Mets Roster Central 2026 at Grand Central

[Edgy MD]

Long has our roster gone without updates while we sorted through the boxes and hauled the furniture over in moving vans from the old place to the new. This has necessitated reprogramming the Mets Roster Central database as well. We apologize if this means catching up, but we need not go into Opening Day without a less-than-up-to-date roster.

Please note that Mets Roster Central Updates will no longer include endless scrolls through the entire Mets roster in the forum threads (Yay!).   We'll just provide the updates and post the full roster in the news articles.

Let's get caught up!

Transactions, 8/4/2025

GOING

Released

Outfielders

Willy Fanas

S/R DoB: 1/23/2004 High Level: A (2025)

We open, as too often happens, with an overlooked transaction from days gone by. These transactions, if nothing else, allow Mets Roster Central to update their database thumbnail photos of young prospects on the way out the door. Willy Fanas was signed as an 18-year-old and represented in the database by a grainy shot of him swinging the bat on the back field of a Dominican academy.

In his three-plus years in the Mets system, he showed a promising walk/speed package, but made too little contact — and too little consequential contact — to get more than semi-regular work, or to advance past A ball.

More interesting Fanas-fact is that the Mets only grabbed him after the Angels reneged on a deal — leading to a lawsuit filed by Willy and Keiderson Pavon, another prospect the Angels spurned. We don't know how that turned out, but it's always nice to see oft-exploited young Dominican ballplayers express their rights.

But enough about guys released last summer.

Transactions, 3/12/2026

COMING
Purchased from Washington (Frontier League), Projected for St. Lucie	Purchased from Lake Country (American Association), Projected for Brooklyn
Infielders	Outfielders
Cole Fowler	JT Benson
L/R DoB: 2002-12-10 High Level: Frontier League (2025)	R/R DoB: 2002-04-01 High Level: American Association (2024)

March isn't too late to go scouting indy-league guys. Cole and JT were probably already in Florida working out with some indy squads.

The two come to the Mets from very different college pedigrees. Cole Fowler plied his trade with Division II Lynn University in Boca Raton. While a handful of D-II players get pro contracts every year, and some even sneak into the draft, nobody touched young Cole, despite a senior year for the ages — going .438/.472 /.810 (!!) for a 1.281 OPS with the Fighting Knights. (Again, that's an .810 slugging percentage! By an infielder!) That was in a robust 230 plate appearances, but no MLB team would give him a tumble, until now.

JT Benson went the more traditional route, playing with Louisville in the elite Atlantic Coast Conference. Traditionally, when the draft was bigger, virtually all ACC players — even utility infielders and mop-up relievers — got a look on draft day. But JT, despite getting better every season and performing well in the wood-bat Northwoods Summer League, did not get a call.

Until now. Best of luck to them both.

Transactions, 3/14/2026

GOING	COMING
Placed on 60-Day Injured List with a Rib Fracture	Claimed off Waivers from WAS, In Camp, Projected for Syracuse, Despite Being Out of Options
Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers
Justin Hagenman	Richard Lovelady
R/R DoB: 35345 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/L DoB: 34887 High Level: MLB (2025)

Now, we move on to trannies that affect the current Mets roster directly. Justin Hagenman has been a swingman, but the Mets had been working him as a starter this spring, and they seemed serious about giving him a real look as a backup plan should one of their projected starters go down — and the nature of projected starters suggests they will. So this setback looks like a lost opportunity for Justin, but broken ribs heal, and there will be other opportunities down the road as the season unfolds.

The rib injury went largely unreported until the Mets needed a roster spot to reclaim the celebrated Richard Lovelady. Richard — nee Dicky — has been the subject of a tug of war between the Mets and the Nats, each trying to sneak him through waivers when they need a roster spot, each failing as the other gets all grabby. Richard is out of options, though, so unless an injury (especially to fellow lefty relievers Brooks Raley or Bryan Hudson) comes calling, there is a good chance he will get yet another ticket on the DFA train before the spring is out.

