213 Miles From Shea

The Mets tore down the roster at the 2023 deadline, trading away stars and major league veterans who were going to be free agents after the season. Several years later, some of the smaller name trades the Mets made at the deadline look to be more notable than two big ones that involved Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. Mets prospects Jeremy Rodriguez, Marco Vargas and Ronald Hernandez were all acquired from trading Tommy Pham and David Robertson.

The biggest trade, at the time, was sending Max Scherzer to the Rangers for Luisangel Acuña, who was part of the trade package for Luis Robert Jr. this off-season. The next largest trade was sending Justin Verlander to the Astros for Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford. Drew Gilbert was traded in package of players for Tyler Rogers in the 2025 deadline.

Ryan Clifford is all that remains from the two big trades the Mets made in the 2023 deadline, and he’s back in camp with a non-roster invitation this spring. He’s coming off of a couple of successful seasons. He was previously blocked by Pete Alonso, now he’s blocked by Jorge Polanco on a two-year deal. He is almost ready for the majors, will the Mets have a spot for him?

Clifford was ranked the 86th prospect in baseball this month by Baseball Prospectus, who ranked seven players in the top 101. MLB Pipeline had Clifford as the sixth-best prospect in the Mets system at the end of 2025, with a projection that we’ll see the first basemen / outfielder at some point in 2026 with the Mets.

In 2024 Clifford hit .228/.372/.421 across Brooklyn and Binghamton. His power really popped once he got to Binghamton hitting 18 homers over 99 games with a 133 WRC+, which was third in the Eastern League that season. This continued last season as he slashed .237/.356/.470 across Binghamton and Syracuse, hitting 29 home runs and 23 doubles.

Clifford’s numbers fed into the Pete Alonso debate this off-season. Arguments against signing Pete Alonso to any deal longer than three years centered around the possibility of Ryan Clifford. After Alonso signed with the Orioles, Clifford’s name popped up as a possible solution (with Vientos) before the Mets signed Jorge Polanco. The Polanco contract takes the pressure off of Clifford right now.

That leaves Clifford with a few different paths to the majors, which are all contingent on him playing well in Syracuse this season. Clifford will only see significant playing time at first base in 2026 if there is an injury to Polanco that is significant enough to give Clifford major playing time. This is also contingent on Mark Vientos not working out at first. Clifford could be the starting first basemen for the Mets in 2027 if there is more shifting around the Mets infield. This feels unlikely though because even if the Mets lose Bo Bichette after one season, the Mets still have Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronny Mauricio who all could keep Jorge Polanco at first. The Mets could also be looking all the way to the 2027 trade deadline, trading Polanco with a couple of months left on his deal and starting Clifford’s time in the majors then.

Clifford’s other major path to the majors involves the outfield. When he wasn’t DH’ing, he played in the outfield about 40% of the time in 2025. The Mets prefer Carson Benge for the open right field spot right now, especially since the stop-gap plan seems to be Brett Baty and MJ Melendez. If Clifford gets off to a really hot start in Syracuse he could force himself in this conversation. This path seems less likely though than the infield.

Clifford is a prospect who will be ready to take that next step to the majors either this season or next season. With multiple players blocking his path, it’s difficult to see exactly where he fits in. A strong start in the minors could force his name into the conversation or make him into a trade piece for the July deadline.

Adbert Alzolay signed a two-year minor league contract with the Mets before the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John. While there was an outside chance the Mets could have him pitch in the minors in 2025, they kept him off the mound the entire summer. He pitched a few innings in winter ball after the end of the season and now enters spring training healthy.

Alozlay had a breakout season in 2023 when the Cubs gave up trying to make him a starter. In 2023 he totaling 64 innings over 58 games with a 2.67 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 1.016 WHIP and a 160 ERA+. His Baseball Savant page was filled with red. He had a 3.63 xERA, good for the 74th percentile despite a high xBA at .242 (47th percentile). Here are some other notable stats and percentiles from 2023:

• Chase% 31.5% (79th percentile)
• Whiff% 28.1% (65th percentile)
• K% 26.5% (74th percentile)
• BB% 5.1% (92nd percentile)
• Barrel% 6.0% (81st percentile)

He totaled only 17 1/3 innings in 2024, and saw a notable slide back across most statistical categories before his injury.

