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Justin Garza

Justin Garza Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Justin Garza has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Mets had sent him outright to Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the week but he had a previous career outright and therefore had the right to reject the assignment and head to the open market.

Garza, 31, still has a fairly limited big league track record. He has thrown 53 2/3 innings in the majors, but spread out over multiple seasons, having debuted back in 2021. That includes just 6 2/3 innings in 2025. On the whole, he has a 5.70 earned run average, 19.8% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate.

His minor league track record is naturally greater in quality and quantity, though he has struggled on the farm this year. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 157 2/3 innings in the minors with a 3.82 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate. Here in 2025, he has thrown 44 Triple-A innings with a 7.16 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. There’s surely some bad luck in there, as his .315 batting average on balls in play and 57.3% strand rate are both to the unlucky side. His 5.47 FIP suggests he has deserved better than that ERA but even that adjusted figure isn’t great.

Teams are clearly intrigued by his arsenal, which includes an upper-90s fastball as well as a cutter, splitter and slider. Over the past few years, he has bounced from the Guardians to the Angels, Red Sox, Giants and Mets via free agency, trade or the waiver wire. He was with the Giants on a minor league deal when the Mets acquired him in a cash trade in June and added him to the roster. He spent a few months as an up-and-down depth arm for the Mets until losing his roster spot in recent days.

Garza will head out to free agency and see what opportunities await him. The fact that he cleared waivers suggests he’ll be limited to minor league offers. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any signing club at this point, so it’s possible he just gets a headstart on his offseason. Going forward, he will still have one option season remaining and he only has about a year of service time, meaning he can provide roster flexibility and affordability.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

Mets Activate Jose Siri, Designate Wander Suero

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The Mets announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated outfielder Jose Siri from the 60-day injured list. Reliever Wander Suero was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, and outfielder Jared Young has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets also announced that righty Justin Garza, whom they’d previously designated for assignment, cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Syracuse.

Siri, 30, appeared in just 10 games with the Mets before suffering a fractured tibia that wound up sidelining him close to five months. New York acquired him from the Rays in an offseason deal sending reliever Eric Orze back to Tampa Bay.

Though Siri strikes out far too often (career 35.8%) and posts poor batting averages and on-base percentages as a result, he’s an elite runner and defender with considerably above-average power. Last year, Statcast pegged Siri’s sprint speed (99th), outfield range (99th) and outfield arm strength (97th) in at least the 97th percentile of MLB players. He popped 43 home runs and stole 26 bags in just 812 plate appearances with the Rays from 2023-24 but did so with a grim .203/.260/.424 batting line overall (91 wRC+).

The Mets placed Tyrone Taylor on the injured list a couple weeks ago and are already expecting to be without Jesse Winker for the balance of the regular season. Siri steps back into an outfield mix that includes Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto in the corners, with deadline pickup Cedric Mullins in center field. Starling Marte, Jeff McNeil and Luisangel Acuña are all options on the grass as well.

Siri’s right-handed bat is a natural complement for the lefty-swinging Mullins in center field — or so it would seem. However, Siri’s career .194/.251/.378 slash against lefties is markedly worse than his career .211/.269/.411 batting line in right-on-right situations. Neither is a strong mark, however, and Mullins is a better hitter in left-on-left situations than Siri is in right-on-left situations — historically speaking, anyhow. For now, Siri seems like he’ll operate as a fourth outfielder and late-game option off the bench, be that in a pinch-running, defensive upgrade or pinch-hitting scenario.

As for the 33-year-old Suero, he was only just claimed off waivers five days ago and only reported to the team four days ago. He didn’t appear in a game during his brief time with the Mets. His only big league work in 2025 has come with the Braves, for whom he yielded eight runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Ugly Atlanta stint aside, Suero was a frequently used bullpen arm for the Nationals from 2018-20, when he pitched 142 2/3 innings of 4.10 ERA ball. He picked up a save and 27 holds along the way. Suero’s production has taken a nosedive since; he’s pitched in each of the past four MLB seasons but has a 7.11 ERA in 57 innings thanks to an alarming susceptibility to home runs. After yielding just 0.63 homers per nine frames in his first three MLB seasons, Suero has surrendered an average of 2.53 big flies per nine innings since 2021.

To his credit, Suero has been outstanding in Triple-A this season. He’s pitched 46 2/3 innings with the Braves’ top affiliate in Gwinnett and recorded a 1.35 ERA with a dozen saves, a 31.2% strikeout rate and a 6.9% walk rate. Now that he’s been designated for assignment, he’ll head to outright waivers and again be made available to all 29 other clubs.

