Right-hander Paul Blackburn has cleared release waivers and is now free to sign with any club, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The Mets designated him for assignment on Saturday and it was later reported that he had been placed on release waivers.
It’s not a shock that Blackburn has gone unclaimed. He is making $4.05MM this year, leaving close to $900K still to be paid out. That’s more than some pitchers get for a full season, so it would be a notable amount for the final few weeks of the campaign. Blackburn has also been largely injured this year, only pitching in seven games with a 6.85 earned run average.
Now that he has cleared waivers, it’s possible clubs give him a call. The Mets will remain on the hook for the majority of what remains of his salary. A club could sign Blackburn and only pay him the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for any time spent on the roster, which would be less than $4K per day. Any amount paid by another club would be subtracted from what the Mets pay.
Blackburn hasn’t been in amazing form this year. He started the season on the injured list due to inflammation in his right knee. He was activated in June but a shoulder impingement put him back on the shelf. As mentioned, he has posted a 6.85 ERA around those IL stints.
However, he is stretched out and was in good form during his rehab assignment, which could appeal to clubs needing innings. He started a rehab assignment in July and his final four rehab outings were Triple-A games where he went five innings or more. He had a 2.42 ERA, 18.3% strikeout rate and 4.3% walk rate in those. He was then reinstated from the IL and tossed five innings of long relief against Atlanta on August 13th, allowing two earned runs. He was designated for assignment shortly thereafter.
While it’s not been a great season overall, Blackburn has some major league success. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed a combined 290 1/3 innings with a 4.43 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 44.8% ground ball rate. It’s been a challenging year but he is stretched out and has been putting up decent numbers over the past month. Since he is basically free, it’s possible some club takes a chance on him, especially with the inherent difficulties of adding impact talent after the trade deadline.
Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst, Imagn Images
A’s do need pitching. Reunion?
Too expensive for Fisher
League minimum salary if he’s picked up.
“Blackburn hasn’t been in amazing form this year.” This is how you describe a pitcher with a 6.85 ERA? How high need it be for you to write, “Blackburn has been ineffective”? Is he an old friend or relative of the author?
Amazing is the new fantastic.
“Amazing”, “incredible”, …lazy writing abounds. My favorite is when someone pitches 6 innings, gives up 2 runs on 7 hits and a couple of walks and the sportswriter declares that he was “dominant”.
Well, yes, especially in sportswriting and sportscasting. The sad part is, a subject so easily made colorful has turned into cliche city.
The nitpickers are out today.
Wear it proudly or not at all.
Hmmm…unfortunately for you, words do have meanings.
If he had one or two awful innings that could explain a bad ERA in a season where he was injured most of the time. If he could give outings similar to the last one he had in long relief, he could definitely be useful to someone.
@Joel: pick your battles. No need to fly off the handle because the article author didn’t properly rip Paul Blackburn’s 2025 performance. It’s not their job to editorialize in that way, anyway.
Hmmm…. fortunately for me, that was exactly my point.
A. If that’s “flying off the handle”, you have an interesting standard. Are you ripping someone if you say that they’ve been ineffective? Is it editorializing to say that a pitcher was ineffective? Again, you may not like it but words do have meanings.
My nitpick is the overuse of the term slugger by numerous publications and writers.
Indeed, the dullards use it to mean a position player generally. Btw, trying to remedy sloppy writing is not nitpicking, it’s a community service! (joking)
The unofficial nickname for the Mets is “the amazing Mets,” which is why the writer used that reference.
Except he also used this word a few days ago in an article about Tayler Scott (no Mets connection) and the word is turning up in a lot of other non-Mets articles. It’s a fad word.
And, as a Mets fan from way back in the day, I can report first hand that it was always “The Amazin’ Mets.” Adding the “g” would be considered sacrilegious.
He has 12 minor league starts this year, that is too many for a rehab assignment so I think he must have been optioned at some point.
He had two separate rehabs. One to start the season (seven starts) and then another in July with five starts.
Thanks, I was wondering!
I read the news today oh boy!
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire.
And though the holes were rather small,
They had to count them all.
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
wrong Paul
top- and wrong Blackburn- just happened to be listening to the track while reading this. it has a Paul and a Blackburn. it was worth a shot.
oh I know 🙂
almost went with “Blackburn singing in the dead of night…”
I would believe the best he can hope for at this time would be a off season minor league contract and invite to major league spring training camp
With all of their injuries, Astros could use him. Paul Blackburn Caught Ride on Astros’ Charter Plane to 2022 MLB All-Star Game. In 2022 Paul Blackburn was set to fly commercial from Houston to LA. for the AllStar game. The Astros found out & offered him a ride on their charter: “It shows within Baseball it’s like a brotherhood. Everyone respects each other. I’m greatly appreciative of their organization”. We will see if they are still interested in him.
He will pitch like Kikuchi in 2024. Then the Angels will give him 3 years and $45 million.
Kikuchi has pitched well this year too so what’s your point.
AA is on the line with his agent right now
good riddence waste talent money and hope he break him pitching arm trader ahole
Maybe you should smokem peace pipe.