10:52am: Ureña’s deal has a $2MM base salary and another $750K available via incentives, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
8:20am: Veteran right-hander Jose Ureña popped up at Mets camp this morning and tells Newsday’s Tim Healey that he’s signed a minor league deal with the club. He’ll join their big league camp for the remainder of spring training. Ureña is repped by Premier Talent Sports & Entertainment.
The 33-year-old Ureña adds some non-roster depth to a Mets rotation that’s already been hit by a pair of spring injuries. Left-hander Sean Manaea has an oblique strain that’ll likely prompt a season-opening IL stint, though he could return by mid-April. Right-hander Frankie Montas has a more significant injury — a lat strain that’s shut him down from throwing for more than a month. He’s likely looking at a mid-May return in a best-case scenario.
Ureña spent the 2024 season with the Rangers, working primarily out of the bullpen but also making nine starts over the course of the season. He totaled 109 innings with a solid 3.80 earned run average, though not all of his numbers looked quite so sharp.
Ureña’s 15.1% strikeout rate was among the lowest in the league, and his 8.4% walk rate was roughly average. He notched a strong 50.1% ground-ball rate and kept the ball in the yard nicely enough (1.07 HR/9), but metrics like FIP (4.62) and SIERA (4.66) felt like he had a fair bit of good fortune to reach that more impressive ERA mark. Ureña’s .273 average on balls in play was a bit shy of the .289 mark he carried into the season, and his 75% strand rate was also higher than both league average (72%) and his career mark prior to 2024 (69.5%).
On the whole, Ureña has a 4.76 ERA in 948 1/3 big league innings. He had some stretches early in his career where he delivered solid midrotation results for the Marlins but has since been hit hard more often than not as he’s moved into journeyman status. His solid 2024 run in Texas was the first time since 2018 that he’s posted an ERA south of 5.00.
Ureña isn’t going to jump right into the Mets’ pitching plans, but there’s also little harm in seeing if a veteran arm coming of a nice rebound effort can sustain some of his production — especially early on while the rest of the pitching staff is a bit banged up. Even with Montas and Manaea ailing, the Mets have signaled they plan to stick with in-house arms, by and large. Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill give the Mets six experienced arms on which to rely. Top prospect Brandon Sproat could join the mix midseason.
As such, if Ureña is to make the club, it’d likely be as a swingman — but it’s equally or more likely that he’ll opt back into the market if he doesn’t make the club. As an Article XX(b) free agent (i.e. six-plus years MLB service, finished the prior season on a major league roster/injured list), Ureña will have a trio of uniform opt-out dates on his contract: five days before the season (March 22), May 1 and June 1.
Am I the only one who believes his HBP to Acuna was an accident? The ball clearly slipped out of his hands, it was a hot day….Ok, I’ll show myself out now.
I think it was accidental the first time… then he kept doing it on purpose afterwards just to piss those whiny Braves fans off.
Yes, you are.
It was highly suspicious but i dont think it was intentional. Context made it seem worse than it probably was. Acuna was on a tear up to that point, a HR in 5 straight games. Now the other instances after that are a different story.
He couldn’t have been that sweaty on the first pitch of the night. That was 100% intentional.
There’s sweat all over a pitcher warming in the bullpen
Pitchers are crafty; they can throw the ball in such a way where it appears to slip out of the hand, but they know exactly where it’s going. Then having the perfect alibi -the steamy weather- it was all set-up perfectly. Plausible Deniability.
Sorry BB. I never saw it or I’d have an honest opinion.
Terrible win-loss percentage. Should have taken a pass.
BigBopper… I’m not one of those guys who thinks that old-time stats like win-loss percentage are meaningless. BUT I do believe it’s just a small part of a bigger picture. Urena’s other numbers are OK. Not great, not even good, but OK. The Mets like him because he’s veteran depth that they can stash in Syracuse in case of more injuries to the rotation over the first month or two. It means they don’t have to force Sprout or Tidwell up to the majors before they’re ready.
Camikey: SPROAT. He’s not a vegetable, lol.
Lol, good line. I know him, it was just a finger foul!
He’s a pitcher which means he’s “meat”
Does it rhyme with “sprout” or “trout” ?
I believe it rhymes with Dick Groat.
Good one. Blast from the past.
A depth singing sure to trigger the lunatic fringe of fandom
10cent: A singing? He’s a musician as well?
Signed to plunk Acuña, confirmed.
Luisangel Acuna run!!!
A clubhouse beaning would be quite the spring training story line.
He can make it family affair and plunk lil bro in a scrimmage.
Why on earth does this guy keep getting chances? His 15 minutes of fame involved a famous HBP.
