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14 Players Elect Free Agency

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Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents.  Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.

To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back.  These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.

We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion.  These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.

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Outfielder

Pitchers

Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images

Mets Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment

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The Mets announced that they have recalled right-hander Kevin Herget from Triple-A Syracuse. In a corresponding move, left-hander Richard Lovelady has been designated for assignment. They also announced that righty Chris Devenski, who was designated for assignment a few days ago, has been sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse.

Lovelady, 30, has been on and off the Mets roster this year. Since he’s out of options and his results have been subpar, he has repeatedly been bumped off, but has been brought back whenever the club needs a fresh arm. He signed with the Mets in June but was designated for assignment a couple of days later. He elected free agency but then re-signed shortly thereafter. He was bumped off the roster again in July but then was added back in recent days.

Around the transactions, he has thrown 11 2/3 innings this year, including an earlier stint with the Blue Jays. He has allowed 11 earned runs in that time via 12 hits, six walks and hitting four batters while striking out 12. He has also thrown 38 minor league innings this year with a 1.66 earned run average, 26.3% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 52.6% ground ball rate.

He’ll now head to the waiver wire again. He has already cleared multiple times this year and won’t have huge appeal now. There are only a few days left in the regular season and he wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming club. If he were to clear waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency, as he has done before. However, he may consider sticking with the Mets, since they still have a shot at the postseason. If he stays and they make it in, he could perhaps return to the roster in October if injuries pop up.

Devenski, 34, has received somewhat similar treatment from the Mets. He has twice been designated for assignment by the club this year. The first time, he elected free agency but re-signed. He could opt for the open market again, but as mentioned with Lovelady, it’s possible he’ll stay for the chance of being needed in the postseason.

Around the transactions, Devenski has thrown 16 2/3 innings this year with a 2.16 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 45.5% ground ball rate. He has also thrown 37 2/3 minor league innings with a 3.35 ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 45.5% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

Mets Designate Chris Devenski For Assignment

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The Mets announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Chris Devenski for assignment. Devenski’s spot on the active roster will go to left-hander Sean Manaea, who has been activated from the paternity list.

Devenski, 35 in November, signed a minor league deal with the Mets last offseason and has served in an up-and-down role for the club this year. He’s made 13 appearances for the Mets in total this season and was already DFA’d by New York once before in late July, though he signed a major league deal with the club just a few days later and has remained in the organization ever since. All together, he’s posted a 2.16 ERA with a 3.51 FIP in 16 2/3 innings of work while striking out 21.5% of his opponents against a 7.7% walk rate.

Those are perfectly solid numbers, and his 3.35 ERA and 20.8% strikeout rate across 35 appearances with Triple-A Syracuse this year is largely consistent with that. Despite the minimal playing time at the big league level, 2025 represents something of a return to form for Devenski. A 25th-rounder drafted by the White Sox all the way back in 2011, Devenski made his big league debut in Houston during the 2016 season and was a big part of the Astros bullpen in the early days of their dynasty. In 305 1/3 innings from 2016 to 2019, Devenski posted a 3.21 ERA with a 3.49 FIP and even picked up an All-Star appearance during the 2017 campaign.

Unfortunately, he’s been unable to find his footing since struggling in a small role with the Astros during the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Since the start of 2020, Devenski has bounced between six organizations at the big league level. Prior to joining the Mets this year, he had pitched to a 6.46 ERA with a 5.30 FIP in 82 appearances over the past half decade, including a 6.75 ERA in 26 2/3 innings of work for the Rays last year. If some club views Devenski’s strong performance in a minor role with the Mets this year as evidence he’s put his years of struggles since leaving Houston behind him, then it wouldn’t be a shock to see Devenski garner some interest on the free agent market this winter.

As for Manaea, the Mets recently moved him to the bullpen for the remainder of the season amid his struggles to find success in the rotation this year. That move has paid off so far, as the lefty threw five innings of one-run ball in long relief against the Padres last week. Now that Manaea is back from the paternity list, he’ll likely have another opportunity or two to pitch this week as the Mets fight to hold onto their spot in the playoffs amid strong pushes from Cincinnati and Arizona to get back into the conversation.