Dicky is a good pitcher, but it apparently takes more than one fractured rib to get him onto an MLB squad.

Transactions, 3/16/2026

COMING
Signed away from Sioux City (American Association) to Minor-League Contract, Projected for Brooklyn	Signed away from TOR to Minor-League Contract, Projected for Syracuse
Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Felix Cepeda	Eddinson Paulino
R/R DoB: 36722 High Level: AA (2024)	L/R DoB: 37439 High Level: AA (2025)

Just look at that smug smirk on the face of Felix Cepeda. With that cocky smile and that slash shaved through his eyebrow, you'd think he was coming with the Hall-of-Fame pedigree his name implies. But like Eddinson Paulino, he's a Dominican who has played out his six minor-league reserve years with a big-league organization — the Sox, in his case — without joining a big-league roster.

Paulino is probably the better bet, coming with just enough of a profile to possibly edge Grae Kessinger off the Syracuse roster. (We're talking a hair's difference — a single decimal point — so who knows how such a comparison would break in real life?)  Apart from bearing (a variation) on the name of a great inventor, he was a good average hitter in the low minors, but as he tried to add power to his profile.

Eddie was the Jay's (supposedly) 23rd-best prospect as recently as mid-2025, so it looks like he still has some upside. And to judge from that thumbnail shot of him, he's an athletic-looking, serious dude. 

In fairness, that may just be an illusion of seeing him next to Felix Cepeda, who just looks like a jerk.

Transactions, 3/17/2026

GOING
Optioned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Reassigned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Reassigned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Binghamton	Reassigned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Binghamton	Reassigned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse
Starting Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Christian Scott	Adbert Alzolay	Nick Burdi	Daniel Duarte	Christian Arroyo
R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 High Level: AA (2024)	R/R DoB: 1995-03-01 High Level: MLB (2024)	R/R DoB: 1993-01-19 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 High Level: MLB (2024)	R/R DoB: 1995-05-30 High Level: MLB (2023)
GOING		COMING
Reassigned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Optioned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Added to Projected Roster
Infielders	Outfielders	Outfielders
José Rojas	MJ Melendez	Jared Young
L/R DoB: 1993-02-24 High Level: MLB (2022)	L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 High Level: AA (2025)	L/R DoB: 1995-07-09 High Level: MLB (2025)

The St. Patrick's Day Massacre was when the Mets camp really began to get cleaned out in earnest, as a group of players with meaningful MLB experience went down.

Christian Scott and Adbert Alzolay, of course, both spent 2025 not pitching at all, so just getting through camp not hurt has to be at least some consolation.

The real big news here is MJ Melendez getting shipped out when he had the strongest profile of all the competitors for the fifth outfield spot. Profile — which we use here as a shorter version of accumulated statistical profile — isn't everything, of course, and part of what camp is about is figuring out who is maturing into form and who is fading.

While this is most immediately good news for the Jared Young Fan Club (they hold their meetings in taxis), that may well only be temporary. Jared gets the first look as he is on the roster, but still alive and seemingly coming on strong (.412 / .487 / .500 // .987 in 39 spring plate appearances) is Carson Benge. Evaluators will tell you that teams look beyond the numbers in such cases, but the numbers sure look good.

Also hanging around in the corners of the picture are Mike Tauchman, who profiles nicely as a lefty pinch-hitter, as well as Dominican ballhawk Cristian Pache. Pache wasn't expected to be sticking to the camp roster anywhere near this long, but an absolutely torrid spring (.464 / .516 / .786 // 1.302 in 31 plate appearances) has made him awfully hard to send away.

Transactions, 3/19/2026

GOING				COMING
Transferred to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Optioned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for St. Lucie	Transferred to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Optioned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Added to Projected Roster
Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Infielders	Infielders
Mike Baumann	Joey Gerber	Brandon Waddell	Ronny Mauricio	Francisco Lindor
R/R DoB: 1995-09-10 High Level: MLB (2024)	R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/L DoB: 1994-06-03 High Level: MLB (2025)	S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 High Level: MLB (2025)	S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 High Level: MLB (202

We get brought up to date with the clearing out of Brandon Waddell — just needed an injury to make the team in what has turned out to be a surprising (knock wood) injury-free spring since the bad Francisco Lindor news that opened camp, along with fellow vets Mike Baumann and Joey Gerber (somehow not reported to be nicknamed "Baby," who the Mets were presumably surprised to find still hanging around after getting only one and two innings, respectively, this spring.