• xERA 6.64
• xBA .286
• Fastball Velocity 94.5 mph
• Chase% 29.1%
• Whiff% 22.9%
• K% 17.3%
• BB% 8.0%
• Barrel% 16.4%

Note: He didn’t throw enough to qualify for percentile ranks, but if you go to his page, you can see he would been average at best for a few areas, and well below-average in most stats.

The Mets would love to see he is 2023 again, which is why the they took a two-year gamble on him. As a pitching staff last season the Mets walked 556 batters, which was the 7th highest in major league baseball. They need relievers who aren’t giving out free passes and generating swings and misses. Alozay enters camp with no options left, so once he gets called up, he has to stay up or the Mets risk losing him to another team.

The focus this spring is to see what he looks likes on the mound. How many of six pitches does he throw the first time out? How quickly does he work his whole repertoire back into his arsenal. The Mets have one, maybe two spots in their bullpen open, but Alozay would first have to get on the 40-man, let alone the active roster. It feels like a safe bet if Alozay is healthy, he’ll see time on the major league roster at some point season.

José Ramos was almost a Met on paper only. The Mets signed the former Dodgers prospect at the end November, almost a week after the deadline to protect players from the Rule V draft. No one selected Ramos in the draft and now the intriguing prospect has a chance to make his major league debut with the Mets this summer!

Ramos was listed as the Dodgers #29 prospect heading into the 2024 season by MLB Pipeline, with an assumed major league debut in 2025. That didn’t happen and he was actually unranked last season. His power has been his calling card throughout the minors, slugging 25 bombs in 2022. He’s coming off of a successful campaign last season hitting 18 homers between Double A and Triple A slashing .251/.326/.456. Overall in the minors he has slashed .254/.338/.445 over 581 games with 92 homers.

The Mets will get a quick look at José Ramos over the next week or so before he heads off to play for Panama in the World Baseball Classic. Ramos has represented his home country multiple times in international competitions. In the 2023 WBC, Ramos went 5-for-16 with a home run and five strikeouts (.313/.353/.500). In 2024 he played in the Premier12 tournament and went 2-for-17 with a home run and 3 RBI’s. The World Baseball Classic is a huge opportunity for Ramos who should get a lot of playing time, probably more than if he stuck in Mets camp for the first round of the tournament.

Ramos will most likely make his major league debut at some point this season with the Mets. It is highly unlikely that he breaks camp with the Mets. The Mets currently have six outfielders on the 40-man roster (Soto, Robert Jr., Tyrone Taylor, MJ Melendez, Jared Young and Nick Morabito), plus Brett Baty may see time in right field due to all the infielders on the roster. They have four more outfielders outside of Ramos in camp on NRI’s (Ji Hwan Bae, Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing and Christian Pace).

Ramos’ path to majors will depend on a few things. If Benge is ready to go and there’s a path for him to play everyday, Benge will get the call. If Baty is hitting and playing passable defense, he will stay in right. If there is a short term need, there needs to a spot on 40-man and Ramos will still have to leap frog Jared Young. Ramos will also have to play better than Pache and Bae. All this is to say, the Mets outfield is crowded with current top-prospects and former top-prospects. Ramos has flashed potential before, especially in the World Baseball Classic where he should get plenty of playing time. He has a difficult path to the majors, but one he should make at some point this year.

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.

The Mets off-season strategy in 2026 was to collect all the infielders. There are nine players on the Mets 40-man roster that can play infield. On top of that, there are six non-roster players in camp who primarily play in the infield. Christian Arroyo is one of those players who the Mets signed for infield depth, and he has a lot of competition to make the Mets roster this season.

Arroyo was a first round draft pick by the Giants back in 2013 and would make his major league debut with the Giants in 2017. In December of 2017 he was one of four prospects sent to the Rays for Evan Longoria. After a couple of years with the Rays he was traded to Cleveland at the 2019 trade deadline. Since then he’s been with the Red Sox, Brewers, Phillies and now the Mets. For immaculate grid players, he never played in the majors with the Brewers and Phillies.

Arroyo has played in 295 major league games with 992 plate appearances slashing .252/.299/.394 with a 2.1 bWAR. His two most productive seasons were in 2021 and 2022 with the Red Sox:

• 2021: 1.5 bWAR, 57 G, 181 PA, .262/.324/.445, 103 OPS+
• 2022: 0.7 bWAR, 87 G, 300 PA, .286/.322/.414, 103 OPS+

Between 2021 and 2023 with the Red Sox Arroyo played mostly second base with time at short, first, third and right field. He even pitched an inning of relief in 2021.

