Mets To Select Tommy Pham
The Mets are planning to select the contract of veteran outfielder Tommy Pham, according to a report from Will Sammon of The Athletic. The veteran outfielder is on a minor league deal with the club, so he’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster before he officially joins the club. That shouldn’t be a major obstacle, as the Mets’ 40-man currently stands at 37 players and will move up to 38 upon the addition of Pham. That means only an active roster move will be necessary to make Pham’s addition to the roster official, which could happen as soon as tomorrow given that Sammon writes Pham is expected to meet the team in L.A. for their series against the Dodgers.
The 38-year-old veteran signed a non-roster pact with the Mets on Opening Day. He’s gotten into just four games at the Single-A level since then, but a combination of need at the big league level and Pham’s status as a veteran hitter appear to have combined to give the Mets confidence in bringing him to the majors with only minimal time to get game-ready. He’ll be joining a beleaguered outfield group that recently lost Juan Soto to the injured list due to a calf strain that figures to leave him sidelined for at least another week or two. With Soto out of commission, the Mets have been relying on rookie Carson Benge, infielder Brett Baty, and bench bats like Tyrone Taylor and Jared Young in the outfield corners.
It’s a group that hasn’t inspired confidence so far. Young has hit well so far in a 23 plate appearance sample, but he’s got just 56 MLB games under his belt since making his debut with the Cubs back in 2022. Taylor’s .211/.250/.421 (91 wRC+) slash line this year isn’t exactly encouraging, and he was last an above-average MLB hitter by wRC+ in 2022 as a member of the Brewers. Benge has been heralded as the future of the franchise in the outfield and is a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport, but he’s hitting a paltry .130/.231/.196 (33 wRC+) in 14 games to kick of his MLB career. Baty showed signs of life last year after struggling to hit in the majors for the first few years of his career but currently sports a 60 wRC+ and a 29.4% strikeout rate while playing a mostly unfamiliar position.
All in all, that’s an outfield mix that could clearly use some veteran stability. That’s surely not an insignificant part of why the Mets were generally expected to carry veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman on their Opening Day roster following several successful years in Chicago and a torrid Spring Training, but Tauchman unfortunately underwent meniscus surgery just before Opening Day that will leave him sidelined into May. With Tauchman unable to play, the Mets will instead turn to a player who lacks his recent success but makes up for it with an impressive overall resume. Pham is now set to gear up for his 13th MLB campaign and has appeared in at least 116 games in each of the league’s past eight 162-game seasons. In that time, he’s suited up for ten different clubs and sports a career 111 wRC+ in more than 1200 MLB games.
Despite that history, it’s been a while now since Pham was a consistently above-average MLB player. Since the start of the 2020 season, Pham has slashed .241/.323/384 with a wRC+ of just 96, indicating he’s been 4% worse than the league average MLB hitter in that time. With that said, he’s just a few years removed from an extremely successful stint with the Mets. After signing on with the club for the 2023 season, Pham slashed .268/.348/.472 (124 wRC+) in 79 games for the Mets before being dealt to the eventual NL-champion Diamondbacks at that year’s trade deadline. If Pham can rediscover any of the magic from the last time he suited up for Queens, that would be a huge win for the Mets. Even the roughly league average consistency Pham has become known for in recent years would be a boost for the club, however, and he should get plenty of opportunities now that he’s being recalled to the majors.
Mets Designate Luis Garcia For Assignment
The Mets announced that right-hander Luis Garcia has been designated for assignment, as reported by The Athletic’s Will Sammon just before the club’s official news release. Right-hander Joey Gerber is up from Triple-A to take Garcia’s spot on the active roster, and Gerber is already on the 40-man roster so no further moves were required.
