Josh Hader To Begin Season On Injured List
Star Astros closer Josh Hader will begin the 2026 season on the 15-day injured list, manager Joe Espada announced to the team’s beat this morning (via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). He’s been slowed by a biceps issue this spring after missing the final seven weeks of the 2025 season due to a capsule strain in his shoulder. Hader has progressed to throwing and pitched an encouraging bullpen session yesterday, Kawahara adds, but the team simply won’t have enough time to get him built up before the season begins. Righty Bryan Abreu will very likely be in line to close games for Houston while Hader is shelved.
Hader’s Opening Day status has been an ongoing question throughout camp. Both the left-hander himself and team officials have repeatedly expressed optimism about the manner in which he’s progressing through rehab while simultaneously declining to commit to an Opening Day timetable.
While it’s an obvious blow to the Astros’ early-season fortunes, it’s still relatively good news. There’s no indication that last year’s shoulder injury has carried over into the 2026 season, nor does it seem the biceps injury is particularly nefarious. The Astros’ track record when it comes to framing player injuries is worth keeping in mind, but to this point it seems there’s hope for Hader to be back in Espada’s bullpen relatively early in the season.
Abreu, 29 in April, is among the stronger fallback options any team has for its closer in all of baseball. The 6’1″, 230-pound flamethrower owns a masterful 2.30 earned run average across his past four seasons in Houston. He’s punched out at least 31.7% of his opponents in each of those four seasons and 34.3% overall. Abreu’s 10.4% walk rate could stand to improve, but he’s proven so adept at missing bats that the slightly elevated walk rate hasn’t been a real issue for him. Abreu sat 97.3 mph on his four-seamer last season, and his 16.6% swinging-strike rate since 2022 ranks sixth among the 280 big league pitchers who’ve tossed at least 200 innings in that time (trailing only Hader, Andrés Muñoz, Dylan Lee, Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley).
As for Hader, an exact target date for his return remains up in the air. His 2025 season was shaping up to be one of his best. Prior to his injury, that lanky southpaw tossed 52 2/3 innings with a 2.05 ERA, a 36.9% strikeout rate, a 7.8% walk rate (second-lowest in his career) and 28 saves in 29 opportunities. He’s entering the third season of a five-year, $95MM contract signed prior to the 2024 campaign.
Hunter Greene To Have Bone Chips Removed From Elbow, Likely Out Until July
Reds ace Hunter Greene will undergo surgery to remove bone chips from his right elbow today, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The team is hoping to have him back at some point in July. He’ll be placed on the 60-day injured list whenever Cincinnati needs to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
The Reds revealed late last week that they’d sent Greene for multiple waves of imaging and hoped to have further news early this week. Greene himself said at the time that he’s navigated bone spurs for some time but had recently received a clean MRI on his ulnar collateral ligament. Doctors hadn’t recommended surgery for the bone chips until this point. He experienced some pain late last season, and doctors recommended an injection at the time. That allowed Greene to have a normal offseason, but he experienced renewed discomfort upon ramping up in camp and will now head under the knife.
Greene is far from the only pitcher in MLB to pitch through some known bone spurs or loose bodies in his elbow. Most professional pitchers have some degree of wear and tear in their elbow and/or shoulder, be it bone chips or mild damage to a ligament, flexor tendon, rotator cuff, labrum, etc. Reds fans will surely feel frustration that the discomfort dates back to last season but is being addressed in 2026. Surgery is a last-resort option, however, and hadn’t been recommended until this latest wave of discomfort set in.
Losing Greene is a gut-punch for a Reds rotation that had looked like one of the game’s strongest, on paper. He was in line to start Opening Day and be followed by Andrew Abbott, Nick Lodolo, Brady Singer and one of Chase Burns or Rhett Lowder, both former top-10 picks in the draft and highly touted top prospects. Greene’s injury now opens the door for both Burns and Lowder to make the staff — particularly after Chase Petty was optioned yesterday — although left-hander Brandon Williamson remains in camp and could be an option as he returns from a 2025 season lost to injury.
