In a lost season, Devin Williams is trying to establish health, if nothing else, and is nearing a return.
The Mets closer, who has been out since Aug. 7 with a shoulder strain, threw his third session off a mound at Citi Field on Monday and is expected to face hitters for the first time Thursday. If that goes well, he likely would be fast-tracked to the major league pen without a rehab assignment for a season that has less than two weeks remaining.
“He looked good on the mound today,” said interim manager Andy Green, who watched most of the session and cautioned there will be more boxes to check before an official activation. “Stuff was coming out really well.”
Williams said that finishing the season healthy and “having a normal offseason is ideal.” If and when he does return, he would rejoin a very different group than the bullpen with which he spent most of the season’s first four months.
Without Williams, Kodai Senga has flashed intriguing stuff as fill-in closer. Nate Lavender has been untouchable in replacing Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter. Daniel Duarte has made a case that he belongs on the 2027 Mets.
“For the most part, they’ve been lights-out,” said Williams, who would be the rare veteran reliever among the group. “I think moving forward it’s going to be really beneficial for a lot of these guys. … The only way to get good in those situations is by being put in them. So I think they’re all getting a lot of really valuable experience.”
Senga has embraced his late-game role but often has noted he feels best as a starter, a job he could not hold on to this year.
A healthy Williams would bump Senga to a slightly lesser role, but Williams sounds intrigued by the possibility of them both pitching in late-game situations.
“He’s 6-for-6 [in save chances]. He’s punching tickets. Throwing 100 [mph] and with a nasty forkball. What else do you want?” Williams said of Senga. “… I’d love to have him in the back end. I can’t really speak to what he wants.”
With the 2-1 loss to the Orioles, which was decided by Gunnar Henderson’s eighth-inning home run against Dedniel Núñez, the Mets (69-81) were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
A.J. Ewing homered in the fourth inning and has reached base in 12 of his past 13 games, a span in which he has slashed .370/.434/.640.
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Senga pitched around two singles in a scoreless, three-strikeout ninth inning and has pitched to a 1.88 ERA since his role was elevated after the trade deadline.
Lefty Cionel Pérez, who has been out with a left forearm strain since July 29, has pitched two scoreless innings in Double-A Binghamton to begin a rehab assignment.
Pérez, who owned a 4.21 ERA in 20 games with the Mets, is expected to pitch with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, after which the Mets will “evaluate where he’s at,” Green said.