Garcia came to New York on a one-year, $1.75MM free agent deal back in January, as the Mets became the ninth team Garcia has pitched for at the MLB level over his 14 big league seasons. Unfortunately for Garcia, his tenure in Queens got off to a rocky start, as he has a 7.11 ERA and 12.5% strikeout rate over his first 6 1/3 innings and six appearances in a Mets uniform. Four of those six appearances resulted in scoreless work, but Garcia was tagged for two runs in one inning on Opening Day, and he was charged with three runs over just a third of an inning of work in Thursday’s 7-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Yesterday’s 11-6 loss to the A’s saw the Mets use Garcia and four other pitchers in relief of Kodai Senga, who was chased after allowing seven runs in 2 1/3 innings. Today’s transaction could therefore be about getting Gerber’s fresh arm into New York’s bullpen, and the relative lack of flexibility within the relief corps (in terms of pitchers with minor league options) may have simply made Garcia the odd man out.
Still, it is a little surprising to see the Mets pursue the DFA route with Garcia so soon after signing the veteran to a guaranteed contract. Garcia has a .423 BABIP over his small sample size this season, so it can certainly be argued that bad luck has played a large role in Garcia’s struggles, especially for a pitcher with a 53.9% career grounder rate. Garcia’s drop in sinker velocity (from 96.9mph in 2025 to 94 mph this year) may have been of some concern to the Mets, but it isn’t unusual for pitchers to lack a bit of velo in the early going.
Garcia has had plenty of ups and downs over his long career, but he was posting solid numbers just last year, when he had a 3.42 ERA over 55 1/3 innings with the Dodgers, Nationals, and Angels, albeit with a below-average K% and BB%. Teams in need of bullpen help might look to claim the 39-year-old off waivers, though that would mean assuming the remainder of Garcia’s $1.75MM salary.
If he clears waivers and is outrighted, Garcia has more enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, while still retaining the rest of his owed salary. A new team could then sign Garcia and owe him just the prorated portion of a minimum salary for any time spent on the big league roster. The Mets would still be on the hook for the remainder of the $1.75MM, minus that prorated total.
Signing Garcia came at more of a cost to the Mets than just $1.75MM, as the total price tag came to $3.675MM when considering the 110% tax levied against New York for being in the highest tier of luxury tax penalization. In a sense, DFA’ing Garcia this early is another sign of how money isn’t really an object for the Mets, and how the team will again be keeping up a steady churn of bullpen transactions in order to continually have fresh arms at the ready.
Mets Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment
The Mets announced that Craig Kimbrel‘s minor league contract has been selected to the active roster, as reported earlier today. To create space on the 26-man roster, the Mets have designated left-hander Richard Lovelady.
This is the ninth time Lovelady has been DFA’ed in his career, with five of those transactions coming from the Mets in a relationship that began when New York first signed the lefty to a big league deal last June. Lovelady is out of minor league options, which is why the Mets and other teams have had to first expose him to waivers before outrighting him off a 40-man roster.
During the offseason, the Mets signed Lovelady to a split contract that pays him $1MM when on an active roster, and $350K while in the minor leagues. Lovelady would have to give up this guaranteed salary if he clears waivers and declines an outright assignment in favor of free agency, which makes it more likely that he’ll stick around in the Mets organization. It shouldn’t be assumed that Lovelady will clear waivers, however. The Nationals claimed the southpaw last January after the Mets’ last DFA, but New York then claimed him back in March after the Nats also designated Lovelady for assignment.
After all of these comings and goings, Lovelady made the Amazins’ Opening Day roster and at least got himself a few weeks of time in the bigs. Lovelady has a 3.68 ERA and a 54.5% grounder rate over 7 1/3 innings and six appearances for New York this season, with a modest 18.8% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk rate. Most of the damage (.958 OPS) has come from right-handed batters, while Lovelady has limited left-handed batters to a .545 OPS.
Lovelady’s career splits are pronounced enough that it is worth wondering if he came along in the wrong time — Lovelady made his MLB debut a season before the league instituted the three-batter rule, basically ending the era of the lefty specialist. The Mets clearly like what Lovelady offers as a depth arm for their ever-rotating bullpen, even if the team perpetually views him as an expendable roster piece.