A former No. 2 overall draft pick, Greene has been one of the game’s best pitchers on a rate basis over the past two seasons. However, he’s also missed considerable time due to a pair of groin strains in 2025 and some elbow discomfort in 2024. He’s started 45 games across dating back to ’24 and worked to a 2.76 ERA with a 29.2% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 33.5% ground-ball rate. Last year’s 15.4% swinging-strike rate was fourth-best in MLB (min. 100 innings pitched), trailing only Tarik Skubal, Dylan Cease and Logan Gilbert.
Greene is entering the fourth season of a six-year, $53MM extension. The 26-year-old is being paid $8MM this season before making $15MM and $16MM in 2027-28. The Reds hold a $21MM club option (with a $2MM buyout) over his 2029 season. With Greene on the shelf to begin the year, Abbott has been named the Reds’ Opening Day starter. President of baseball operations Nick Krall said last week at the time Greene was being sent for an MRI that he didn’t envision turning to free agency even in the event that Greene would be sidelined for a significant period of time.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good morning! We’ll get going around 1pm CT, give or take a couple minutes. Feel free to submit questions ahead of time, as always.
Astros71
- Jake Meyers is staying, right?
Steve Adams
- At this point that’s my assumption, yeah. The Astros are already short in the outfield. I guess in theory they could try to swap him out for a less-proven LHH center field option, but I don’t know that such a scenario is really out there. Feel like he’s more or less locked in there by now.
Littell
- Why did I sign with the nationals? I could have gone anywhere else!
Steve Adams
- If it were true that he could have gone “anywhere else” for that same money or more, he probably would have. The market for Littell clearly wasn’t anywhere near what he and his camp set out hoping to find early in the season. I’m sure there are more competitive clubs that would’ve given him $7MM back in November/December. Probably a fair bit more than that on a one-year deal. But Littell was surely seeking two- and likely three-year deals at that point and wasn’t going to be open to something like 1/12 at that time, even if it was on the table.
- Littell has pitched a bunch of innings the past two seasons, but he’s a low-90s guy with his velo and had one of the lowest strikeout rates in the majors last year.I think he was worth more than this and definitely like it for the Nationals, but I’m not entirely surprised that the market just didn’t show up for him
MarioSoto
- Honest thoughts on the Reds?
Steve Adams
- Had one of the five best rotations in baseball prior to the Greene news. That drops them down a ways (though obviously there’s a lot of upside if it gets someone like Lowder into the rotation).I don’t love the bullpen. Their fixation on dedicating a significant portion of their limited payroll to one of the most homer-prone relievers in baseball and having him close games in their bandbox park is weird, but Emilio Pagan posted decent numbers last year (with the help of a few game-saving home run robberies).
Offense should be improved with Geno there, possible full seasons of Stewart, Stephenson, Friedl … better health from Elly
- I think they’re probably behind Chicago and Milwaukee for me in the NL Central, but not by so much that a few breakouts for the Reds and/or a key injury or two elsewhere can’t make it a tight race. They should be in Wild Card contention at least.
Big Time
- Other than Giolito, what other free agents are out there that you are surprised don’t have a contract in hand right now?
Steve Adams
- Michael Kopech is probably the biggest one. Danny Coulombe, to a lesser extent.
Jesus Luzardo
- Thoughts on my new deal?
Steve Adams
- I’d have pegged him for something like Carlos Rodon money (6/156) in free agency (with an outside chance at seven years, depending how his 2026 goes), so getting him for five years seems like a nice win for the Phillies. But at the same time, Luzardo has had plenty of injuries throughout his career, and he was offered a pretty hearty nine-figure deal that spares him all the uncertainty surrounding the labor staredown and everything … I get it.
Tigers Select Enmanuel De Jesus, Place Troy Melton On 60-Day IL
The Tigers announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus. Righty Troy Melton, who’s been slowed in camp due to elbow inflammation, was placed on the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Efraín Zavarce of IVC and 107.3 La Mega first reported De Jesus would be added to the 40-man roster. Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base reports that De Jesus had been in talks with a team in Asia, so it seems the Tigers had to choose between adding him to the 40-man roster and cutting him loose to sign in NPB, the KBO or the CPBL. Jason Beck of MLB.com adds that there’s been no setback with Melton, but his expected debut had been pushed into May already by this point.
Adding De Jesus to the 40-man roster doesn’t guarantee that he’ll make the major league club on Opening Day. The 29-year-old has only limited major league experience and thus has a full slate of three minor league option years remaining. Now that he’s on the 40-man, however, he’s a clear candidate to break camp with the team or be among the first arms summoned to the majors in the event of an injury.
