Devin Williams pitched a bullpen session at Citi Field on Thursday prior to the Mets' series opener against the Phillies and the closer made it through in one piece.

Interim manager Andy Green said Williams' stuff was "there as anticipated," but now they have to wait to see how he feels physically in the morning before mapping out next steps.

Williams was placed on the IL back on Aug. 10 with a right shoulder strain, and the team has slow-played his return. The right-hander has been throwing off the mound, but this is the first time he's thrown a BP, a good sign that he can appear in a big league game before the end of the regular season.

When it comes to when exactly that will be, Green prefaced that they have to make sure their closer is healthy and that it makes sense for the limited amount of games remaining in the schedule.

"His heartbeat is to pitch in games as quickly as possible. Ours is to ensure he’s as healthy as possible before he pitches in games," Green said of Williams' potential return date. "We’re trying to reconcile those two things and we need the information from tomorrow and how he feels before we make the next determination."

The next question was whether Williams will take back closing duties from Kodai Senga, who has closed games for the Mets in Williams' stead. Green didn't say one way or another, but explained that the most important part is getting Williams on a mound again.

After the Mets wrap up their home slate this weekend, they'll end the 2026 regular season in Texas and Washington D.C. And while many believed Williams could be ready for the Rangers series, Green said it's likelier we'll see Williams against the Nationals.

"Given where we’re at, the highest likelihood is…let’s say it’s in Texas. He’ll pitch Tuesday or Wednesday and we’ll try to get him an outing in D.C," Green said. "He’s not going to come back and pitch three out of four baseball games.

"It might be the eighth inning, it might be the seventh inning. If you’re not ahead one of those days, you want to get him on the bump so he can get going again."

Williams has made 42 appearances with the Mets this season, pitching to a 4.66 ERA while striking out 51 batters across 38.2 innings. He's also converted 16 of 19 save opportunities.

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