Mets To Select Craig Kimbrel’s Contract
Craig Kimbrel is returning to the big leagues, as the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that the Mets will be selecting the veteran reliever’s contract. The Mets have two open spots on their 40-man roster, but will need to make a corresponding transaction to create space for Kimbrel on the 26-man active roster.
As per the terms of the minor league contract Kimbrel signed in January, the SportsMeter client will now earn $2.5MM by being added to the active roster. Kimbrel had more than enough service time to qualify as an Article XX(B) free agent, and thus his minors deal contained three built-in opt-out dates (five days before Opening Day, May 1, June 1). While New York didn’t include Kimbrel on its Opening Day roster, Kimbrel agreed to pass on his first opt-out opportunity and bide his time in the minors, which consisted of a single inning of work for the Mets’ A-level affiliate in St. Lucie.
Forty-six different players pitched for the Mets in 2025. That eye-popping number reflects both the team’s injury problems last year, and the Mets’ habit of cycling fresh arms up into the bullpen from Triple-A, and sending other relievers either to the minors (if they have options) or to DFA limbo.
Huascar Brazoban and Tobias Myers are the only pitchers in New York’s current bullpen who have minor league options remaining, and Myers tossed 36 pitches last night in a long relief outing after starter Clay Holmes left due to hamstring tightness. If Myers isn’t sent down, Richard Lovelady could be a candidate to be designated for assignment to make way for Kimbrel.
Once Kimbrel makes an in-game appearance for the Mets, it will officially make it 10 different teams over 17 Major League seasons during the reliever’s storied career. A nine-time All-Star and the owner of 440 career saves, Kimbrel has still managed to show some flashes of his prime form in recent years, but he has had trouble sustaining solid results over a full season. Pitching with the Dodgers in 2022, Kimbrel struggled later in the year and ended up both losing the closer’s job and being left off Los Angeles’ playoff roster entirely. A rough 5.33 ERA season with the Orioles in 2024 resulted in Kimbrel being designated for assignment and released before the end of September.
The 2025 campaign saw Kimbrel sign with the Braves and Rangers on minor league contracts, and with the Astros on a big league contract in August after Texas released him. Kimbrel posted a 2.25 ERA and 34.7% strikeout rate over 12 innings in the majors with Houston and Atlanta, but with a gaudy 14.3% walk rate.
Control has been Kimbrel’s largest issue over the back half of his career, and he has also been much more homer-prone than during his All-Star heyday. Kimbrel’s fastball averaged a modest 93.5mph over his 12-inning sample size in 2025, but he has adjusted his repertoire by incorporating a changeup and slider more frequently into his arsenal.
It remains to be seen what Kimbrel still has in the tank as he approaches his 38th birthday next month, or if the Mets’ pitching development staff has perhaps found a fix to help the righty recapture some of his past magic. Devin Williams is firmly locked into the closer role, so Kimbrel won’t likely be garnering many save opportunities.
Given the nature of the Mets’ bullpen churn, it is an open question as to how long Kimbrel might even remain on the active roster. The $2.5MM salary does represent some extra level of commitment, and Kimbrel’s selection adds another boost to the Mets’ already sky-high payroll. Because the Mets have been luxury-tax payors for four years running and are already far over the highest level of luxury tax penalization, Kimbrel’s $2.5MM salary also comes with an additional $2.75MM tax bill.
Mets Notes: Polanco, Peterson, Minter
Mets infielder Jorge Polanco was not in the lineup on Thursday as he continues to deal with an Achilles injury. New York has not ruled out an IL stint for the veteran, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters, including Will Sammon of The Athletic.
Polanco was brought in to be the club’s primary first baseman after Pete Alonso signed with the Orioles. He started the first two games of the season at the position, but has been limited to DH since then. Polanco said the pain in his Achilles “comes and goes,” relayed by Chelsea Janes of SNY. His absence on Thursday ended a streak of four straight starts.
Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, and Jared Young have all spent time at first base this season. The Juan Soto injury opened up right field reps for Baty, so Vientos has taken over regular work at the cold corner recently. The former prospect has made the most of the increased playing time, slashing .323/.353/.484 across 34 plate appearances. Baty hasn’t done a ton with his chances, but the injuries have allowed the Mets to get a longer look at both players.