De Jesus, who pitched briefly with the 2023 Marlins, tossed 6 1/3 shutout innings this spring and held opponents to four hits and a walk with seven strikeouts before joining Venezuela’s team in the World Baseball Classic. He’s started one game in the Classic so far, holding Israel to one run on a pair of hits and no walks with eight punchouts through five terrific innings.
A stint in Asia wouldn’t have been surprising for De Jesus. He’s spent the past two seasons in the Kiwoom Heroes’ rotation in the Korea Baseball Organization, working to a combined 3.81 ERA in 343 innings. He’s fanned 23.8% of his opponents there against a 6.1% walk rate. Detroit scooped him up on a minor league deal and non-roster invite this winter, but it’s common for such deals to have foreign interest clauses that permit the player to ask for his release if an Asian club comes calling with a guaranteed offer. De Jesus seems to have had such a clause this time around, but his strong spring performance both with the Tigers and in the WBC has prompted his current MLB organization to keep him around.
De Jesus could open the season as a swing option on the big league roster, although righty Drew Anderson may have first dibs on that role. Like De Jesus, he’s returning to the majors after a strong run in the KBO — although Anderson’s dominance with the SSG Landers was enough to land him a $7MM guarantee on a major league contract. There’s no room for either Anderson or De Jesus in a Detroit rotation that will feature Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and a returning Justin Verlander.
Starters Jackson Jobe (Tommy John surgery last June), Reese Olson (shoulder surgery last month) and Melton are all opening the season on the 60-day IL. In addition to a potential Melton return in late May, Jobe could be back in the season’s second half. Recently optioned Keider Montero had been the top depth option still on the 40-man roster, joining Sawyer Gipson-Long and Ty Madden in that regard. De Jesus provides some more cover and a possible southpaw arm for the bullpen, where Tyler Holton, Brant Hurter and Drew Sommers are the club’s other options on the 40-man roster.
Nationals Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment
The Nationals have designated left-handed reliever Richard Lovelady for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot goes to righty Zack Littell, whose previously reported one-year deal with the Nats is now official.
Washington claimed Lovelady off waivers from the Mets back on Jan. 29. He’d signed a split major league deal with the Mets back in October, which the Mets hoped would help him to pass through waivers so he could be stashed in Syracuse as Triple-A depth. That didn’t work out, at least not on their initial attempt, as the Nats quickly scooped him up. Lovelady will now either be traded within the next five days or placed back on waivers, which are a 48-hour process. His DFA will be resolved within a week’s time.
Lovelady has had a solid showing with the Nats so far in camp. He’s allowed a run on four hits and three walks in four innings while fanning seven batters. He allowed 11 runs in 11 2/3 big league innings between the Blue Jays and Mets in 2025 but posted a a terrific 1.66 ERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 52.6% ground-ball rate in 38 Triple-A frames.
Lovelady is no stranger to posting strong numbers in the upper minors but running into some MLB struggles. He’s logged 111 MLB frames in his career and posted a 5.35 ERA but thrived with a 2.61 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate in 175 2/3 Triple-A innings across parts of seven seasons. Although Lovelady hasn’t had consistent success in the majors, he did log a solid 4.25 ERA with quality strikeout, walk and grounder rates in 78 1/3 big league frames from 2022-24.
Since he’s out of minor league options, Lovelady couldn’t simply be sent back to Triple-A. The Nats will hope he clears waivers and can be stashed in the upper minors within their system, just as the Mets tried to do. He cleared waivers on several occasions last year but was also selected to a major league roster five different times between Toronto and New York, including that major league deal with the Mets in October. He’s ping-ponged on and off MLB rosters of the Royals, A’s, Cubs, Jays and Mets dating back to 2022, so it’s certainly possible another club with a need for some bullpen depth takes a low-cost flier via waivers or a cash swap.
Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good afternoon! Hope the weekend treated everyone well. I'll get going around 2:30pm CT, but as usual, feel free to send in questions ahead of time!
- Hey there -- just over two weeks until Opening Day! Let's get going
David
- Hi there! Is it true that an extension signed during the season doesn’t increase the AAV that year? So, if the Mets were to extend Freddy Peralta it would make financial sense, considering the tax hit, to wait till the season begins?
