Brandon Waddell has a non-roster invitation to Mets camp for a second straight season. Waddell signed with the Mets after the 2024 season after a stint with the Doosan Bears in the KBO.
Waddell first found himself with the Mets because of his success in the KBO (2022-24). In 2022 he had a 3.60 ERA over 65 innings and followed that with a 2.49 ERA over 104 2/3 innings (18 starts) in 2023. He then pitched an additional 71 innings with a 3.30 ERA for Rakuten in 2023. He only pitched with the Bears in 2024, putting up a 3.12 ERA over 75 innings.
Last season was a chaotic one for the Mets bullpen and Waddell was called to the majors multiple times pitching 31 1/3 innings over 11 games, including four starts with a 3.45 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 1.277 WHIP and a 118 ERA+. Waddell had some great outings, like holding the Pirates to one hit and no runs over 3 innings on June 28th, or holding the Marlins scoreless over 4 1/3 innings on August 31st. He also had some rough starts like he he allowed four runs over five innings from seven hits and a walk against the White Sox at the end of May.
Baseball Savant wasn’t enthused by his short time with the Mets in 2025. His xERA of 5.59 and xBA of .281 puts him basically at the bottom of the league. He was in the bottom quartile for Chase% (26.3%) and Barrel% (a staggering 10.0%).
Over his 31 1/3 innings he used his high-70’s sweeper 23.6%, a pitch that he added in 2023 while overseas. He tossed his low-90’s fastball 22.7% of the time and his sinker 21.7%. Rounding out his repertoire is a mid-80’s slider and changeup.
Brandon Waddell had a successful 2025, almost becoming a regular in the Mets bullpen throughout the summer. The Mets went ahead and resigned him to a one-year major league contract at the start of November. In mid-December the Mets signed Drew Romo for catching depth and had to DFA Waddell to make room on the 40-man roster. Waddell passed through waivers and was outrighted to Triple A. Romo was later placed on waivers by the Mets and was claimed by the White Sox.
Brandon Waddell had options in 2025, which is part of why he was up and down so much. This upcoming season he doesn’t have any remaining options. He will probably be up with the Mets at some point in 2025 because of the lack of lefty relief on the Mets and the way the Mets have burned through bullpen arms the last couple of seasons. The question is what happens after the Mets need him off the active roster for another player. The more effective Waddell is, the more likely it is another team will try to claim him when the Mets try to send him back to the minors.