While the defensive lineup has shifted around plenty, Mendoza does not plan to adjust the pitching rotation, at least not yet. The skipper was asked specifically about David Peterson after the lefty allowed five earned runs for the second straight start. “As I’m sitting here right now, no,” Mendoza said regarding a pitching staff change, relayed by Janes.
The Diamondbacks jumped all over Peterson on Wednesday, scoring once in the first inning and four more times in the second inning. Peterson settled in over his final three frames, but the Mets’ offense managed just two runs against Ryne Nelson and company. The southpaw’s ERA sits over 6.00 through 14 2/3 innings. It’s a continuation of Peterson’s second-half swoon in 2025. After earning an All-Star selection, Peterson stumbled to a 7.74 ERA over 10 starts from August on.
The Mets don’t have an obvious replacement lined up to take over Peterson’s spot. Sean Manaea opened the year in the bullpen after working primarily as a starter the past two years. His fastball remains under 90 mph, continuing a concerning trend from the spring. Mendoza said the club does not plan to add Manaea back to the rotation right now.
As Janes pointed out, pitching prospects Christian Scott and Jonah Tong have struggled to begin the minor league season. Scott’s been tagged for six earned runs over 8 1/3 innings through two Triple-A starts. The strikeouts have been there for Tong, but he has an ERA over 5.00 across three outings with Syracuse.
On the positive side, left-hander A.J. Minter tossed a scoreless frame at Single-A on Thursday. The reliever is working his way back from a lat injury. He underwent surgery in May and began the 2026 campaign on the injured list. The outing with St. Lucie was his first game action in nearly a year.
Early estimates had Minter returning in May, but he could be back with the Mets before the end of the month. “We started the clock, the rehab process now,” Mendoza told reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “It’ll be one of those where if we have to use every single day, we will. But the fact that he’s in real competition is a good sign.”
Minter is in the final season of a two-year, $22MM deal. He was off to a tremendous start in 2025 before the injury. The lefty gave up a pair of runs against the Marlins in his second appearance, then ripped off 11 straight scoreless outings. Minter pushed his strikeout rate to 31.8%, his best mark since 2022.
The Mets have relied on Brooks Raley and Richard Lovelady as their left-handed bullpen options with Minter out. Raley is tied for the club lead with two holds. He’s punched out seven hitters in five appearances. Lovelady has been scored upon in three of his five games.
Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images
Mets Place Juan Soto On Injured List
The Mets announced that outfielder Juan Soto has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right calf strain. The move is retroactive to April 4th but the club also announced the typical return timeline as two to three weeks. Infielder Ronny Mauricio has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.
Soto departed Friday’s game with what the club called right calf soreness. Soto later told members of the media that he had a minor strain and would go day to day to see how he felt. After a couple of days of monitoring the situation, it seems the club will let him sit out for a while to rest up.
It’s not a major issue but it’s obviously not ideal for a player of Soto’s caliber to be subtracted from the lineup. He is one of the best hitters on the planet, with a career .282/.417/.531 line and 158 wRC+. His 18.6% walk rate is almost three ticks better than anyone else in the league. From 2018 to the present, Aaron Judge is second on the list with a 16% walk rate.
The timing is also a bit awkward. The Mets moved Soto to left field to begin the season and gave the right field job to prospect Carson Benge. Though Benge is talented, he has a .100/.206/.200 line through 34 plate appearances. Some of that is due to an unlucky .111 batting average on balls in play but he has also struck out in 32.4% of his plate appearances.
If the Mets had any thought of sending Benge down for a reset, that may be harder to do now that Soto is out, so they may be left with a floundering Benge in one corner and a patchwork solution in the other. On top of that, Brett Baty has missed the past few games due to a jammed left thumb while Jorge Polanco has an Achilles issue that is limiting him to designated hitter duty.
