five innings, but was able to hold them to just two runs. Despite a less than stellar outing, he was in line for his first win as a Met before a ninth-inning comeback from the Nationals led to a disappointing loss.
Williams made two relief outings on back-to-back days against the Cardinals on September 13 and 14. In both outings, he allowed one hit over 2/3 of an inning.
After returning to the staring rotation, Williams started against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on September 22. In that start, he was hit hard, allowing six runs (four earned) in four innings on eight hits and a walk in a loss.
Williams followed Noah Syndergaard‘s inning as an opener on September 28 with four solid frames of his own, allowing just one run on five hits. Despite a .379 batting average against for the month and a 1.95 WHIP over 14 1/3 September innings, Williams kept his ERA at just 4.40 for the month. While it is nearly impossible that he will be able to strand runners at that rate in the future, he does deserve credit for how he navigated through that traffic on the base paths.
In his final outing of the season on October 3 in Atlanta, he allowed three runs over five innings on four hits and a walk after following Syndergaard’s second one-inning start.
When the Mets acquired Williams alongside Báez, not much was expected of him. Despite being a minor part of a major trade, he gave New York quality innings in multiple roles throughout his two months with the team.
2022 Outlook
Williams is projected to make $3.7 million in 2022 according to MLB Trade Rumors’ projections. Considering the Mets’ rotation is filled with pitchers who were either injured, struggled or both in 2021, Williams should provide a solid depth option again next season. While it may be unlikely to assume he will have a defined role throughout the season, Williams could contribute in a number of ways, similar to how he did in 2021.
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