Devin Williams snapped off the Airbender again in a big spot, and the pitch is the clearest visual sign yet that one of baseball’s most unusual relievers may be finding his old shape with the New York Mets.
The changeup looked familiar again after a rough start to his first season in Queens. Williams has started to settle in following a rocky April, and the numbers back it up. Through May 21 he had a 4.32 ERA, seven saves, 25 strikeouts and eight walks across 16.2 innings.
He is riding a 10-game scoreless streak spanning 9.2 innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out 13 over that stretch.
The Airbender is acting like itself again
The Airbender is one of baseball’s strangest changeups, a high-spin pitch with violent arm-side movement that can look almost like a right-handed screwball when it is working. Earlier this season the pitch had lost some of its old depth and shape. The movement, confidence and execution have started to line up again.
A mechanical fix behind the turnaround
The Athletic reported that Williams and Mets coaches traced his delivery issue to his starting hand position. The problem dated to his Yankees season, when he lowered his hands to guard against pitch tipping.
That adjustment left him feeling late in his delivery, and the Airbender lost the comfort and shape that normally separates it from other changeups.
Why his Yankees season makes this matter
Williams was removed as the Yankees closer during an uneven 2025 season, finishing with a 4.79 ERA despite 90 strikeouts in 62 innings. If the lowered hand position disrupted his timing, the Mets were betting on a fixable delivery issue attached to a still-elite pitch.
What it means for the Mets bullpen
New York signed Williams to a three-year deal believing the dominant version was still recoverable, and the last few weeks have started to support that.
An Airbender behaving like the Airbender changes the look of the Mets bullpen. One outing does not settle it, but for Williams, the pitch is the tell, and right now it is pointing the right way.