Mets Designate Jose Castillo For Assignment

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The Mets announced that left-hander Jose Castillo has been designated for assignment.  Right-hander Chris Devenski was called up from Triple-A Syracuse in the corresponding move.  The transaction brings Devenski’s fresh arm into the bullpen, as Castillo tossed 47 pitches over a two-inning relief outing in Friday’s 19-9 rout of the Marlins.

Castillo is out of minor league options, and thus this is the fourth time this season he has been DFA’d since has to first clear waivers before being sent to Triple-A.  The first designation came in May when Castillo was still a member of the Diamondbacks, and the Mets then brought the southpaw into the organization via trade.  In Castillo’s previous two DFAs with New York, he cleared waivers and was outrighted to Syracuse.  It stands to reason that the same will happen here, though Castillo has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if he wants to explore the open market.

Despite the roster churn, Castillo has pitched quite well during his time in Queens, posting a 2.35 ERA, 53.3% grounder rate, 25.7% strikeout rate, and 8.1% walk rate over 15 1/3 innings with the Mets.  This represents Castillo’s best stretch in the majors since his 2018 rookie season, when he broke into the Show with a 3.29 ERA over 38 1/3 relief innings with the Padres.

However, Castillo tossed just two MLB innings between the 2019-24 seasons, due to a variety of injuries that included a Tommy John surgery.  His bottom-line numbers for New York provide some proof that the 29-year-old can still be effective against big league hitters, even if the Mets see him as an expendable arm.

Mets Re-Sign Chris Devenski

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The Mets announced that they have signed right-hander Chris Devenski to a one-year major league deal. Fellow righty Huascar Brazobán has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster already had a vacancy.

Devenski was just removed from the Mets’ roster a week ago when he was designated for assignment. He later cleared waivers and elected free agency, but he has quickly returned to the Mets on a fresh pact.

Before losing his spot, Devenski gave the Mets 11 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, three walks and hitting three opponents, striking out nine along the way. He has spent more time in Triple-A this year, tossing 25 innings with a 4.32 ERA, 17.2% strikeout rate, 4% walk rate and 50.6% ground ball rate.

The Mets have suffered a number of pitching injuries this year and have been churning through veterans at the fringe of the roster. A.J. Minter, Danny Young, Max Kranick and Dedniel Núñez have all been felled by season-ending surgeries. The club has responded by grabbing guys like Devenski, José Castillo, Génesis Cabrera, Richard Lovelady, José Ureña and others, bouncing them on and off the roster.

The Mets are reportedly setting the bullpen as a high priority ahead of Thursday’s deadline. They have already acquired Gregory Soto from the Orioles and should be making further moves in the next 48 hours. Devenski could get bumped off the roster yet again as those moves get finalized in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/29/25

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Here’s the latest on some players who were recently designated for assignment and cleared waivers, with all info coming from each respective player’s MLB.com profile page…

  • Reliever Chris Devenski elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to the Mets’ Triple-A team.  New York designated Devenski for assignment last week, and since he has been outrighted in the past, he had the right to reject the Triple-A assignment and return to the open market.  The right-hander signed a minor league deal with the Mets last winter and delivered a 2.38 ERA over 11 1/3 MLB innings, with a solid 6.7% walk rate.  Devenski’s .226 BABIP and 20% strikeout rate weren’t as impressive, which could explain why the Mets took the DFA route instead of optioning Devenski to Triple-A, as they did on three previous occasions this season.  Devenski has enough big league service time that he had to agree to being optioned to the minors, so it could be that he rejected another trip to Syracuse.
  • The Phillies outrighted right-hander Ryan Cusick to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Cusick was DFA’ed three days ago, making the fourth time the righty has been designated this season, though this is the first time he cleared waivers without being claimed away by another team.  The flurry of roster moves has seen the A’s, Tigers, White Sox, and Phillies all have Cusick in their organizations within the last two months, though it appears as he’ll be sticking in Philadelphia for a little while longer.  Cusick has a 7.99 ERA over 23 2/3 combined Triple-A innings this season, and the former first-round pick (selected 24th overall by the Braves in the 2021 draft) is still waiting for his Major League debut.
  • The Royals outrighted outfielder Tyler Gentry to Triple-A Omaha.  Gentry was designated for assignment a week ago as part of the corresponding roster moves to officially add Rich Hill to the K.C. roster.  A third-round pick for the Royals in the 2020 draft, Gentry made his MLB debut in the form of three games and five plate appearances during the 2024 season, but hasn’t since returned to the Show.  Gentry has hit only .205/.277/.365 over 249 plate appearances with Omaha this year.