But the real news that brings us up to date is the farming out of former top prospect Ronny Mauricio. Ronny still has upside, but his ticket to minor-league camp opens up a seat for the historically hard-to-keep-down Francisco Lindor, who is now all but guaranteed to be the Mets' Opening Day shortstop. As much as fate may still yet intervene, Francisco simply has a way of being master of his own fate.

And that brings you all up to date. Here's to our new home, and future updates from the folks at Mets Roster Central being short and sweet.

And to see the full roster as it currently stands, smash the button below.

[metirish]

Great work and very nicely presented 👏 

 

Dick Lovelady , I'm rooting for you

[Edgy MD]

Hopefully shorter going forward.  Another update to come shortly.

[Fman99]

[Cowtipper]

This is 9,246% better than the original version. It's like a blog. Neato. 

Also, Mets optioned Hayden Senger and signed free agent Alejandro Urias. They optioned Austin Warren, too. Robert Stock and Kevin Herget were sent to the minors. 

[Frayed Knot]

13 hours ago, Edgy MD said:

And to see the full roster as it currently stands, smash the button below.

Using the current post for just the changes and updates and then having a version of that 'Click for Full Roster' button is how I've long thought should be the set-up rather than reprinting the stable part of the whole 40-man plus coaches plus IL each time.

[Edgy MD]

3 hours ago, Frayed Knot said:

Using the current post for just the changes and updates and then having a version of that 'Click for Full Roster' button is how I've long thought should be the set-up rather than reprinting the stable part of the whole 40-man plus coaches plus IL each time.

Me, too.  And now we have a place to park the full roster.

[Edgy MD]

A lot of the camp drama has been locked up.  All that's left is to find out if Craig Kimbrell will make the Opening Day roster (hint: he won't) and who the fifth outfielder will be.

Transactions, 3/20/2026

 

GOING			COMING
Transferred to Minor-League Camp, Projected to Open Season in Syracuse on IL with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome	Transferred to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Optioned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Signed away from Durango (Mexican League) to Minor-League Contract, Projected for Brooklyn
Starting Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Robert Stock	Kevin Herget	Austin Warren	Alejandro Urias
L/R DoB: 32833 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/R DoB: 1991-04-03 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 2002-06-15 High Level: Mexican League (2025)

We had already removed Robert Stock from our roster arrays, as he had been reported to have been suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome, which is a friend to no pitcher.  We do not know what treatment option he is going for, but wish him well as he confronts the condition that felled Matt Harvey.

The farming out of Kevin Herget and Austin Warren sets the Mets bullpen.  The Mets have a veteran relief staff and any competition was going to be for a spot opened due to an injury that did not arise.  Any room for Craig Kimbrel would have likely come at the expense of Bryan Hudson.  Hudson had performed pretty poorly in spring games, but he is out of options and is but one of two lefty relief options in the pen.  While there has not been a transaction regarding Kimbrel, the veteran (and quite possibly future Hall-of-Famer) has been informed he is not making the squad.

Alejandro Urias is 24 and has never played in affiliated ball or even in the state-side indy leagues, having spent his whole career in the Mexican summer and winter leagues, and to judge from his productivity, he has clearly been dazzling them with his glove south of the border.

Whatever virtues he brings to the organization, Mets Roster Central has never seen that baseball cap he is wearing in his profile pic and we are utterly beguiled by it.  If you know where we can get such a splendid item, please drop us a line. 