His playing time in the majors, including a couple of years with an OPS+ above 100, puts him at an advantage compared to some other infielders fighting for a roster spot. In case of an emergency, the Mets could add him to the roster for a short stint if they need another player on the bench.

Last season he played 45 games with the Lehigh Valley Pigs (Phillies AAA affiliate) hitting a solid .301/.367/.457 over 207 PA’s. That plays when you need an emergency bat and don’t want to call up a prospect to fill the gap!

We can make a lot of jokes about the shear amount of infielders the Mets are carrying this season. With multiple players learning new positions (Bichette, Polanco, etc), having a utility infielder that can play any where without messing up another player’s development is a luxury. Unless Arroyo tears up the International League, his most likely route to seeing playing time with the Mets this season is to fill a positional or bench need in a short-term emergency.

Nate Lavender is back with the Mets!

Lavender had back-to-back dominant seasons in the minor leagues for the Mets in 2022 and 2023. In 2022 Lavender had a 1.70 ERA, 1.217 WHIP with a 12.7 K/9 over 47 2/3 innings between St. Lucie and Brooklyn. In 2023 he had a 2.98 ERA, 1.196 WHIP with a 14.2 K/9 over 54 1/3 innings between Binghamton and Syracuse.

Lavender’s strong 2023 across Double A and Triple A finally landed him on MLB.com Pipeline’s Top 30 Mets prospects (#24) heading into the 2024 season. His 2024 scouting report touted his reverse splits, and his three-quarter slot. He would use his low-90’s fastball to set up his high-70’s changeup. He seemed destined to make his major league debut at some point during the 2024 season. The Mets were starved for left-handed relief in 2024, a season where Danny Young and Jake Diekman lead lefty relief innings pitched.

Unfortunately, Nate Lavender required internal brace surgery in May 2024, sidelining him for the rest of the season. At the time, it was assumed he would return at some point during the 2025 season. The Mets left him unprotected in the December 2024 Rule V draft and the Rays picked him up. They liked what they saw from Lavender over the last few seasons enough to hold onto him through the rest of his recovery time. Lavender wasn’t able to move forward in his rehab in 2025 and didn’t pitch in any minor leagues game last season.

Because Nate Lavender was injured the entire season in 2025, he actually kept his Rule V status. The Rays DFA’d him, he cleared waivers and was returned to the Mets in November. The Mets left him unprotected again but this time he was able to slip through without getting selected.

The path forward for Lavender is uncertain. He’s lost more than a season and a half of playing time. There are things that are still the same though. The Mets lefty relief situation still leaves a lot to be desired. Brooks Raley is back after the Mets exercised his club option at the end of 2025. It is unclear right now if A.J. Minter will be able to start the season healthy. The Mets traded for Bryan Hudson for lefty depth. Outside of Lavender, the only other lefties in camp on NRI’s are Joe Jacques, Anderson Severino, Matt Turner and Brandon Waddell.

Hopefully Nate Lavender has an uneventful spring training and is able to reestablish himself on the mound. The next step from there is to get more reps under his belt at Syracuse. With the Mets recent injury track record with pitchers, there is a significant chance the Mets will call on him at some point this season. There was a genuine buzz around him in 2024, fingers crossed we get to feel that buzz for him again in 2026.

The Mets aspirations in 2026 fall on their pitching lab. Over the last couple of years they have parted with former top prospects (Dom Hamel, Mike Vasil, etc) partially because of the of the belief that they can help more pitchers take that next step in their development.

Jack Wenninger hopes to be one of those pitchers this year, going from prospect to top-prospect.

The Mets drafted Wenninger in the 6th round back in 2023 out of the University of Illinois. The 6’4″ right hander struggled in his first season of college ball, posting a 5.26 ERA over 51 1/3 innings at Murray State. He found more success the next season after transferring, with a 4.59 ERA over 80 1/3 innings

Wenninger started to put things together with the Mets in 2024. He had a 4.30 ERA over 115 innings with 140 strikeouts. His 1.278 WHIP was in the same ballpark as his 1.207 WHIP during his season with Illinois. It was his strikeout rate that took a jump from 8.0 K/9 in college to 11.0. If 2024 was a step forward, 2025 was a leap forward. Wenninger had a 2.92 ERA over 135 2/3 innings in Binghamton with his best MILB WHIP at 1.150.