None of the issues are majors in a vacuum but the little bits add up to a challenging shuffle. Mark Vientos is covering first with Polanco in the DH spot. Baty could step into the outfield for Soto if his thumb feels better. If not, Jared Young and Tyrone Taylor could pick up some playing time.
As for Mauricio, he probably won’t play much behind the infield of shortstop Francisco Lindor, second baseman Marcus Semien and third baseman Bo Bichette. The Mets have been playing without a traditional backup infielder, comfortable with Bichette as a backup shortstop and guys like Baty and Vientos potential backups elsewhere. With Baty banged up, Mauricio gives them a bit more conventional cover.
Even if he doesn’t play much, it may be a notable transaction for him for other reasons. He came into this season with one option remaining and a service time count of two years and 31 days. Since he hasn’t yet spent 20 days on optional assignment this year, he hasn’t burned that final option. He also still has a path to get to three years of service in 2026, though getting sent back down later in the year could prevent him from getting there. Where he finishes the year could impact his path to arbitration and/or free agency.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
Juan Soto Day To Day With “Minor Strain” In Right Calf
5:53PM: Soto told SNY and other media that the MRI revealed “just a minor strain” in his right calf. The plan is for Soto to go “day by day and see how it feels. Definitely no decisions made yet [about the injured list]. We’re going to see how I wake up for the next couple of days and then go from there.” The Mets have an off-day on Monday, which gives the team some extra time to monitor Soto and potentially make a roster decision before Tuesday’s game with the Diamondbacks.
1:09PM: Juan Soto left yesterday’s 10-3 Mets win over the Giants with what the team described as right calf tightness. Manager Carlos Mendoza told the New York Post’s Mike Puma and other reporters postgame that Soto will undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the injury.
Soto lasted just a half-inning into Friday’s game, as he picked up the injury while advancing from first to third on a Bo Bichette single in the first inning. Soto was retired on a force play at the plate later in the frame, and Tyrone Taylor took over for Soto in left field for the bottom half of the first.
Over 34 plate appearances, Soto has hit .355/.412/.516 with one home run in the early stages of the 2026 campaign. The superstar’s hot start has been a bright spot within an inconsistent Mets offense — beyond yesterday’s rout of the Giants and an 11-7 win over the Pirates on Opening Day, New York has scored only 14 runs over its other six games.
Needless to say, losing Soto for any amount of time would be a rough break for the Mets’ lineup. Brett Baty would likely get the bulk of playing time in left field if Soto is sidelined, with Taylor providing some platoon cover apart from his usual fourth-outfielder duties. Jorge Polanco has been limited mostly to DH duty due to his bothersome left Achilles, so Mark Vientos (who is also off to a hot start in limited playing time) would see more action at first base if Baty is needed more regularly in left field.
Soto’s durability is an underrated aspect of his standing as one of baseball’s best players. Over the 2021-25 seasons, Soto played in 783 of a possible 810 games, and he hasn’t been on the injured list since 2021 (when he missed two weeks with a left shoulder strain). The MRI results will determine whether or not this streak of good health will continue, though even if the tests are negative, the Mets could opt to give Soto a 10-day IL stint just as a precaution in order to let him fully heal up.
Mets, Luke Jackson Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets and reliever Luke Jackson are in agreement on a minor league deal, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. The right-hander is a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council.
Jackson debuted with the Rangers in 2015 and has played in parts of 10 big-league seasons through 2025. He spent 2017-21 with the Braves but underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022, causing him to miss that season. He returned with the Giants in 2023 and split the following year between San Francisco and a return trip to Atlanta. He became more of a journeyman in 2025, pitching 51 innings over 52 appearances with the Rangers, Tigers, and Mariners. He had a 4.06 ERA overall but finished strong with a 2.38 ERA in 11 1/3 innings for the Mariners. He also appeared three times for Seattle in the postseason, allowing one earned run in three innings.
