Mets Roster Central 2026 at Grand Central

[Edgy MD]

It's a loaded word — rehab.  It's certainly conceived as a promising step for all who need to get back to where they were, but it's become associated with chemical dependency and criminal deviation.  When all you're trying to put behind you is a strained calf (The Official Injury of the 2026 Mets!), the word may sound more dramatic than necessary, but when a team is still trying to find themselves on June 21, the hint that they may be able to soon reassemble their best roster can't help but resonate — at least a little..

Transactions, 6/16/2026

GOING	COMING
Released	Signed away from Lancaster (Atlantic League) to Minor-League Contract, Assigned to Binghamton
Infielders	Outfielders
TT Bowens	Nick Lucky
R/R DoB: 1998-05-27 High Level: MLB (2026)	L/R DoB: 1995-12-25 High Level: MLB (2026)

Dropping a curtain the TT Bowens act — coming only 49 days after the Mets signed him out of The Mexican League — has to be considered a disappointment.  You can't not root for a guy with the name of an '80s action star, but after a few laps around the track, a guy needs more than a cool name to justify himself, and a .135 batting average isn't going to cut it in any league. 

The Mets have recently added a few more journeymen to Binghamton to take his place and frankly, Bingo fans have recently gotten Lucky.  More specifically, they're getting a chance to root for organizational newcomer Nick Lucky.  Nick doesn't tend to arrive like a comet, but he's the sort of guy who makes patience pay off.  He went to school at Coastal Carolina, in The Sun Belt Conference, and wouldn't you know it, but he got better every year.

YEAR	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2019	82	.234	.346	.344	.690
2020	65	.271	.431	.333	.764
2021	234	.279	.368	.500	.868
2022	268	.297	.422	.455	.877
2023	292	.307	.441	.570	1.012

That's a sweet pattern, but it didn't get him drafted, as he had originally been out of high school.  After a brief run in indy ball, he joined the Twins organization, but was released (they felt no need for Luckyness) after only 60 games. 

It was back to indy ball, and over three seasons in The Atlantic League, the old pattern of progressive improvement re-asserted itself.

YEAR	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2024	131	.281	.359	.421	.780
2025	500	.293	.380	.512	.891
2026	213	.339	.441	.548	.989

Nick Lucky is now 26.  And affiliated ball, of course, does not afford a player the luxury of repeating a level several years in a row in order to master it (unless/until he reaches MLB, of course) — but the pattern is intriguing, and with three hits in his first 11 at-bats for Bingo, he may have already outproduced TT Bowens.

Transactions, 6/18/2026

COMING	COMING
Cleared Waivers and Assigned to Syracuse	Sent to St. Lucie on Rehab Assignment
Infielders	Infielders
Vidal Brujan	Ronny Mauricio
S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 High Level: MLB (2026)	S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 High Level: MLB (2026)

Two Dominican infielders.  One arrives in Syracuse having been exiled in favor of Zack Short, while the other arrives in Syracuse to get in shape in order to avenge his countryman's honor and take out Zack Short.

We suspect there is a lot of talk about Zack Short in the Syracuse clubhouse

Transactions, 6/21/2026

COMING	COMING
Sent to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment	Sent to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment
Infielders	Outfielders
Francisco Lindor	Tyrone Taylor
S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1994-01-22 High Level: MLB (2026)

And really, if a rehabbing Ronny Maurcio can't un-Short-ify the Mets roster in the near future, a rehabbing Francisco Lindor certainly can.  If a healthy Francisco returns to his familiar everyday shortstop role, Bo Bichette returns to third, Brett Baty returns to the utility role he was supposed to take on this year, and Zack — barring an unexpected offensive outburst or another (Heaven forfend) injury to a teammate — presumably returns to the waiver wire.

With rehabbers rehabbing, it's about to get pretty tight for reserve Mets.  Tyrone Taylor's expected return puts Eric Wagaman (and possibly Mark Vientos) on notice.  And those that survive this purge might find themselves counting the days until Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert, Jr. return.

Or — and this is our suggestion — they can start slugging the snot out of the ball and let the chips fall where they may.

Rehabilitation — it is a word with a lot of varying connotations, but it is a mark of a healthy society.  And the Mets could sure stand to start representing a healthy society.

[Edgy MD]

You aren't seeing the relaunching of seasons detoured by injuries and rehab assignments in this batch of transactions, but if you squint, you get a picture of what is coming next.