 

Transactions, 3/21/2026

 

GOING	NEUTRAL
Optioned to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Binghamton	Transferred from Bullpen	Transferred from Rotation
Catchers	Starting Pitchers	Relief Pitchers
Hayden Senger	Kodai Senga	Sean Manaea
R/R DoB: 1997-04-03 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 High Level: MLB (2025)

Hayden Senger competition was to sustain his current role of first catcher up in case of injury.  His competition in this role is Ben Rortvedt, and Rorgasm remaining in big-league camp while Hayden is shipped out must feel like bad news, but maybe the Mets are just showcasing Rortvedt for a potential trade to a team looking to shore up at the end of camp.  Teams rarely keep four catchers on the 40-Player Roster and things are crowded right now at catcher in the upper minors.

A lot has been written about the Mets announcing their scheduled starters for the first five days of the schedule, and Sean Manaea's name not appearing there.  Don't make too much of that.  Look for him to get one or two relief appearances and then back to the starting grind.  If injury does not make a decision for them, the Mets could continue with swinging the last two spots in the rotation back and forth to the bullpen, as their belief seems to be that Kodai Senga needs something like the once-a-week appearance rate he enjoyed in Japan.

Carson Benge, Christian Pache, and Mike Tauchman remain in camp trying to elbow out stubborn Canadian Jared Young for the fifth outfield spot.  As of publishing time, though, Tauchman appears to be getting bad news about a torn meniscus, so that looks like a three-man battle.

[MFS62]

I just saw that Tauchman will get surgery.. 
later

[Gwreck]

2 hours ago, Edgy MD said:

Carson Benge, Christian Pache, and Mike Tauchman remain in camp trying to elbow out stubborn Canadian Jared Young for the fifth outfield spot.  As of publishing time, though, Tauchman appears to be getting bad news about a torn meniscus, so that looks like a three-man battle.

With Tauchman hurt, Vidal Brujan’s chances to make the roster just went up significantly and he’s probably leading Pache and Young for the last bench spot.

[Edgy MD]

3 minutes ago, Gwreck said:

With Tauchman hurt, Vidal Brujan’s chances to make the roster just went up significantly and he’s probably leading Pache and Young for the last bench spot.

Oh, Vidal is in.  He is very in.  Pache vs. Young vs. Benge is another thing.

[Gwreck]

You have a very different read of the situation than I do.  Pache and Young are fringe candidates at best and were always extremely unlikely to make the team.

The Mets were seemingly ready to go with Tauchman and Benge and no extra infielder (witness Bichette recently playing short to get practice in).  With Tauchman hurt, Brujan’s very tentative spot becomes much more secure.

If Benge doesn’t make the team for some reason (unlikely at this point) then I’d expect MJ Melendez to be above Pache and Young in the pecking order.  

[Edgy MD]

MJ has already been farmed out.  Pache and Young remain.

[Cowtipper]

Austin Barnes has been released!

[A Boy Named Seo]

The term "trannie" in any context was a little unsetting to run into, but the photo of Dylan Ross on the 40 and "Baby Gerber" were fine palate-cleansers.

[seawolf17]

6 minutes ago, A Boy Named Seo said:

The term "trannie" in any context was a little unsetting to run into, but the photo of Dylan Ross on the 40 and "Baby Gerber" were fine palate-cleansers.

I'll second that.

Love that it exists in its own form - sometimes this thread becomes a slog when you have to scroll through an entire organizationload of players, sometimes five or six times on one page.

It's not entirely mobile-friendly, though. For what that's worth.

[Edgy MD]

Deep apologies for any misappropriation of the word. No slur intended, certainly, but I will refrain from such clumsy diminutives.

When Spring Training ends, the preparation for the regular season's start, and the roster accounting that entails, brings forth a spontaneous explosion of Injured List assignments.  Many of these players had likely been injured for weeks or more, but as it all had gone largely unreported on, the effect is that of a meteor collision striking down in St. Lucie tearing menisci and rupturing hamstrings all over town at once.  And the depth chart fans had counted on is thrown into dissaray.

