JUPITER, Fla. – Devin Williams’ first Grapefruit League pitch in a Mets uniform resulted in a ball going behind the fence Friday at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
The cutter, a pitch Williams is still learning, took too much of JJ Wetherholt’s strike zone in the fourth inning.
“That one, specifically, I was just trying to throw a strike,” Williams said on a day the Mets rolled to a 14-3 victory over the Cardinals. “He jumped on it, so that’s part of it.”
Williams, who will fill the role of closer, retired the next three batters he faced in the inning.
He averaged 90 mph with his four-seam fastball.
“That first throw, that cutter, didn’t cut much,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s a pitch he’s working on, but I thought the fastball was good. He made some good sliders, another pitch he’s working on, so good inning of work for him.”
Williams, who received a three-year, $51 million contract — he spent last season with the Yankees — said he needs about eight or nine appearances in spring training games to prepare for the season.
MJ Melendez homered twice for the Mets, going to the opposite field for both.
Melendez is trying to land an outfield job with the team after arriving as a free agent three weeks ago.
“I knew I would learn a lot here,” Melendez said. “Very advanced things that I already knew about myself, but didn’t really know how to get the best version of myself, and just learned those things every day, and it’s been great so far.”
Melendez’s training included learning about his swing path and stance.
“Just things that my body is good at, but I didn’t necessarily know exactly how and why,” Melendez said. “Dig into those things and on the outfield side, how to read better and improve on a daily basis.”
According to Mendoza, Grae Kessinger left the match with knee problems and will likely undergo an MRI examination.
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