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 Notes: Butto, Senga, Megill

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The Mets placed right-hander Jose Butto on the 15-day injured list on Friday, with a retroactive placement date of July 1.  Right-hander Chris Devenski was called up from Triple-A to take Butto’s spot on the active roster.  Butto is dealing with an undisclosed illness, and manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including the New York Post’s Mike Puma) that the club expects to activate the righty for the first game back after the All-Star break.

Now in his fourth season in New York, Butto has been used as a full-time reliever for the first time in his MLB career and the bottom-line results have been solid.  He has a 2.47 ERA over 43 2/3 innings and 31 appearances, albeit with a troublesome 11.2% walk rate and a 21.8% strikeout rate that is also below the league average.  Butto’s 4.01 SIERA reflects the sizeable gap between his actual performance and expected performance, though he does have a strong 49.6% grounder rate, and very good chase and whiff rates despite his relative lack of strikeouts.

While Butto’s illness doesn’t appear to be too serious, his absence creates yet another hole in the Mets’ injury-riddled pitching staff.  The Amazins now have 13 different pitchers on their IL, ranging from relatively minor situations like Butto to multiple hurlers who have been out for extended periods of time, or won’t pitch again in 2025.

One of the biggest names on the IL might be nearing a return, as Kodai Senga is slated to pitch for Double-A Binghampton in a rehab outing today.  Senga hasn’t pitched since June 12, when a right hamstring strain cut short a start against the Nationals.  Since it was just a Grade 1 strain, however, the Mets were optimistic that Senga wouldn’t miss too much time, and it is possible Senga might need just the one rehab outing before rejoining the big league rotation.

After injuries sidelined Senga for almost all of the 2024 season, he has returned in good form this year, posting a 1.47 ERA over 13 starts and 73 2/3 innings.  A 4.14 SIERA reveals that Senga isn’t nearly as dominant as his ERA suggests, though his Statcast numbers are generally above average apart a 10.6% walk rate is only in the 17th percentile of all pitchers.  Nonetheless, Senga’s relatively quick return is a huge boost to a Mets rotation that has been short-handed by injuries all season, let alone this second wave of health woes that have hit the staff in the last couple of weeks.

Tylor Megill was one of those most recent absences, as the right-hander hit the 15-day IL in mid-June due to an elbow sprain.  Despite the ominous nature of such injuries, Megill said at the time of the IL placement that he was only dealing with inflammation, and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo wrote yesterday that a recent MRI showed that the inflammation had decreased to the point that Megill can resume throwing.

Since Megill has been shut down for three weeks, he’ll begin with some light work throwing off flat ground today, but the hope is that he won’t take too long to fully ramp up to starting readiness.  Megill has a 3.95 ERA/3.61 SIERA in 68 1/3 innings and 14 starts for New York this season, with an outstanding 29.2% strikeout rate that helps cover for a subpar 10.8% walk rate.

Mets Reinstate Frankie Montas, Transfer Jesse Winker To 60-Day IL

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The Mets announced that right-hander Frankie Montas has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Chris Devenski was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding active roster move. He has enough service time where he can’t be optioned without his consent, so he has presumably agreed to be sent down. To open a 40-man spot for Montas, outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Montas, 32, will be making his debut as a Met when he starts tonight’s game. At the moment, it’s difficult to guess what sort of quality of performance he’ll be able to provide. He was diagnosed with a lat strain back in mid-February. He started a rehab assignment in late May but hasn’t looked sharp, allowing 25 earned runs in 18 2/3 innings over six minor league starts.

Teams generally care more about health than results on a rehab assignment but a 12.05 earned run average is going to cause some concern. It would be one thing if Montas started rough and had been getting sharper but that hasn’t been the case. He surrendered five earned runs in five innings in his most recent outing, with just two strikeouts. The prior outing had seen him allow eight earned runs without getting out of the second inning.