Mets Activate Reed Garrett, Designate Justin Garza

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The Mets announced five roster moves in advance of today’s game with the Reds, including their official selection of Brandon Sproat’s contract from Triple-A.  Sproat will make his MLB debut as today’s Mets starter, and New York is also welcoming right-hander Reed Garrett back from the 15-day injured list.  In corresponding 28-man and 40-man roster moves, right-handers Kevin Herget and Wander Suero were optioned to Triple-A, and righty Justin Garza was designated for assignment.

Garza was acquired in a trade with the Giants in June, and his five appearances with the Mets marked the righty’s first Major League action since the 2023 season when he pitched with the Red Sox.  While Garza’s first four Mets outings were scoreless, he was torched for four runs in his last game on June 20, and he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse the next day.  His Triple-A work has been far from stellar, as Garza has an 8.17 ERA over 25 1/3 innings in Syracuse.

If Garza clears waivers and is outrighted off the Mets’ 40-man roster, he has the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, since Garza has already been outrighted earlier in his career.  Given the late date on the regular-season calendar and the frequency of the Mets’ bullpen shuffles, Garza might prefer to just stick in the organization if he thinks another call back to the majors might still be in the cards.

A waiver claim is a possibility, if another team is willing to look past Garza’s lack of success in 2025.  He has added some velocity to his fastball this season and is now averaging better than 96.1mph in the big leagues and in Triple-A, even if that added heat has actually led to a downturn in his strikeout rate.  Garza has also been a lot more homer-prone in 2025 than in past seasons.

Garrett was retroactively placed on the IL on August 23, and he’ll return in short order since his bout of elbow inflammation fortunately didn’t turn out to be too serious.  The time off could also act as a bit of a reset, as Garrett struggled to a 15.43 ERA over his last 4 2/3 innings prior to hitting the injured list.

Garrett ranks second on the Mets with 54 appearances, and he’ll resume his role as one of the few true regulars within New York’s revolving door of a bullpen.  Over 52 1/3 innings, Garrett has a 3.61 ERA and a strong 28.3% strikeout rate, even if his 11% walk rate is on the high side.

Mets Designate Chris Devenski For Assignment

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today. Outfielder/designated hitter Starling Marte has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Infielder Jared Young has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move. The club also activated recent waiver claimee Rico Garcia and recalled right-hander Justin Garza. To open spots for those two arms, the club optioned right-hander Kevin Herget and designated right-hander Chris Devenski for assignment. Additionally, left-hander Brandon Waddell’s optional assignment was reversed and he has instead been placed on the major league 15-day injured list due to a right hip impingement.

Devenski, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the offseason. He was selected to the big league roster in April. As a veteran with well over five years of major league service time, he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. The Mets have optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse three times this year, so he presumably agreed to those transactions.

This time, instead of being optioned, he’s been designated for assignment. The Mets didn’t need to open a 40-man spot today, so it’s unclear why they’ve done so. With the deadline coming up, they are expected to pursue bullpen upgrades. Perhaps the Mets, or Devenski, realized that their relationship might not extend much farther. From Devenski’s perspective, if he’s going to get squeezed down the depth chart, perhaps now is a good time to open himself up to other clubs rather than accept another stint in Syracuse.

Whatever the reasoning, he is now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Mets could take five days to explore trade interest. Around his optional assignments, Devenski has tossed 11 1/3 innings big league innings for the Mets this year, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, three walks and two hit-by-pitches while striking out nine. He has also thrown 25 Triple-A innings with a 4.32 ERA, 17.2% strikeout rate, 4% walk rate and 50.6% ground ball rate.

Devenski’s best seasons came with the Astros almost a decade ago. More recently, his results have been up and down. He had an encouraging showing in 2023, split between the Angels and Rays. That year, he tossed 42 1/3 innings with a 4.46 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. The Rays re-signed him for 2024 but Devenski posted a 6.75 ERA last year. He was released by July and was stuck in the minors the rest of the year.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images

Mets Place Tylor Megill On IL With Elbow Sprain

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4:25pm: Manager Carlos Mendoza tells Anthony DiComo of MLB.com that the best-case scenario for Megill is a return in four to five weeks. The club plans to have a spot starter on Friday and Montas perhaps joining the rotation after that, depending on how his next rehab outing goes.

3:05pm: The Mets announced that right-hander Tylor Megill has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 15th, due to a right elbow sprain. Fellow righty Justin Garza has been recalled in a corresponding move.

Megill told members of the media, including Laura Albanese of Newsday, that he just has inflammation and no ligament damage. That doesn’t fully align with the official announcement, as a sprain involves some degree of stretching or tearing, by definition. Regardless, it seems like Megill doesn’t expect a lengthy absence. He says he’ll be shut down for seven to ten days before being reevaluated.

Assuming that ends up being the case, that would obviously be good news, as he was on the road to having a personal-best season here in 2025. He has largely been a serviceable back-end starter for the Mets, with a 4.56 earned run average coming into the campaign. This year, prior to this IL stint, he has made 14 starts with a 3.95 ERA. His 10.8% walk rate would be higher than any other season in his career, but barely. Meanwhile, his 29.2% strikeout rate is quite strong and is way ahead of his 24.3% career rate.