According to his scouting report, Wenninger throws a low-90’s fastball and pairs it with a low-80’s splitter, all from the three-quarters arm slot. He also mixes in a sweeper, cutter and curveball. After a full year in Binghamton, he’s probably heading to Syracuse this season. There is more reliable Statcast data in Triple A, and hopefully we can get easier access to data about his specific pitches.

For Wenninger to make the majors in 2026, two things have to happen. First, he needs to continue the success that he saw in Binghamton last year in Syracuse against stronger opponents. Second, enough has to go wrong for the Mets at the major league level to create the opening. The Mets did set a record for pitchers used last season at 46 and recreated their rotation with rookies on the fly at the end of the season. Hopefully if the Mets call on him, its because his performance in Syracuse demands it, not because of roster crisis.

Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean were the three Mets pitchers I was most excited to watch during the 2025 spring training games. It felt like taking a glimpse at the future of the team. Wenninger could be part of that future too!

Kevin Parada is still with the Mets.

That wasn’t a given in 2026. The Mets left Parada off of the 40-man roster in December, leaving him vulnerable in the Rule V draft. Even though Parada hasn’t developed in the way that a lot of scouts originally projected, leaving a former first round pick vulnerable in the Rule V draft is a risky move. Ultimately other teams passed on Parada and he enters camp battling to get on the Mets roster as their third catching option.

The Mets drafted Parada 11th overall in 2022 out of Georgia Tech. Parada was coming off of an absurd collegiate season slashing .360/.452/.709 over 305 plate appearances. He then played 13 games in the Mets system, split between rookie and low-A ball slashing .275/.455/.425. His ability to get on based turned heads with the major baseball publications naming him a top-100 prospect before the 2023 season:

• Baseball America #50
• Major League Baseball #36
• Baseball Prospectus #64

With Francisco Alvarez making his major league debut in 2022, the Mets didn’t have to rush Parada’s development. Parada was largely successful the next season at Brooklyn (High A) slashing .265/.340/.447. Not as head turning as his previous season, but still solid hitting for a catcher. A late season promotion to Binghamton became a harbinger. Parada only hit .185/.250/.389 over 60 plate appearances. He spent all of 2024 in Binghamton and did a bit better hitting .214/.304/.359.

Two things happened in 2025 that set the stage for Parada to have an opportunity in 2026. Parada had a largely successful stint with Binghamton slashing .254/.326/.429. Meanwhile, the Mets had their catching depth tested and needed to rely on Hayden Senger. Senger, drafted in 2018, filled a need for the Mets, but fell short with his bat. Senger ended the season playing in 33 games getting 78 plate appearances with a 20 OPS+. He is currently on the 40-man roster as the Mets third catcher.

If Parada can get off to a hot start in spring, and put together a solid campaign in Syracuse, he could make a case to eventually get on the 40-man roster. After Alvarez and Torrens the Mets depth chart right now is probably Senger, Austin Barnes (NRI) then Kevin Parada. Injuries to catching depth across the league will dictate if Austin Barnes stays with the Mets by the end of spring training, but that’s a conversation for a future NRI preview.

Behind Parada on the depth chart is 21-year old Chris Suero who made it to Binghamton last season after putting up an .837 OPS in 301 plate appearances in Brooklyn. Suero is too far away from the majors right now to leap frog Parada in a short term 40-man roster stint. It feels like the conditions are set for Parada to make it on the 40-man roster at some point this season. Can the former top prospect seize the opportunity when it arrives?

Daniel Duarte has spent most of the winter being unhittable. The 29-year old righty absolutely tore up the Mexican Winter League over 25 games (24 innings) with a 0.00 ERA. He allowed only ten hits, four walks and one unearned run while striking out 23 batters. That’s good for a 0.583 WHIP and a 3.8 H/9. In a couple of weeks we’ll see if his strong winter will carry over to the spring!