Even before this year, there were question marks with Montas. He had missed almost all of 2023 due to shoulder surgery. Back on the mound in 2024, his 4.84 ERA wasn’t strong. The Mets seemed to be banking on his late-season strikeout surge. He had struck out just 19% of batters faced with the Reds but then 28.7% of opponents following a trade to the Brewers. He then headed into free agency and secured a two-year, $34MM deal from the Mets, with equal salaries of $17MM and an opt-out halfway through.

That was a notable investment in a pitcher who hadn’t been at his best in a few years. The Mets are also paying a 110% tax on spending beyond the top competitive balance tax threshold this year, making it an even more significant expenditure which they have yet to receive any return on.

Despite that cash outlay, the righty’s recent struggles on his rehab assignment almost pushed him to the bullpen. However, the club’s rotation picture changed quickly in recent weeks. Not too long ago, it seemed the club had so much rotation depth that a Paul Blackburn trade was reportedly considered. But then both Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill hit the injured list in the span of a few days, opening rotation space for both Blackburn and Montas alongside David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Griffin Canning.

If everyone is healthy, another squeeze could be just over the horizon. Sean Manaea is also on the IL and just a bit behind Montas in his rehab process. He recently made his fourth rehab appearance, getting to 62 pitches over 5 1/3 innings. Montas is getting a rotation spot for now due to the club’s need and the fact that his 30-day rehab window was closing but there will be pressure on him to perform in order to keep that spot.

As for Winker, he landed on the IL on May 5th due to a right oblique strain. His 60-day count is retroactive to that initial IL placement, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in early July. He was initially given a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks but the Mets recently said that he is still multiple weeks away from starting a rehab assignment.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Mets Select Chris Devenski, Place Danny Young On IL With Elbow Sprain

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The Mets announced today that they have selected right-hander Chris Devenski from Triple-A Syracuse. He takes the active roster spot of left-hander Danny Young, who has been placed on the 15-day IL with a left elbow sprain, retroactive to April 27th. Left-hander Brooks Raley has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot for Devenski.

The moves suddenly leaves the Mets with no lefties in the bullpen. Young and A.J. Minter are the only lefty relievers to have pitched for the Mets this season. Minter landed on the 15-day IL due to a lat strain a few days ago and there’s a chance he’ll require season-ending surgery. It’s unclear how long Young is going to be out of action but an injury to a pitcher’s throwing elbow is always somewhat concerning.

Raley was just officially signed yesterday. He is recovering from last May’s Tommy John surgery. The fact that the Mets have immediately placed him on the 60-day injured list suggests that they don’t expect him to be with the big league club in the next two months. Brandon Waddell was added to the roster today to serve as a bulk guy behind opener Huascar Brazobán tonight and may return to Triple-A after.

Some of their righties have reverse splits and may be deployed as pseudo lefty specialists. For instance, lefties have a career .165/.304/.239 line against José Buttó, while righties have hit .237/.314/.385 against him.

Devenski, 34, fits into that category as well. Righties have hit .247/.305/.429 against him in his career but he’s held lefties to a .211/.268/.385 slash. He’s a few years removed from his best results, however. He logged 189 innings for the Astros over 2016 and 2017 with a 2.38 earned run average, 28.2% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. Since then, he has a 5.42 ERA in 211 innings for various teams. He had a 6.75 ERA with the Rays last year, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Mets coming into 2025.

He’s out to a good start this year, in a sense, as he has a 1.93 ERA through 9 1/3 Triple-A innings. However, a look under the hood reveals some less impressive numbers. His 20% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate thus far are both subpar numbers. He’s been helped by a .136 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate. He has kept the ball on the ground at a 65.2% clip but that’s never been a strength of his over a large sample.

Regardless, Devenski will come up and give the Mets a fresh bullpen arm for the time being. Tonight is their sixth of 13 straight games, leading to heavy usage of the pitching staff. That’s part of the reason why Waddell is coming up to make a spot start and Devenski will try to help the club get through as well.

Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images

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