He qualified for arbitration for the first time in the most recent offseason and is making $1.975MM this year. He will be due a raise this coming winter but a notable absence would obviously cut into his earning power, so he’ll naturally be hoping to bounce back quickly.

For the Mets, this is the latest domino to fall in a quickly-changing rotation picture. Last week, it was reported that the Mets were getting calls on righty Paul Blackburn, on account of a fairly crowded starting mix. But within minutes of that report coming out, Kodai Senga suffered an injury and was later placed on the 15-day IL due a strained hamstring.

In the modern game, any pitching surplus is a temporary thing, which is clearly demonstrated here. The Mets are now down to David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Griffin Canning and Blackburn as their rotation options. Frankie Montas has been on a path to join that group but his rehab assignment has been shaky. He has been on the IL all year due to a lat strain and has a 13.17 ERA over his five rehab outings. In the most recent one, he allowed eight earned runs without getting out of the second inning.

Due to those struggles, there’s been some speculation that the Mets might push Montas into the bullpen, though the Megill injury might make him more needed in the rotation. On the other hand, Sean Manaea is also on a rehab assignment and should be in the mix soon as well. His rehab assignment also hasn’t gone super well so far in terms of results, but he’s earlier in the process, having only made three appearances thus far.

Time will tell how the Mets play it. Peterson, Blackburn and Holmes are the scheduled starters for the next three games. Megill was originally scheduled to get the ball on Friday. Canning could perhaps start that one instead but they would still need to someone for Saturday’s game. Guys like Blade Tidwell, Justin Hagenman and Brandon Waddell are on the 40-man roster and could factor in at some point, at least until the Mets get some guys back from the IL.

It will be a situation worth monitoring for other clubs, especially with the trade deadline just over a month away. As recently as a week ago, the Mets looked to have enough starting options where selling was a possibility but perhaps buying will become a consideration.

Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images

Mets Select Justin Garza

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The Mets announced that they have selected right-hander Justin Garza to their major league roster. Left-hander Brandon Waddell was optioned in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had two vacancies, so their count climbs from 38 to 39.

Garza, 31, started the season on a minor league contract with the Giants. This past weekend, the Mets acquired him, sending some cash considerations to San Francisco in return. He has tossed 17 2/3 innings over 19 Triple-A appearances this year. His 6.11 earned run average in that time is obviously not great but there are other metrics that the Mets are presumably more interested in.

The righty has been averaging over 96 miles per hour on his fastballs this year. When he was last in the majors, he was in the 93-95 mph range. His 26% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate this year are both strong numbers. However, he has allowed a .340 batting average on balls in play. His 68.6% strand rate is a bit low. He has also allowed four home runs, a rate of 22.2% per fly ball. That work has come in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, so perhaps the Mets are hoping that Garza’s skills will play better in a different setting. Citi Field is generally pitcher-friendly but can be close to neutral when it comes to home runs.

Garza does have some major league experience, with a 5.74 ERA, 21% strikeout rate and 13.7% walk rate in 47 innings. That poor control has also been a feature of his minor league work. From 2021 to 2023, he logged 102 2/3 innings on the farm with 3.94 ERA and 27.4% strikeout rate but a 12.4% walk rate. Last year, he only walked 8% of Triple-A batters he faced and has stayed in that range in 2025.

Though his major league track record isn’t great, adding velocity while improving control is an intriguing step forward, so the Mets will give him a fresh chance. He has a couple of option years remaining, which surely adds to the appeal, as he can be sent to Syracuse and back fairly freely if he holds down a 40-man roster spot.

Photo courtesy of Bob DeChiara, Imagn Images

Mets Acquire Justin Garza From Giants

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The Mets have swung a deal with the Giants to acquire right-hander Justin Garza in exchange for cash considerations, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Garza had been on a minor league deal with San Francisco, so no corresponding move will be necessary for the Mets until and unless he’s selected to the 40-man roster.

Garza, 31, has pitched in the majors for parts of two MLB seasons. Selected by Cleveland in the eighth-round of the 2015 draft, he made his big league debut for them in 2021. He ultimately ended up pitching 28 2/3 innings of work for the club in total with roughly league average results. In those 21 appearances, he posted a 4.71 ERA (92 ERA+) and struck out 22.7% of his opponents, but walked 14.1% and allowed more than his fair share of home runs. He was much more effective than that at Triple-A, where he posted a 1.57 ERA in 22 2/3 frames, but even that effectiveness slipped away during a 2022 season where he did not make it to the majors and posted only middling results in the minors.