Steve Adams
- The timing doesn't matter -- it's the manner in which it's structured. If the Mets wanted to avoid taking on more luxury tax hits in 2026, they could keep Peralta's salary as is by adhering to the prior contract but set up the extension as a new contract. Doing so means a larger AAV and larger hits in subsequent seasons, though.Garrett Crochet's Boston deal comes to mind as a recent example of someone who went that route.
Ewitkows
- Who's the opening day 3B for the Brewers?
Steve Adams
- I just started typing a much longer reply than necessary because I somehow read that as asking who's starting at 3B for the Red Sox (Caleb Durbin!) -- apologies, ha
- For the Brewers it'll almost certainly be Rengifo. They're not displacing Turang at 2B, so you'll get Ortiz at SS for the glove and Rengiffo at 3B after they signed him to the big league deal
Lefty
- Giants lack of proven bullpen commodities is a given. But you never know with relievers. If their patchwork collection of unheralded prospects (Harris, Bednar), non roster FA's (Santos, Fulmer), and mediocre returning arms (Walker, Butto etc) can surprise and be a middle-of-the-pack bullpen, are the Giants a solid wild card candidate?
Steve Adams
- It doesn't take a ton to be in Wild Card contention midseason, so i think they can hang within arm's reach. But even beyond the bullpen -- which is bad and a major concern -- I think the rotation depth is just underwhelming. I didn't like the Houser/Mahle pairing at the back of the staff. It's all extremely dependent on Logan Webb continuing to stay healthy.
- Bottom third or so of the lineup and the bench look bleak, too. A lot can change for most teams if just two to three role players step up ... but the Giants feel like they'll need more than two or three surprise contributors who exceed expectations.
Emmet Sheehan
- Hi Steve do you think I have a role in the dodgers rotation. What about Roky, stone, and Ryan?
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Rockies’ RJ Petit Suffers UCL Sprain
Rockies right-hander RJ Petit has been diagnosed with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the team announced to reporters at their spring complex (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com). He’s being sent for further evaluation before next steps are determined. Every case is different, of course, but the majority of UCL sprains result in surgery, be it an internal brace to stabilize/strengthen the existing ligament or a full UCL reconstruction (Tommy John surgery). The Rockies have not yet said whether surgery is an option for Petit.
Petit was the top pick in this December’s Rule 5 Draft. The Rockies plucked the towering 6’8″ righty from the Tigers system after Detroit left him unprotected despite a strong minor league track record. In 66 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this past season, Petit notched a 2.44 earned run average with a hefty 29.5% strikeout rate against a nice 8.2% walk rate. He sits 95 mph with his four-seamer, and that velocity plays up further due to the extension he gets from that 6’8″ frame and his long limbs. He allowed three runs in four spring innings prior to sustaining the ligament injury.
The Rockies had hoped that Petit could claim a spot in a wide-open bullpen mix that opened up even further with the offseason trade of Angel Chivilli and the elbow injury to DFA pickup Pierson Ohl (which will require Tommy John surgery). Petit will instead be looking at a notable absence, regardless of whether he requires surgery.
If the Rockies want to hang onto Petit, they’re able to do so. He can be placed on the 60-day injured list and spend the entire season there if need be — so long as the team is willing to give him major league service time and pay for that IL time. In that scenario, Petit’s Rule 5 designation would carry over into the 2027 season. The Rockies would thus be unable to option him to the minor leagues until he spent at least 90 days on the active roster.
For a club in the Rockies’ position, that may not be a dealbreaker. The overhauled Colorado front office, led by new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes, certainly isn’t viewing the 2026 season as one in which the club will be competitive. They liked Petit’s arm enough to take him with the top pick in the Rule 5 Draft, and even in the unfortunate event that he’s out until next season, they’d still control the right-hander through at least 2031 after he meets the criteria to shed that Rule 5 status.
Giants To Re-Sign Joey Lucchesi
The Giants have agreed to bring left-hander Joey Lucchesi back on a minor league deal, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports. The CAA client will head to big league camp and be paid $1.55MM if he makes the roster. He has another $300K available via incentives.