Transactions, 6/20/2026

COMING

Signed away from Southern Maryland (Atlantic League) and Assigned to Brooklyn

Infielders

Taylor Darden

R/R DoB: 2000-01-16 High Level: Atlantic League (2026)

Taylor Darden may sound like a non-player character in a video game, but, well ... that may be just what he ends up being as a Met.  He comes by way of The Southland Conference and The Atlantic League.  At 26, he is probably meant to be playing at a higher level than Brooklyn, but, the Mets are probably preparing to put an infielder or so on waivers when Francisco Lindor and Ronny Mauricio get activated, so young Tyler has been invited to the desultory birthday party that is the Mets organization in 2026.

Special credit to the Brooklyn press office for getting a thumbnail of Taylor in a Cyclones cap online for his very first day in the organization.  That's a pro move.

Transactions, 6/21/2026

GOING

Released

Relief Pitcher

Wilson Lopez

R/R DoB: 37452 High Level: Atlantic League (2026)

Wilson Lopez, a member of the small fraternity of Colombians in the Mets organization, had been on the Injured List for the last year.  As it is illegal to release a player while he is on the IL, It is a mixed motivation for a player to get himself healthy, only to make him vulnerable to release.

The time comes inevitably, however, and Lopez got activated and then immediately axed.  Usually such guys appear in a game before the grim reaper comes, in order to establish their healthiness.  Lopez didn't even do that.

Transactions, 6/23/2026

COMING

Claimed off Waivers from SFG, Assigned to Syracuse

Outfielders

Jared Oliva

R/R DoB: 1995-11-27 High Level: MLB (2026)

LIke Taylor Darden above is to infielders, so Jared Oliva is to infielders.  With a long career in the minors (he's 30), he has pretty solidly established that his offensive ceiling isn't much a above a .700 minor-league OPS, so he must be an impressive fielder to have stuck this long, but his presence mostly means, MJ Melendez and/or Eric Wagaman is about to face a DFA notice.

It also kind of suggests the Mets have a shortcoming of faith in Jihwan Bae, Oliva's fellow former-Pirates-prospect-turned-journeyman.

Mets Roster Central cares, so we checked, and we've been unable to unearth any familial connection between Jared and Tony Oliva.

Transactions, 6/24/2026

COMING

Promoted from Syracuse

Relief Pitchers

Jonathan Pintaro

R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 High Level: MLB (2026)

You get a 27th player for double-headers, and invariably you use them.  Frequently, they get mop-up slop-up innings, and the Mets have had plenty of those to spread around.

So, um ... expect Jonathan Pintaro to pitch both games today.  Seriously.

[Cowtipper]

Once again, he's lived up to his name, as his time with New York was Short: The Mets DFA'd Zach Short as Francisco Lindor has returned.

[Edgy MD]

There are a thesaurus of words to describe the Mets' effort yesterday — harrowing, ghastly, appalling, alarming, heinous, scandalous, and biotoxic are only some.  Alone, none suffice.  Together ... well, we're getting there.

We knew there'd be changes to the roster by today.  What we get is more than the cynical heart suspected (everything is fine, nothing to see here), but far less than the angry heart may have demanded (a mass exile).

Everything is not fine, but everything does continue.

Transactions, 6/24/2026

GOING	NEUTRAL	COMING
Designated for Assignment	Transferred from Rotation	Ended Rehab Assignment, Activated from Injured List	Ended Rehab Assignment, Activated from Injured List, Demoted to Syracuse
Infielders	Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Zack Short	Kodai Senga	Francisco Lindor	Ronny Mauricio
R/R DoB: 34848 High Level: MLB (2026)	L/R DoB: 1993-01-30 High Level: MLB (2026)	S/R DoB: 1993-11-14 High Level: MLB (2026)	S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 High Level: MLB (2026)

Yesterday's Game Two was so bad that it is almost easy to forget how very bad Game One was also.  But Game One came with the virtue of the assumption that the cavalry was on its way between games.  Whatever horror the fates and Cubs conspired to bestow (and bestow they did), Francisco Lindor was expected to be activated between games, Zach Short to end his second Mets tenure and maybe Ronny Mauricio and Tyrone Taylor.  As bad as things are, these were never really the Mets without LIndor, we could tell ourselves.

It's a child's denial, but a tiny echo of it resounded through many a reasoning adult's head.  (You have to hang your hat on something, right?) 

Short checks out with a .250 OPS in 9 plate appearances in his second Mets go-around, an actual step down from the .384 in 12 plate appearances he filed in 2024.  Such is the unlikely but all too true level of failure on the 2026 Mets.

At least Short's leaving opened a door for Jose Iglesias and an enormous turnaround in 2024, right?  RIGHT?

You have to hang your hat on something.