The 34-year-old peaked with 18 saves and 1.3 fWAR for the Braves in 2019. He has not been especially dominant in the years since, but he has managed to stick around thanks to his talent for inducing groundballs. Since that 2019 season, Jackson has never posted a groundball rate below 50%. His 51.1% mark since the start of 2023 puts him in the top 20% of qualified relievers. That ability has helped him withstand a decline in velocity as well as a below-average walk rate as he pitches into his mid-30s. His strikeout rate also fell to 17.4% in 2025, although he has rebounded in that area before. Indeed, a look at his stats page shows a pattern of below-average strikeout seasons followed by a few above-average years.
Given his experience, it wouldn’t be a surprise for the Mets to select his contract at some point. With Devin Williams and Luke Weaver handling the late innings, the low and medium-leverage bullpen spots are covered by Huascar Brazobán, Tobias Myers, Richard Lovelady, and Sean Manaea. The latter has been a starter throughout his career and could regain that role in mid-April as the Mets shift to a six-man rotation. That would leave them with one less bullpen spot, so Jackson’s likeliest path to the roster is by replacing one of the other three relievers. Lovelady has been designated for assignment three times since September, including twice by the Mets. He could be the odd man out in a Jackson call-up, given his rough start to the year.
Photo courtesy of John Froschauer, Imagn Images
Mets To Hire J.D. Martinez As Special Advisor
The Mets are going to hire J.D. Martinez as a special advisor to baseball operations, reports Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. Though there’s no mention of retirement, Martinez is now 38 years old and hasn’t played in the big leagues since 2024, so this seems to signal that he is moving into his post-playing days.
Martinez had a long stretch as one of the best hitters in the majors but it didn’t always seem like it would play out that way. He was drafted by the Astros with a 20th-round pick back in 2009. He made it to the big leagues in 2011 but didn’t immediately flourish. By the end of the 2013 season, he had taken 975 trips to the plate but had produced a tepid .251/.300/.387 line. That resulted in an 87 wRC+, indicating he was 13% worse than league average. Martinez was a corner outfielder without much speed, so it was hard for him to provide value when he wasn’t hitting. The Astros gave up, releasing Martinez in March of 2014.
He was scooped up by the Tigers, who signed him to a minor league deal. That allowed Detroit to benefit from Martinez breaking out offensively. He hit ten home runs in 17 Triple-A games to begin the season and was up in the majors three weeks into April. He hit 23 more home runs in the big leagues that year, slashing .315/.358/.553. He added two more long balls in the postseason, though the Tigers were eliminated by the Orioles in the ALDS.
The Tigers’ competitive window closed, though Martinez continued to perform. He hit another 38 home runs in 2015 while putting up a .282/.344/.535 line. He was selected to his first All-Star team that summer and went on to win a Silver Slugger award. In 2016, he missed time due to an elbow injury and only got into 120 games but still hit another 22 home runs and slashed .307/.373/.535.
In 2017, Martinez was an impending free agent and the Tigers were in rough shape, as they would eventually lose 95 games that year. That made Martinez a logical summer trade chip, so he was flipped to the Diamondbacks for Dawel Lugo, Sergio Alcántara and Jose King.
It was a tremendous pick-up for the Snakes, as Martinez went on a torrid power binge. He hit 29 home runs in just 67 games for Arizona down the stretch, including a four-homer game on September 4th, the 18th instance of a four-homer game in major league history. He helped the Snakes win 93 games and make the playoffs, though they were ultimately knocked out by the Dodgers in the NLDS.
He finished the season with 45 home runs overall and a combined .303/.376/.690 line, giving him a fantastic platform for free agency. The midseason trade also helped, as it meant he was ineligible to receive a qualifying offer. The Red Sox gave him a $110MM deal over five years to get him to Fenway, with opt-outs after the second, third and fourth years.
The deal paid immediate dividends for Boston. Martinez hit 43 home runs for them in 2018, helping mount a strong .330/.402/.629 line. The team won 108 games and then cruised through the postseason, never losing more than one game in a series. Martinez added three playoff home runs with a .300/.403/.520 line as the Sox won the World Series for the fourth time in the 15-year span which started in 2004.