Transactions, 3/16/2026

GOING

Released

Outfielders

Hector Francis

L/L DoB: 39366 High Level: MLB (2025)

When a minor-leaguer gets released mid-camp, one wonders what infraction he triggered.  Did he sleep through a wake-up call and miss a bus?  Did he cross the wrong coach at the wrong time?  Fall down during a drill.

While any of that might be possible in the case of Hector Francis, the truth is that a .153 batting average in 67 Dominican Summer League plate appearances is not the guarantee of future employment it used to be.  Maybe young Hector was not at very bottom of the list of paid servants of the House of Wilpon, but he was probably at low end of the outfielder totem pole.  And that, sadly, led to him being sent home early.

Without so much as a thumbnail photo in circulation to represent his brief career.

And now, on to the end-of-camp triage report.

End-of-Camp IL Assignments

• 03/18/26 Binghamton Rumble Ponies placed RHP Joshua Cornielly on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 Brooklyn Cyclones placed LHP Ryan Ammons on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 Brooklyn Cyclones placed SS Boston Baro on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 Brooklyn Cyclones placed RHP Austin Troesser on the full-season injured list.
• 03/18/26 Brooklyn Cyclones placed RHP Owen Woodward on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 Brooklyn Cyclones placed LHP Eli Ankeney on the full-season injured list.
• 03/18/26 FCL Mets placed RHP Peter Kussow on the full-season injured list.
• 03/18/26 FCL Mets placed RHP Peyton Prescott on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 FCL Mets placed C Daniel Silva on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 St. Lucie Mets placed RHP Ethan Lanthier on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 St. Lucie Mets placed RHP Edgar Moreta on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 St. Lucie Mets placed RHP Jace Hampson on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 St. Lucie Mets placed SS Trey Snyder on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 St. Lucie Mets placed RHP Candido Cuevas on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 Syracuse Mets placed RHP Kevin Herget on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 Syracuse Mets placed RHP Robert Stock on the 60-day injured list.
• 03/18/26 Syracuse Mets placed 3B Grae Kessinger on the 60-day injured list.

While Mets Roster Central researchers are hard at work trying to get to the bottom of who Peter Kossow is (was?), we can't help but feel that there is a lesson in here for you kids. If you want to be professional baseball player — if it's March 18, don't pick up the phone, don't check your e-mail, don't even check turn on the light switch if you can help it.

Which bring us on to the (very) small amount of drama from yesterday

Transactions, 3/22/2026

GOING

Released

Catchers

Austin Barnes

R/R DoB: 1989-12-28 High Level: MLB (2025)

Austin Barnes has been a backup catcher for the bulk of 11 years, all while playing for a single team (The Los Angeles Dodgers).  And while an old-fashioned Ron Hodges Special of a career may not be laced through and through with glory, it is undeniably elegant.  So while Barnes presence in Mets camp was mostly insurance against a cascade breakdown in catcher health on the Mets roster, Mets Roster Central is pleased for more than one reason that this did not come to pass.

Barnes' release likely comes at his request, probably based on an agreement the Mets made when bringing him on board.  Getting jettisoned a few days before the start of the season gives him a fighting hope at catching on with some team, that finds themselves at loose ends for reserve catchers, and we can't help but hope that the such team might be the Dodgers (as indirectly unkind as that might be to the hopes of Barnes and current Dodger catchers Will Smith and Dalton Rushing).

The Barnes release leaves four non-roster players hanging around as the Mets mop up camp, but as Craig Kimbrel has been told he has not made the roster, and Mike Tauchman is confronting surgery on his torn meniscus, for practical purposes, only Carson Benge and Cristian Pache remain as the Mets weigh their outfield options.

 

[whippoorwill]

I love their homeland flags!

[Gwreck]

Mets announced that Benge made the roster and is starting on Thursday in right field.

[Cowtipper]

That's actually awesome. Good to see a top prospect make the club. 

[seawolf17]

Roster is posted. Hudson is out, Lovelady is in. Benge making the team means Brujan is the odd man out.

[Gwreck]

Brujan is the odd man out because Jared Young got the last bench spot.