Beyond that, the day's dealings included an announcement that Kodai Senga — who has shown promise in short bursts, and calamity in longer ones — is bullpen bound.  By the end of the day, the Mets would be down to three starting pitchers.

Transactions, 6/25/2026

GOING			COMING
Traded to CHC for Cole Mathis	Demoted to Syracuse	Placed on 10-Day Injured List with Left Hip Flexor Strain	Promoted from Syracuse
Starting Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Infielders	Relief Pitchers
David Peterson	Jonathan Pintaro	Marcus Semien	Daniel Duarte
L/L DoB: 1995-09-03 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1997-11-07 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1990-09-17 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 High Level: MLB (2026)
COMING
Sent to St. Lucie on Rehab Assignment	Acquired from CHC for David Peterson, Assigned to Brooklyn	Promoted from Syracuse
Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Dedniel Núñez	Cole Mathis	Ronny Mauricio
R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 2003-07-25 High Level: A+ (2026)	S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 High Level: MLB (2026)

The other starting pitcher shed is David Peterson, dean of the Mets staff, and now the third former Mets first-round draft choice to join the 2026 Cubs.  The Mets have a history of sending senior staffers who have outlived their current utility Cubward — Aaron Heilman and Ed Lynch come to mind.  One only hopes that Cole Mathis brings back some small part of the value the Cubs swindled the Mets of in the person of Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Not bloody likely?  Again, you have to hang your hat on something.

Jonathan Pintaro is unsurprisingly swapped again for Daniel Duarte, who will perhaps soon risk a near perfect line in 2026 by pitching mopup innings in some future misbegotten game as desultory moods plague his team and fans.

Or maybe not.  Hats must hang.  Hang they must.

Take, for instance, the launching of Dedniel Núñez upon the 2026 season.  Steady Deddy last pitched on July 2 of 2025 before getting sentenced to a year in Tommy Johnville, and now he has completed his sentence a week early.  Them's good news, right?

Hats and hopes.  They've got to hang somewhere.

[Edgy MD]

When I was in high school, I learned all (or most, anyhow) of the names of heads of state in the world's sovereign nations.  Jose Napoleon Duarte was president of El Salvador, and I have learned in subsequent years how awful his presidency was, and a surprising amount of the insanity of our current times can be traced to Reagan-era US foreign policy in El Salvador at the time.

But I think of him every time Daniel Duarte comes up.

[Edgy MD]

So it has come — the leadership change that is too late for some, too soon for David Stearns, but was deeply inevitable.

Transactions, 6/24/2026

GOING
Fired	Demoted to Syracuse	Demoted to Syracuse
Manager	Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Carlos Mendoza	Daniel Duarte	MJ Melendez
S/R DoB: 1979-11-27 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1996-12-04 High Level: MLB (2019)	L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 High Level: MLB (2019)
COMING
Transferred from Senior Vice President of Player Development	Promoted from Syracuse	Ended Rehab Assignment and Activated from IL
Interim Manager	Starting Pitchers	Outfielders
Andy Green	Zach Thornton	Tyrone Taylor
R/R DoB: 1977-07-07 High Level: MLB (2026)	L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1994-01-22 High Level: MLB (2026)

Daniel Duarte did nothing to deserve appearing in this update.  He returned to the team with a perfect ERA in his back pocket, and left without throwing a pitch.  The same protestations of innocence will not avail Carlos Mendoza and MJ Melendez.

Managers are almost always "terrific guys" the day after they get fired.  This is mostly fair and gracious and the way it should be, for managers tend to take the fall for situations not entirely within their control.  The policy is made above them and the performance occurs below them.  They are the narrow choke-point of the process and make for the most concentrated target.

Also, they often are, actually, decent guys.  And from the Mets Roster Central standpoint, Carlos has been standup all the way.

But before and after that day, a more forensic analysis needs to be done.  Mendoza, to our eyes, was more of a manager of policy than a manager of people.  He was not the captain that people burned to follow into battle.  He certainly cared for the brand.

MRC recalls the speech he made to his team after qualifying for the 2024 playoffs, when the SNY cameras made a rare intrusion into the team's locker room.  Carlos congratulated his players, but made a point of reminding the team that their success is also a product of the scouting department and the development department. 

This was all true, and it needed to be said.  But was it the message for that team in that moment?  The players needed to be congratulated for having each other's back, carrying each other, and reminded that the guy in the next locker carried them.  They still had a challenge ahead of them, and the fans were behind them.

Carlos' comments amounted more of a speech for an external audience.  He was thanking his friends in the organization and management.  It was the act of the gracious man he is, but he could have done that with a phone call or text, and given them their public acknowledgment after the end of the post season, for better or worse.