Martinez continued hitting over the course of his deal, except in the shortened 2020 season, but never used his opt-outs. He played out the entirety of the five-year pact with Boston, launching 130 home runs with a .292/.363/.526 batting line.
He returned to free agency but was limited to short-term offers ahead of his age-35 season. He signed a one-year, $10MM deal with the Dodgers for 2023. He hit 33 home runs but saw his strikeout rate jump to 31.1%, four points above his previous career high. The Dodgers won 100 games but were defeated by the Diamondbacks in the NLDS.
Martinez then joined the Mets for the 2024 season via a one-year deal, signed late in March. That was technically worth $12MM but with notable deferrals. Martinez lowered his strikeout rate by a few ticks relative to the prior season but saw his home run total essentially halved to 16, in roughly the same number of plate appearances. The Mets won 89 games and progressed as far as the NLCS before losing to the Dodgers.
Shortly after the Mets were eliminated, Martinez revealed that he thought about hanging up his spikes when he remained unsigned deep into the 2023-24 offseason.“Here I am, the team’s breaking in five days, and I don’t even have a team yet,” he said. “Your brain goes into a weird mode, where you’re like ‘Am I playing? Am I not? Am I playing? Am I not? Is this it? Am I retired?'” Going into 2025, his name popped up in some rumors but he didn’t sign anywhere and sat out the season.
Now it seems Martinez is moving into the next phase of his career. Assuming his playing days are over, he finishes his career with 6,865 plate appearances in 1,642 games played. He racked up 1,741 hits, including 331 home runs. He scored 897 runs and drove in 1,071. He made six All-Star teams, won three Silver Slugger awards and one World Series ring. FanGraphs credits him with 32.1 wins above replacement, with Baseball Reference putting him a bit lower at 30.8 WAR. B-Ref pegs his career earnings just under $154MM. He had an incredible six-year peak from 2014 to 2019 during which he slashed .307/.373/.581. His 151 wRC+ for that span was topped only by Mike Trout, among hitters with at least 2,000 plate appearances.
We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Martinez on his excellent career and wish him the best as he pivots to the next phase of his life.
Photos courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Rick Osentoski, Kim Klement, Brad Penner, Imagn Images
White Sox Claim Bryan Hudson
March 28: Hudson has reported to the team, and the White Sox optioned southpaw Tyler Gilbert to the minor leagues in a corresponding move.
March 27: The White Sox announced that they have claimed left-hander Bryan Hudson off waivers from the Mets. New York designated the lefty for assignment earlier this week. The Sox had a couple of open 40-man spots since they designated catcher Korey Lee and infielder Curtis Mead for assignment this week. Hudson is out of options and will need an active roster spot, so the Sox will have to bump someone off whenever he reports to the team.
The Sox claimed Hudson from the Brewers back in August. He was nudged off their roster in the winter when they signed outfielder Austin Hays. After being designated for assignment, he was flipped to the Mets for cash considerations. He didn’t have a good spring, allowing six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. He didn’t make the Mets’ roster and is out of options, so he had to be bumped into DFA limbo.
For the Sox, they are presumably overlooking Hudson’s rough spring and focusing more on the potential he has shown in the past. He posted a 1.73 earned run average in 62 1/3 innings for the Brewers in 2024. He got some help from a .148 batting average on balls in play and a 94.2% strand rate but he still deserves some credit. His 26.8% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 41.2% ground ball rate were all average or better marks. His 3.60 FIP and 3.22 SIERA that year suggested he would have been pretty good even with more neutral luck.
Last year, his results backed up and he got sent to the minors, which exhausted his final option year and also got him pushed to the waiver wire. He finished the year with a 4.80 ERA in 15 big league innings between the Brewers and White Sox, as well as a 5.97 ERA in Triple-A.
Though it’s been a tough year-plus for Hudson, the Sox clearly like him, as this is the second time they have claimed him in the past eight months. They currently have Sean Newcomb, Chris Murphy and Tyler Gilbert as their southpaw relief contingent, though Murphy and Gilbert both have options and could end up sent down to the minors when Hudson joins the team.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images