I am surprised but I suppose Edgy is not?

[seawolf17]

Ben Rortvedt also DFAed.

[seawolf17]

Yeah, Edgy had Young on the roster. So prescient.

[Edgy MD]

Little can be considered a surprise after perhaps the most aggressive year-to-year makeover in Mets history, so one has to place room for a little drama at the end of camp and the addition of Carson Benge makes that complete.

More on that below as we spread the table for a new season.  Get to know them now, kids.  With players brought in at that end of their deals, other players arriving on short-term agreements, and a third class that has opt-outs at their disposal, a lot of these guys may be gone before you have had a chance to have them over to dinner.  This is a team built to contend, but also a team built to get the hell out of the way if other prospects assert themselves.

Transactions, 3/24/2026

 

GOING

Released

Starting Pitchers

Aaron Rozek

L/L DoB: 34931 High Level: AAA (2025)

Aaron Rozek had been a AA and AAA Twins dude that the Mets grabbed in the minor-league phase of the December Rule V Draft.  Minor-league picks don't have to be kept on a roster or offered back like MLB picks, but the Mets obviously had seen enough.

Maybe he returns to Minnesota, or maybe points beyond.  He had been ticketed for the Syracuse rotation this year, so his jettisoning could mean a big opportunity for Bryce Conley, or possibly lefty Zach Thornton  — the latter of whom looked terrific when floated up to big-league camp this spring, so please don't confuse him with former Mets prospect Zack (with a K) Thornton, who peaked at AAA in 2016

Transactions, 3/25/2026

 

GOING	GOING	GOING	GOING	GOING
Designated for Assignment	Transferred to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Placed on 15-Day Injured List, Retroactive to 2026-03-22, Recovering from Left Lat Surgery	Designated for Assignment	Designated for Assignment
Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Catchers	Infielders
Bryan Hudson	Craig Kimbrel	A.J. Minter	Ben Rortvedt	Vidal Brujan
L/L DoB: 1997-05-08 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 1988-05-28 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/L DoB: 1993-09-02 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/R DoB: 1997-09-25 High Level: MLB (2025)	S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 High Level: MLB (2025)
GOING	GOING	NEUTRAL	COMING	COMING
Transferred to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse	Transferred to Minor-League Camp, Projected for Syracuse IL with Right Knee Meniscus Tear	Transferred from Outfield	Added to Roster	Added to 40-Player Roster and Promoted from Syracuse
Outfielders	Outfielders	Infielders	Relief Pitchers	Outfielders
Cristian Pache	Mike Tauchman	Brett Baty	Richard Lovelady	Carson Benge
R/R DoB: 1998-11-19 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/L DoB: 1990-12-03 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/L DoB: 1995-07-07 High Level: AAA (2025)	L/R DoB: 2003-01-20 High Level: MLB (2024)

Here come the final roster maneuvers!

Bryan Hudson, purchased from the White Sox back in February, had the inside track for the second-lefty position most of spring, but also spent most of the spring pitching poorly.  The Mets had been playing waiver-claim-tug-o-war with the Nats over Richard Lovelady for a couple of months, so being out of options wasn't going to save Hudson, as Lovelady was OoO too, and at least one team had shown a disposition to claim him if he went through another one of those interminable DFAs that his life is full of.

So congratulations to Dicky on stealing Hudson's bacon and making the Opening Day squadron.

There was never an official announcement of Craig Kimbrel going to minor-league camp (or Christian Pache or Mike Tauchman for that matter), but we've hit you-don't-have-to-go-home-but-you-can't-stay-here territory.  Kimbrell, to his credit, has decided to stay with the organization.  Whether that means working on his act in extended spring training or accepting a AAA assignment isn't clear, but apparently he feels his best bet is staying with the team and building on whatever goodwill he has established this spring.

We all know about Tauchman's injury, but no IL assignment has been announced.  His meniscus was first torn back in September, leading to his non-tender by Chicago (A), so maybe he is doing some thinking before consenting to going under the knife.