In the end, it was the loyalty of those friends of his in management that kept his tenure going so long.  But the bread-and-butter notes that George H.W. Bush was famous for only got him one term, and so it was with Mendy.

Carlos Mendoza — terrific organization guy.  Not so much an us-against-the-world guy in the clubhouse.

All the best to him.

Zach Thornton's return can and should signal a new direction of the 2026 team under new manager Andy Green.  With Thornton, Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, and Jonah Tong potentially rounding out the rotation in the months to come, with A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge anchoring the lineup, this team can put on a new character going forward, for better or for worse.  Any players from Generation Peterson will have to justify their presence with performance day in and day out, or else meet the fate of David Peterson himself.

Reload.

[Edgy MD]

It is hardly without precedent, but it is among the most un-just of transactions.  The Mets began yesterday with three men in their rotation, and seemingly a gajillion guys in their bullpen.  They call up a guy, he does great, and he gets bounced right back to Syracuse for the trouble.

Transactions, 6/27/2026

GOING	COMING
Demoted to Syracuse	Activated from Injured List
Starting Pitchers
Zach Thornton	Christian Scott
L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1999-06-15 High Level: MLB (2026)

On the first day of the Andy Green regime, the Mets had no starters available, and were forced to call up Zach Thornton — a rookie with all of one (unsuccessful) starts at the major-league level.

He came up, instantly gave up three hard-hit balls, made his adjustments, and absolutely shut the hard-hitting Phillies down:

IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	Pit	Str	GiDP
6.0	5	1	1	1	7	78	54	3(!)

You may feel different, but that's the kind of pitcher (and one of those last two hits were Mets Roster Central would like to see come out for the seventh.  But somewhere baseball in general, and the Mets in particular, are broken, and unlike any other sport, when a guy who is threatening to win a game for his team, all the manager is can think about is when to get him out of there.  And so, rather than see Thornton come out for the seventh, the Flushing faithful, see him yanked from the game so hard that he ended up in Syracuse, as the Mets lost the contest and the golden opportunity for a fresh start under Andy Green it represented.

[Cowtipper]

Jorge Polanco sent on rehab to Syracuse. Zack Short sent to Syracuse. Mets release minor league pitcher John Valle.

[Cowtipper]

Tyler Burch released!

[Cowtipper]

Anderson Severino to the Hanshin Tigers!

[Edgy MD]

Such is the state of contemporary pitching management that pitchers are, for varying reasons, getting a lengthening leash when they are pitching poorly, and a tightening leash when they are tearing through the opposing lineup.  Neil Allen, we cry to you.

Transactions, 6/27/2026

GOING		COMING
Released	Released	Sent to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment	Cleared Waivers and Assigned to Syracuse
Starting Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Infielders
John Valle	Tyler Burch	Jorge Polanco	Zack Short
R/R DoB: 38315 High Level: Rk (2026)	R/R DoB: 35675 High Level: AA (2024)	S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 34848 High Level: MLB (2026)

Mystery Cuban John Valle was a 2023 pick out of a Florida High School, but his career was quickly detoured through Tommy Johnville, and he didn't debut until he was 20 years old in 2025.  His 11.77 ERA in 13 innings that year was followed by a 7.30 mark in 12 1/3 this year.

Tyler Burch has gotten the same bad news, but at the end of a much longer minor-league odyssey.  After a full collegiate career, Tyler has been laboring with Philadelphia and Baltimore since 2019.

After getting Rule V'd to Colorado, Burch missed a full season with elbow surgery.  He must've been considered a real bounceback candidate by big-league teams, because the Mets went out and offered him a very rare two-year, minor-league free agent contract.  That bounce-back never materialized as Burch gets sent home mid-season without throwing a pitch in a game.

It is illegal to release a guy on the Injured List, but maybe there is an exception at the half-season mark or something.  Either way, with that two-year deal, hopefully he takes some money home with him.

The real June 27 is the second attempt at a 2026 rehab by Jorge Polanco, who has spent most of the campaign bedeviled by chronic Achilles tendonitis.  He was initially intended to be the Mets new firstbaseman following the departure of Pete Alonso, but it is a pretty safe assumption that, should he indeed return to the big-league club, it will primarily (or more likely, exclusively), as a designated hitter.

Either way, that would be expected to cut deeply into Mark Vientos' opportunities, and likely Brett Baty's as well, but he would probably be taking Eric Wagaman's roster spot.  But that is all speculative, as it will be a minor victory just to get his name onto a major-league lineup card at this point.

