JUPITER, Fla. — Devin Williams’ first Grapefruit League pitch in a Mets uniform resulted in a ball disappearing behind the fence at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Friday.
The cutter, a pitch Williams is still learning, got 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 is part of it.”
Williams, who is slated for the closer’s role, retired the next three batters he faced in the inning.
He averaged 93.8 mph with his four-seam fastball.
“That first pitch, that cutter didn’t cut much,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s a pitch that he is working on, but I thought the fastball was good. He did a couple of good sliders, which is another pitch that he is working on, so a good inning of work for him.”
Williams, who arrived on a three-year contract worth $51 million — 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 attempting to land an outfield job with the team after arriving three weeks ago as a free agent.
“I knew that I was going to learn a lot coming here,” Melendez said. “Very advanced things that I kind of knew about myself, but really not how to get the best version of myself, and just learning those things each and every day, and it’s been amazing so far.”
Melendez’s education has included learning about his swing path and stance.
“Just stuff that my body does well, but I necessarily didn’t know, exactly how and why,” Melendez said. “Just kind of get into those things and on the outfield side, how to get better reads and improve daily out there.”
Grae Kessinger departed the game with knee discomfort, according to Mendoza, and will likely have an MRI exam.