100+ innings of 3.80 ERA ball last year. He’s not going to win anyone their division but he’s employable as a professional pitcher.
Scottnva74: A 3.8 ERA might have something to do with it. In case you haven’t noticed, guys who can pitch at the MLB level don’t grow on trees.
I guess they’re shooting for 30 minutes now.
minor league contract, hardly giving him the keys to lock down the rotation in Queens. zero risk. settle down.
Ureña is only 33 years old??? Wow, it feels like he’s been around forever, good on him for racking up MLB bag.
This will be his 11th mlb season when he gets called up so he has been around a long time.
Stearns the dumpster diving small market GM. What a fit for cohen.
It actually is a perfect fit. An owner who will spend whatever it takes to get guys at the very top of the market and a POBO who is devoted to developing the pipeline and finding value at the edges. Get used to it… Mets are good now and will only get better.
I agree. It’s a perfect combination. A nice balance. Very scary for fans of other NLE teams.
This guy has commented on 4,732 consecutive Mets posts all to say how bad the team is and how he doesn’t care
Look at the pitching! They will need to put up 7-8 runs a game to win
Ok try to breathe
Yup, the arms are average, but the bats and the gloves are very good. Plus, they’ll make a July trade for a top starting pitcher if necessary. This will be a 90-win club who is a definite championship contender.
Bats good. Gloves bad.
Mad Hatter… the defense up the middle is excellent. The infield and outfield corners are average at best but up the middle is where the gloves earn their value.
And what is that pitcher in July gonna cost us? More than it would than to get one now. There will be 5-6 teams looking for a SP in July, Not that many now. The combination of losing 15 starts between Manaea and Montas and not having a good SP to fill in will put us in dire need of one. It will cost us 2-3 key young players at least. More than in February.. Stearns thinks he is still in the NL Central and can win it with 85 wins.
George you have that backwards. Getting a pitcher for a full season costs more than a trade deadline rental. There will be LESS competition at the deadline vs during winter.
You’re not even close with this one.
Exactly. The prospect cost is higher now than it will be five months from now.
He is trolling.
Typical Dollar Store David Stearns signing. Urena hasn’t been good in years. Mike Cleavinger was available all off season, who not sign him when Montas goes down? Trevor Bauer is available, he is the best option out there. I’d even take a chance on Patrick Corbin at this rate. Julio Urias is available for nothing. For those that say the Mets shouldn’t sign Urias or Bauer, look at who the Yankees have signed in the past 6 or 7 years. Chapman, Domingo German, Martinez, etc. At this point, they need to consider all available options
Nah.
Are you trying to normalize what I think you are trying to normalize? Enjoy being banned for an 11th time?
Bauer and Urias will never pitch in the major leagues again.
Exactly! They have the money to get impact players, difference makers, yet this is the move they make. Robertson is available but god forbid they pay for him. And another thing, Stearns claimed he was building this team for the future. Yet he hasn’t done anything but make short term deals. Soto was all cohen so don’t even go there. Claims he doesn’t believe in giving top tier pitchers long contracts then goes and gives 33 year old Manaea $75mm. There was legit pitching available this offseason, yet he thinks Blackburn canning Montas and Holmes is a good rotation. Come on guys. Take off your homer hats and realize more could have been done.
@icantstandyous 100% right. They have the opportunity to win a World Series and yet they took the cheap way out, especially with the rotation
I come here to read the comments from people about how bad a team will be because a) they’re not spending money the way I want, b) they’re not signing the people I want and c) they not trading for the people I want.
It’s fantasy baseball managing at it best!!
And the most entertaining posts are from Mets, Cubs, and Red Sox fans.
ew talk about a horrible character issue…. ew… no
Urena was solid for the Rangers last season. He is much better suited for the bullpen than the rotation and could be a surprise to land a roster spot
Manaea and Montas with significant injuries? Who thought to themselves… the answer is Jose Urena and his 5,08 FIP since 2021?
This almost defines “halfassing it.”
I predict that Urena will be at 0.0 WAR by career’s end. He will neither have improved nor hurt his teams. He just is.
Mets are using Ureña’s contract as a dynamic tool to navigate the uncertainties of the baseball season, maximizing their flexibility and minimizing their risk.
Sad to say, their tool usage is off.
This is like reaching for the toolbox and instead of selecting a hammer to drive the nail, they pick up the toolbox and bash at the nail with it.
Urena just doesn’t fit their needs or suit their situation. It’s like the Mets picking up Julio Teheran in 2024 and realizing after two innings it was a mistake, where here they’re filling the #11 spot on their starting pitching Depth Chart when they’re light a #2 and #4 starter.