The Mets signed Duarte to a minor league deal with a non-roster invite in mid-December. Duarte hasn’t pitched in the majors since a season ending elbow surgery in May 2024 that caused him to miss all of 2025. Before his surgery he pitched 38 1/3 innings in the majors with a 3.99 ERA, 6.11 FIP, and 1.383 WHIP. In 2023 he pitched in 31 games for the Reds allowing five homers over 31 2/3 innings, leading to a 5.84 FIP. He’s a groundball pitcher, inducing grounders 50% of the time back in 2023. Before Duarte’s surgery he tossed a mid-90’s four seamer and sinker. He also mixed in a low-90’s cutter, low-90’s changeup and a low-to-mid-80’s slider.

Duarte will represent Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. Mexico is in a group with the United States, Great Britain and Italy. That’s not a ton of opportunities for innings against great hitters. Duarte’s winter begs the question about what will happen when he faces more major league hitters. Will the Mets use him early enough in games the last week of February so he faces major league hitters before going off to the WBC?

It is difficult for NRI pitchers to break camp with the Mets given their current roster construction and some of the other pitchers in camp on NRI deals. The Mets did set a record in 2025 with 46 different pitchers used in a single season. If he sticks with the Mets after spring training, we’ll probably see him on the major league roster at some point in 2026.

It all comes down to the last game of the season for the Mets. A loss today completely knocks the Mets out of the playoffs. A win is not enough, the Reds will need to lose too as they hold the tiebreaker. Saturday the Mets got one of the best performances they have all season from Clay Holmes, negating the need to have a piggy-back start with Sean Manaea, pushing him to start the final game of the season. Buckle up!

Sean Manaea has pitched 59 innings over 14 games this season with a 5.80 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 1.220 WHIP and a 70 ERA+. His last two outings haven’t been great. Manaea has allowed five runs from six hits over four innings, including two homers. In fact, he’s allowed 13 home runs this season, seven in September alone. The Marlins have the following career stats against him:

• Xavier Edwards 2-4, 2B, BB
• Otto Lopez 3-8, 2B, K
• Joey Wiemer 1-2, K

Is Edward Cabrera making his last start as a Marlin this afternoon? Cabrera made his debut for the Marlins in 2021 and is arbitration eligible in 2026. The Marlins are somewhat unpredictable with trades, and he could be a trade candidate, especially since he doesn’t become a free agent until 2029.

Anyway this season he has pitched 132 2/3 innings over 25 starts, the most in his career, with a 3.66 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 1.221 WHIP and a 121 ERA+. Cabrera started against the Mets at the end of August allowing six runs, five earned from eight hits over four innings and then landed on the injured list after that start. He came back on the 23rd, pitching four innings allowing three runs from five hits. The Mets have the following career stats against him:

• Pete Alonso 5-17, 3 HR, 4 BB, 5 K
• Francisco Alvarez 1-2, K
• Francisco Lindor 3-17, HR, 4 BB, 3 K
• Starling Marte 0-1, BB
• Ronny Mauricio 1-2, K
• Jeff McNeil 3-16, 2B, HR, BB, K
• Cedric Mullins 1-5, BB
• Brandon Nimmo 5-14, 2B, 7 BB, 3 K
• Juan Soto 1-7, HR, 2 BB, K
• Tyrone Taylor 1-5, 2 K
• Luis Torrens 0-2, K
• Mark Vientos 3-6, HR, K

Three Things To Watch For:

1. Francisco Lindor. One of my strongest and fondest memories of Francisco Lindor in 2024 came on the last day of the season. The Mets needed to go to Atlanta to play a doubleheader. The first game was a back-and-forth affair with Francisco Lindor completing the final comeback for the Mets, smashing a home run sending the team to Milwaukee for the Wild Card series. The Mets need that Francisco Lindor this afternoon!
2. Pete Alonso. There is a chance today is Pete Alonso’s last game as a Met. He can walk out of the deal at the end of this season. The Mets all-time home run leader came through for the Mets on Saturday going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI’s. He was a post season hero for the Mets last year and we’ll need him again today.
3. Wild Card race. The Mets need the Reds to lose today. The Reds will be taking on a Brewers team that has home field advantage through the NLCS all wrapped up, but is also about to have multiple days off. Brady Singer (3.95 ERA) will take on Freddy Peralta (2.68 ERA). The Mets still have to win this afternoon, and with all games starting at 3:10, there will be scoreboard watching throughout the afternoon.

Let’s Go Mets!