The news about Carson Benge has repercussions all through the system.  As much of a top prospect and a comer as the guy was, he had to pass about 10 guys this spring to get where he has gotten.  Congratulations to Gwreck for calling Vidal Brujan cutting when the entire stubborn Mets Roster Central staff had him in the fold.  We don't know if they saw him jettisoned in favor of keeping Jared Young around despite the Benge addition, but that's how it shakes out.

And that means, since Benge (being the rookie who needs reps) and Juan Soto (being the man) Brett Baty has no room in the outfield, and most non-DH work he gets will be at first, second, and third.  Mets Roster Central was late to declare him an outfielder, and now has been late to declare him once again an infielder. 

Stubborn we are.  But damn it, we have a roster.  Get to know them while they are still here.

[Edgy MD]

When three guys are DFA'd at the end of Spring Training, and two clear waivers and accept minor-league assignments, Mets Roster Central guesses that is a good outcome in the whole.

When two MLB vets accept assignments to the minor-league development list — a designation specifically designed to allow a player to continue working out with a team but not fill a roster spot, that's just a pair of wins, right? 

Transactions, 3/27/2026

GOING	GOING	NEUTRAL	NEUTRAL	COMING
Claimed off Waivers by CHW	Assigned to Seven-Day Injured List with Syracuse	Transferred to Syracuse Development List	Transferred to Syracuse Development List	Cleared Waivers and Assigned to Syracuse
Relief Pitchers	Outfielders	Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Catchers
Bryan Hudson	Mike Tauchman	Mike Baumann	Craig Kimbrel	Ben Rortvedt
L/L DoB: 1997-05-08 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/L DoB: 33210 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 34952 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 32291 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/R DoB: 1997-09-25 High Level: MLB (2025)
COMING	COMING
Cleared Waivers and Assigned to Syracuse	Signed away from PIT to minor-league contract, 2026-03-27, Projected for Syracuse
Infielders	Outfielders
Vidal Brujan	Tommy Pham
S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 32210 High Level: MLB (2025)

The Mets purchased the contract of Bryan Hudson from the White Sox back in early February.  When a team accepts cash in lieu of talent for a guy, it gives the impression that they don't really have much use for him in the first place.  And when Hudson failed to make the Mets roster despite being out of options, that might have reinforced the White Sox opinion, or perhaps just the Mets Roster Cetral interpretation of the White Sox opinion.

So how about those same Sox grabbing Bryan Hudson off Metly waivers six weeks after selling him off?  Maybe the Sox situation has changed, or maybe they just really needed the money.

The availability of a seven-day Injured List in the minors obscures the situation with Mike Tauchmann, whose torn meniscus may in fact have him out for the full season, but MRC has seen no announcement of surgery, so maybe MB is trying to therapy and Ace Bandage his way through the injury and so salvage some part of his season.

Ben Rortvedt (a vedteran of many Rors) surprised MRC by sneaking through waivers, allowing him to keep a particularly strong catching depth chart going for the Mets.  Sadly, this meant a AA assignment for Kevin Parada, who, while perhaps not showing a meteoric rise of a first-round pick over his minor-league career, has certainly earned a spot with Syracuse.

Vidal Brujan is sent off to AAA with a classic utility player profile and some pinch-running chops.  Look to see him appear in Flushing before Memorial Day.

And former Met Tommy Pham is back in what looks to be his Age 38 (!) season.  His thumbnail photos continuing to look like mugshots always underscore what a committed and driven player he is, but the reserve outfielder profile he has carried through his thirties always has a way of expanding to near full-time use and 400+ plate appearances, so seeing him often means something has gone badly wrong with the lineup.

[Cowtipper]

Mets released Colby Frieda and Jesus Anton, who'd been in their system since 2023 and managed a 1-3 record and a 12.05 ERA. They also released Pablo Medina, Jermayne Verdu, Anthony Crespo and Colton Cosper. 

[Cowtipper]

And now wunderkind Cole Fowler has been released! There is no end to it!