He split the 2023 season between the Angels and Red Sox organizations and made it back to the big leagues in Boston, but struggled badly in that 17-game stint with a 7.36 ERA. His walk rate was still an elevated 13.7%, but his strikeout rate actually dropped to a well below-average 18.7% while his issues with the long ball persisted. His results at Triple-A were once again lackluster as well, and given his disastrous results his last time in the majors it’s not exactly shocking that he has yet to get another major league opportunity since. While he posted good numbers for the Giants at Triple-A last year, that’s not been the case at all this season with a 6.11 ERA and 5.50 FIP in 17 2/3 at the highest level of the minors this year.

Now, he’s set to join a new organization in hopes that a change of scenery (and a move out of the Pacific Coast League) can help him get back on track. Garza’s improved his command during his time in the Giants organization over the past two years, getting to the point where he struck out 26.0% of opponents while walking 7.8% this year. If he can carry those improved numbers over to the Mets organization, perhaps he could be a viable option for New York at the major league level even in spite of his proclivity towards giving up hard contact. The Mets have gotten generally excellent results from their bullpen this year, but as they found out when injuries sidelined Danny Young and A.J. Minter earlier this year an injury or two can leave even the strongest bullpens scrambling for depth. The addition of Garza should help protect against that somewhat, as he’ll join other non-roster depth pieces like Colin Poche and Oliver Ortega.

Giants Re-Sign Justin Garza To Minors Contract

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The Giants have re-signed right-hander Justin Garza to a new minor league contract, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy.  Garza returns for a second season in the organization, after posting a 3.42 ERA, 26.7% strikeout rate, and eight percent walk rate over 52 2/3 bullpen innings for Triple-A Sacramento in 2024.

Initially signed to a minors deal last March, Garza’s first year as a Giant didn’t see him receive any time on the active roster, so his MLB experience remains the 47 innings he posted with Cleveland in 2021 (28 2/3 IP) and Boston in 2023 (18 1/3 IP).  The righty has a 5.74 ERA to show for his time in the big leagues, as well as a 21K% and 13.7% walk rate.

Garza has always had his share of control problems, though this year’s Triple-A walk represents more of a step in the right direction.  After beginning his career as a starter, a move to bullpen work in 2021 bumped up Garza’s strikeout rates, thus earning him that initial look in the bigs.  His minor league numbers declined in 2022 and the Guardians parted ways after the season, and Garza signed on with the Angels on a minors contract that offseason before being claimed by the Red Sox in April 2023.

His solid numbers in Sacramento last year impressed the Giants enough for a fresh contract, so Garza will enjoy a bit of stability as he enters his age-31 season.  Garza still has two minor league options remaining, giving San Francisco some flexibility in shuffling him up and down between the MLB and Triple-A levels if they do ever select his contract for another look in the Show.

Giants, Justin Garza Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Giants are in agreement with reliever Justin Garza on a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X link). The right-hander is expected to report to minor league camp, Alexander adds.

That indicates Garza won’t be on the radar for a spot in the Opening Day bullpen. He’ll presumably start the season at Triple-A Sacramento and seek a midseason call-up. The Fullerton product has pitched in the majors in two of the past three years. He logged 21 appearances in Cleveland in 2021. After spending the ’22 campaign in Triple-A, he returned to the big leagues with 17 outings as a low-leverage arm for the Red Sox last season.

Garza has yet to find much success against big league hitters. He posted a 4.71 ERA in his rookie season and allowed 7.36 earned runs per nine for Boston. Garza managed only an 18.7% strikeout percentage and walked upwards of 13% of batters faced for the Sox. He has given up a lot of hard contact in each of his MLB stints.

Things have gone a bit more smoothly in the upper minors. Garza owns a solid 3.98 ERA over parts of three Triple-A campaigns. He has fanned an above-average 27.7% of opposing hitters at that level. Throwing strikes consistently has still been an issue, but the 29-year-old (30 later this month) has shown the ability to miss bats against upper level hitters. He has averaged just under 95 MPH on his sinker in his big league work.

Garza has two minor league options remaining. If the Giants call on him at any point, they could move him between Oracle Park and Sacramento without exposing him to waivers.

Justin Garza Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Garza has cleared waivers and elected free agency, per Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe.

Nov 2: The Red Sox have sent reliever Justin Garza through outright waivers, reports Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). That clears a spot on the 40-man roster.

Boston claimed Garza off waivers from the Angels at the end of April. The right-hander made 17 appearances, tallying 18 1/3 innings. He allowed a 7.36 ERA with a modest 18.7% strikeout percentage while walking more than 13% of batters faced. Garza spent a bit more time at Triple-A Worcester, where he tossed 28 innings of 4.82 ERA ball.

The 29-year-old will have the ability to test minor league free agency. Garza owns a 3.98 ERA through 101 2/3 frames in parts of three seasons at Triple-A. He averaged around 95 MPH on his fastball and could find minor league interest as a depth option.

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