Whether the Lucchesi signing was already in the works when fellow left-hander Reiver Sanmartin suffered an injury or whether this signing comes in response to that injury isn’t clear. However, via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle, Sanmartin’s recent MRI revealed a severe hip flexor strain that’s expected to sideline him for at least three months. Sanmartin, Erik Miller and Matt Gage were the only left-handed relief options on the Giants’ 40-man roster, and Miller has been slowed by a back injury in camp.
Lucchesi, 32, was effective for the Giants in a middle relief role last season. He appeared in 38 games and tossed 38 1/3 innings of 3.76 ERA ball. His 18.8% strikeout rate was well below average, but Lucchesi’s 7.3% walk rate was strong and his 53% ground-ball rate was excellent. In 433 big league innings between the Padres, Mets and Giants, Lucchesi has a 4.07 ERA with roughly average strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates. He worked primarily as a starter before last year’s bullpen success. The Giants chose to non-tender him in November.
Sanmartin, 29, came to the Giants via waiver claim back in November. He’d spent his entire big league career with the Reds, appearing in parts of four seasons from 2021-25. In that time, Sanmartin pitched to a 5.66 ERA with plenty of grounders (53.6%) but a strikeout rate, walk rate and average fastball that were all worse than league average.
Despite that modest track record, Sanmartin was one of the Giants’ only bullpen additions of the offseason. San Francisco signed relievers Jason Foley, Sam Hentges and Rowan Wick to major league deals knowing none were likely to be healthy for Opening Day. Sanmartin was claimed off waivers, and the Giants signed Michael Fulmer to a minor league deal. Outside of that, their bullpen had gone largely untouched this winter — despite trading Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers back in July and losing Randy Rodriguez to Tommy John surgery in September.
Assuming the Lucchesi deal is finalized soon, he should have enough time to build up and be a candidate to break camp in a similar single-inning relief role to the one he had last year.
Latest On Padres’ Bullpen Outlook
Padres right-hander Jason Adam has been targeting the Opening Day roster as he finished off his rehab from last year’s torn tendon in his quadriceps. The right-hander said three weeks back that team doctors hadn’t told him “no” on the possibility yet, and Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Adam could get back into games soon. He’s been ahead of schedule in camp and is slated for one final simulated game this week before a likely Cactus League debut on the weekend.
The 34-year-old Adam is a major piece of a deep San Diego bullpen. Over the past four seasons, he’s worked to a 2.07 ERA with 92 holds, 24 saves, a 29.2% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate across 256 2/3 innings between the Rays and Padres. If healthy, he’d join Adrian Morejon and Jeremiah Estrada as one of closer Mason Miller‘s top setup options.
A healthy Adam also leads to a relatively crowded bullpen that could force the Friars into some tough decisions. Miller, Estrada, Morejon and Adam would be locks for bullpen spots. That’s presumably true of righty David Morgan (2.64 ERA, 47 1/3 innings in 2025) as well. Lefties Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui are pitching on multi-year contracts and can’t be optioned.
That group accounts for seven of the Padres’ eight bullpen spots. Right-hander Ron Marinaccio is out of minor league options. Right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez has multiple option years left but has excelled in camp after impressing in a brief look last year. Righty Matt Waldron might start the season on the injured list, but he’s out of minor league options as well and would need to be added to the big league roster or designated for assignment. Bryan Hoeing is shut down with an elbow issue right now.
Having more talented relievers than bullpen spots available is obviously a nice problem to have, all things considered, and depending on the injury timetables of Adam and a couple teammates, the Friars might be able to kick any 40-man decisions down the road a bit for the early portion of the season. At some point, something will have to give on one of the players who can’t be sent down (whether due to contract or lack of minor league options.
That’s especially true if the Padres want to consider breaking camp with any non-roster invitees on the big league club. Veterans Walker Buehler, Marco Gonzales and Triston McKenzie are among that group, but manager Craig Stammen has been talking up the chances of a different former big leaguer for a potential bullpen job: right-hander Logan Gillaspie.
“He just goes out there, competes his tail off, lot of energy and enthusiasm, throws a ton of strikes and gets a lot of outs,” manager Craig Stammen told MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell when asked about Gillaspie. He noted that Gillaspie could be used in a multi-inning role, providing some length early in games if necessary.