[Edgy MD]

As the beginning of the season has unfolded, the Mets assembled their minor-league rosters, and realized perhaps that more guys made it through camp healthy than they need, and some late goodbyes had to go down.

Transactions, 3/26/2026

 

GOING
Released	Released	Released	Released
Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitcher	Relief Pitcher	Relief Pitcher
Colton Cosper	Anthony Crespo	Pablo Medina	Jermayne Verdu
L/L DoB: 37507 High Level: AAA (2025)	R/R DoB: 38111 High Level: Rk (2025)	L/L DoB: 39002 High Level: DSL (2025)	R/R DoB: 0000-00-00 High Level: DSL (2025)

Colton Cosper is clearly the highest profile of this batch of releaserinos, having briefly (but effectively) appeared in Syracuse in 2025.  That's pretty impressive (if somewhat accidental) for a 22-year-old in his first year out of college.  He was probably heading back to a much lower level of Brooklyn or St. Lucie, but now he doesn't even get that.

The other three combine to demonstrate the Mets' non-discrimination policy among low-level Caribbean relievers, as they jettison one Dominican, one Venezuelan, and one Panamanian.  There were varying degrees of effectiveness among them, but the common thread appears to be wildness.

Throw strikes, young man.

 

Transactions, 3/27/2026

 

GOING
Released	Released
Relief Pitcher	Relief Pitcher
Jesüs Anton	Colby Frieda
R/R DoB: 38765 High Level: Rk (2025)	R/R DoB: 37462 High Level: Div. I+ (2025)

Jesus Anton was terrific, if you like a double-digit ERA.  Three seasons (three!) should be enough to find some regression to the mean, but a total of only 21 2/3 innings and 12.60 (again, !!) mark suggests the Mets fell in love with something that never made it onto the field.

On the other hand, when it came to Colby Frieda, absolutely no part of him made it onto the field.  Signed last August, he collected a few minor-league paychecks, but checks out with a blank statistical line.

 

Transactions, 3/28/2026

 

GOING

Released

Infielders

Cole Fowler

L/R DoB: 37600 High Level: Rk (2025)

Also leaving the Mets organization without putting any statisctician to work is Cole Fowler.  Being a veteran of The Frontier League and Division II may not be the most impressive calling card, but he has absolutely pummeled the ball wherever he has been.  His shot at affiliate ball was short lived, however, with him signed March 12 and released little more than two weeks later. 

Crikey!

The good news is that is all the news there is.  Despite two extra-inning games the last two days, the Mets made no big-league transactions going into the Cardinal series.  Mets Roster Central supports this, and rejects all calls to DFA Richard Lovelady.  Let's give these guys a chance to show what they can do.

[Edgy MD]

And that closes 2024.

Transactions, 3/31/2026

 

COMING

Hired by Mets as Special Assistant to President of Baseball Operations

Outfielders

J.D. Martinez

R/R DoB: 34303 High Level: MLB (2024)

With the announcement that J.D. Martinez has become a special assistant to President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, Mets Roster Central is pleased to mark the next destination of the last un-accounted-for Met of 2024.  J.D. had left his retirement un-announced, presumably leaving himself open to further work, and even reportedly received an offer from the Rangers last June, all while publicly teasing his intended entry into the exciting world of professional pickleball.

Accounting for free agents who don't sign elsewhere but never publicly announce a retirement may seem niggling but at Mets Roster Central, keeping the books balanced is our business.  And while we don't necessarily know what a SAttPoBO does, we are happy to see the books close on 2024 with Martinez moving on to another chapter, recalling the sad close of 2022 with the terrible passing of Terrence Gore back in February.

These special assistant roles typically go to house legends and future Hall of Famers, and fellow SAttPoBO Carlos Beltran certainly fits that description.  J.D. had a fine career, but is unlikely to find his name on a Hall-of-Fame plaque anytime soon and was less-than-stellar as a Met, so we're left in a cloud of mystery, but that is nothing new.

He's certainly a respected figure, but ... this serves to make the Mets feel just a little bit more Trumpy, and that's not a comfortable feeling.