Devin Williams Takes the Money, the Beard, and the Backstab Express Straight to Queens

You ever feel like the Yankees broke a piece of their soul for a guy, and he still walked out on them?

The Mets Drop Big Money While the Yankees Hold the Bag

The Mets are in agreement with free agent reliever Devin Williams on a three-year contract that guarantees more than $50 million. No opt-outs. No options. Just a full commitment to Queens. David Stearns gets his guy back, the same weapon he watched turn into one of the nastiest late-inning arms in Milwaukee with that “airbender” changeup.

And here is the part that burns for Yankee fans. Williams does not even have to move. Same city. Different borough. Same beard. Different uniform. Same pitcher the Yankees thought they could fix and build around, now jogging out of another bullpen with a smile on his face and a fat contract in his pocket.

The Milwaukee Monster Who Never Really Showed Up in the Bronx

On paper, this was supposed to be a steal when the Yankees brought him in. Rookie of the Year in 2020. Two-time Trevor Hoffman Award winner. Two-time All-Star. A career 1.83 ERA in Milwaukee. 86 career saves. The airbender looked like something straight out of a video game.

Then the pinstripes went on and the magic disappeared. In his one season in the Bronx, Williams pitched to a 4.79 ERA across 62.0 innings. He blew 4 saves in 22 chances and lost his grip on the closer role. Every ninth inning felt like a stress test for the entire fanbase. The numbers were ugly, but the feeling was worse.

The Beard, the Meeting, and a Broken Piece of Yankee Tradition

We changed a whole multi decade policy, just so this fool could sign with The Mets. https://t.co/SRTijOP31U

— Felix | NYY.NEWS (@_NYYNEWS) December 2, 2025

This is where the story stops being just about stats and starts cutting into history. Devin Williams did something no big free agent, no captain, no legend ever did in the modern era. He walked into the building, hated the facial hair rule, and pushed back. The Yankees had a long-standing clean-shaved policy. That was part of the George Steinbrenner image. You wanted to wear the pinstripes, you respected the rule. Period.

Williams wasn’t having it. He had worn a full beard for years. He did not like being told to shave. So he met with Hal Steinbrenner and pressed the issue. Out of that meeting came a massive shift: the Yankees officially updated their policy to allow “well-groomed beards.” Let that sink in. The organization changed a legacy rule for Devin Williams.

Not for Aaron Judge. Not for Gerrit Cole. Not for any homegrown star who bled for the franchise. For Devin Williams. A reliever who had not yet thrown a single meaningful pitch in October for the Yankees.

A Fanbase Torn Between Tradition and Change

You could feel the split across Yankee Universe instantly. Some fans were furious. They saw the beard change as a direct crack in the foundation laid by George. To them, the no-facial-hair policy was more than a rule. It was a standard. A symbol that the Yankees were different, more disciplined, more professional. Changing it for a new reliever felt like disrespect to everything the franchise used to stand for.

Other fans shrugged and said the game is evolving. Appearance does not win ballgames. If a guy can pitch, let him pitch with a beard, a fade, whatever. Just get outs in October. The problem is that Williams did not deliver that either. The numbers were bad, the meltdowns were memorable, and the airbender looked more like a flat changeup most nights.

So what are we left with as Yankee fans? A historic rule changed, a clubhouse culture tweaked, a fanbase divided, and the player who benefited the most is now wearing Mets colors.

From Bronx Project to Queens Rebuild

Now the Mets swoop in and give Williams the one thing the Yankees didn’t: a fresh start with his old architect running the show. David Stearns watched Williams become elite in Milwaukee. He knows the version that was basically automatic in the 8th and 9th innings. He is betting real money that the Bronx version was the fluke, not the standard.

For the Mets, this move makes perfect sense. With Edwin Díaz still a free agent, Williams can close or slide into a setup role if Díaz returns. He is 31 years old, still strikes out hitters at a high rate, and now walks into a park and a fanbase with lower expectations than the Bronx pressure cooker.

For the Yankees, it’s a different story. They watched him struggle. They watched him fade out of the closer role. They also watched him walk right back into New York, just with a different hat and a thicker bank account. The same pitcher they tried to feature as a new-era bullpen anchor now becomes a storyline across town.

Did the Yankees Get Played?

Here is the real question that lingers. Did the Yankees get used as a stepping stone? Williams arrived, pushed for personal comfort, got a once-untouchable rule rewritten, underperformed on the mound, and left the moment a better deal appeared. There was no sense of loyalty to the franchise that bent over backward for him. No responsibility to make that beard change worth it. Just business… straight into Queens.

That is the part that will not sit right for a long time. This was not just a reliever leaving in free agency. This was a player who helped reshape a core pillar of Yankee image, then handed the benefit of that change to a rival fanbase. Williams will walk into Citi Field with his beard, his airbender, and his fresh contract while Yankee fans are still arguing whether the rule should have been changed at all.

Yankee Legacy vs Modern Reality

Maybe this is just what baseball is now. Players chase the best situation. Teams tweak identity to keep up with the times. Old rules fade away. Hair grows. Money talks. But if you grew up in the George era, watching clean-shaven Yankees dogpile in October, it is impossible not to feel like something valuable was traded away for nothing.

The Yankees didn’t get elite production. They didn’t get postseason dominance. They didn’t get a long-term anchor at the back of the bullpen. What they got was a messy chapter in franchise culture and a reminder that not every player understands what it means to wear these pinstripes.

Over to You, Yankee Universe

So here we are. Devin Williams stays in New York but flips boroughs. The Mets celebrate. The Yankees move on. The beard policy is still in place. The legacy of George Steinbrenner feels a little lighter. And the fans are left holding the emotions.

Did the Yankees make a mistake changing the facial hair rule for Devin Williams? Or is this just the price of doing business in modern baseball?