The 28-year-old Gillaspie has pitched in each of the past four major league seasons, including 18 innings for San Diego across the 2024-25 campaigns. He’s had pedestrian results overall, but Gillaspie is a familiar hand for many Padres coaches and is in the midst of a strong spring training (7 2/3 shutout frames, 8-to-2 K/BB ratio). Cassavell suggests that Gillaspie is viewed as having a real chance to make the club, particularly if the Padres open the season with multiple veterans on the injured list.
Mets Notes: Baty, Lindor, Scott, Minter, Stock
The Mets’ offseason signing of Bo Bichette displaced third baseman Brett Baty, and he’ll now take on a super utility role in Queens, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. Baty is seeing work in the outfield and at first base this spring. His experience at the hot corner and at second base makes him a viable option at both those positions, too, should Bichette or Marcus Semien need a breather or a trip to the injured list at any point.
“It’s a valuable role,” manager Carlos Mendoza tells DiComo. “We’ve been pretty honest with him. He is on board. There are going to be at-bats for him in a lot of different positions. He could play third, second and first, and now the outfield is in play.”
While Baty might not have a set position, his 2025 breakout should put him in good position to be in the lineup more often than not. The former first-round pick and top prospect shook off a terrible start to last season and finished out the year with a solid .254/.313/.435 batting line (111 wRC+) and 18 home runs. From mid-May through season’s end — a span of 370 plate appearances — Baty delivered a .266/.327/.454 batting line with 17 of his 18 long balls.
Elsewhere in Mets camp, the team is still holding out hope that star shortstop Francisco Lindor, who suffered a left hamate fracture early in camp, won’t miss much time — if he misses any at all. Lindor took batting practice yesterday for the first time since his injury, and he felt well enough after the fact to tell Jon Heyman of the New York Post he’s confident in his chances of being on the Opening Day roster.
“One hundred percent, I think I can make it for Opening Day,” said Lindor. “…We’re checking the boxes along the way.”
Lindor’s injury first came to light on Feb. 10. A day later, the Mets confirmed that he’d undergo surgery to address the issue. The team originally projected a six-week recovery, and Lindor’s surgery came 43 days prior to Opening Day. In addition to batting practice, Lindor also began playing catch this week and has yet to show any ill effects.
The recovery period on hamate fractures tends to range from four weeks on the short end to eight weeks on the longer end. Based on how things are progressing, it seems there’s reason for cautious optimism among Mets fans that the five-time All-Star and 2024 National League MVP runner-up will be in the lineup when new ace Freddy Peralta and the Mets host the Pirates and presumptive Opening Day starter Paul Skenes on March 26.
The Mets’ pitching staff is also navigating some injuries. Former top prospect Christian Scott, now 17 months removed from the 2024 Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2025 season, hit 96 mph and tossed 48 pitches through 2 2/3 frames in an exhibition against Israel’s WBC team this week. Mendoza told the Post’s Dan Martin that the outing was “impressive, specifically touting the righty’s command in a walk-free return to the mound.
Scott, now 26 years old, made his big league debut in 2024 and posted a 4.56 ERA with 19.8% strikeout rate and 6.1% walk rate in his first taste of major league action. He’d previously tossed 42 1/3 innings with a 2.76 ERA, 33.5% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate at the Triple-A level. There’s no opening in the Mets’ rotation for him with Peralta, Nolan McLean, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea all in the fold, but Scott will be a pivotal depth arm and one of the first names called if the Mets run into health troubles on their big league staff.
Left-handed reliever A.J. Minter, whose 2025 season ended in May due to lat surgery, pitched in a minor league game on a back field this week, Martin adds. It’s Minter’s first time back in a game setting since last year’s surgery. Previous indications have been that Minter could return at some point in May, but Mendoza indicated to Martin that late April is on the table for a possible return.
Minter signed a two-year, $22MM deal with the Mets last winter and got out to a terrific start for them. In 11 innings, he held opponents to two runs (1.64 ERA) on six hits and five walks with 14 punchouts. The 32-year-old southpaw has had his injury troubles over the years, but from 2020-25 he’s notched a sharp 2.80 earned run average with a 30% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 254 innings between the Braves and Mets.
In one other note related to the Mets, Tim Britton of The Athletic provides an update on non-roster invitee Robert Stock. The righty was recently with Team Israel for the World Baseball Classic but suffered some shoulder discomfort. He is out of the WBC and will be going for an MRI.