He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in the first game of his assignment.

Transactions, 6/29/2026

GOING	COMING
Demoted to Syracuse	Promoted from Syracuse
Relief Pitchers
Tobias Myers	Joey Gerber
R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026)

And here we come to the theme that leads off this post.  In the Mets most recent series with Philadelphia, they demonstrated some resolve against a team going in the opposite direction of them in the standing.  Knotted into a 1-1 tie going into the seventh, with rookie starter Zach Thornton utterly cruising since the first, they pulled him after 78 pitches (54 for strikes) and prematurely turned the game over to the bullpen, and lost.

They won the second game, but in the third, felt it necessary to give Tobias Myers a 59 pitch outing despite his in-effectiveness.  They are reportedly "stretching" him so they can deploy him as a starter in the near future.  Letting his effectiveness dictate the length of his outing is apparently not their idea of a winning approach

For some nebulous, always out-of-reach future concern, they pulled an effective pitcher, rode an ineffective one, and lost two of three to a strong team when all three games were winnable.

I hope that future comes soon.  In the meantime, for far too many Met fans, these games were perhaps their very first, or their very last.  The present matters.

In the meantime, Mets Roster Central recalls former Mets closer Neil Allen.  Later in his career, with the Yankees, Allen found himself one day to be the only available reliever in an otherwise pretty gassed bullpen. He was told to be prepared to be called on, and if he was, to be prepared to finish no matter what.

The worst-case scenario ensued.  Rookie starter Al Leiter came up injured after giving a leadoff single to Carney Lansford.  Allen came in and closed out the first.  Then he closed out the second.  And inning after inning he remained effective, and damned if his continued effectiveness didn't dictate his continued deployment, and he finished the game, allowing no runs on three hits and no walks — against Oakland A's, no less, destined to win 104 games and the pennant that season.  In a quirk of the rules (that still stands), by recording all 27 outs, Allen was credited with a shutout, despite not getting credit for a complete game.

Now, Allen's manager Billy Martin was not known for his kind curatorial care of pitchers' arms, but from someone who invests hope in these games, sticking with pitchers who are effective and lifting pitchers who are ineffective, in games that are very much winnable, sure seems like an idea that we might want to be getting back to.

[Cowtipper]

Mets release Joe Charles!

[Edgy MD]

The point is reached and past.  A turnaround is possible.  Sure.  That's always true.  But the 2026 Mets have demonstrated themselves to be a bad investment.  Any pursuit of incoming players would be throwing good money after bad.  

But they will need to field a team if and when they start cashing in assets, and newly acquired fringe players may certainly be useful in that regard.

Transactions, 6/30/2026

GOING		COMING
Signed away by Hanshin (NPB)	Released	Signed away from MIA to Minor-League Contract, Assigned to Syracuse
Relief Pitchers		Infielders
Anderson Severino	Joe Charles	Christopher Morel
L/L DoB: 1994-09-17 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 36621 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1999-06-24 High Level: MLB (2026)

It may feel like Anderson Severino played for the Mets, but he never did.  There has been plenty of drama with his comings and goings and Spring Training usage and studly performances in Syracuse this summer and the Dominican Winter League before that.  He joined the Mets for all of a day back in May, but somehow escaped his name being called to help mop up a 16-7 win, but was demoted again before the day was done.

He also looks kind of like 2023 Met Dennis Santana — you know, if you squint.  Mets Roster Central acknowledges that they do a lot of squinting these days.

But Anderson clearly got tired of trying to get back on a Major League mound, which he hasn't toed since 2022, and asked for his release so he could sign with an NPB team, and the Mets obliged.  After 3 1/2 weeks, one might have wondered if that deal was actually forthcoming, and maybe Sevvy would be back with the Mets Syracusani, but the Hanshin Carp have made the call.

Joe Charles has fewer plot twists in his story.  The Mets drafted him out of high school in the 25th round back in 2019, but he opted instead for an undistinguished five-year career in the ACC.  He signed with those same Mets, this time as an undrafted free agent out of college, but a few weeks of double-digit ERAs at two different levels have led to his severance.  Maybe he gets a chance in indy ball, but we hope he can find a way to look a little less like Vice President Vance.

But that's probably mostly not his fault and we wish him the best.

The real star of this post, of course, is Christopher Morel.  A damn-good comp for MJ Melendez, Morel saw a lot of first-string playing time early in his career, played pretty much every position on the field while doing it, Morel — now on his fourth organization at 27 — has the flash to make himself attractive to teams, who soon grow tired of his high-slugging/low-OBP ways.

The Mets have no need for him now, and so he heads to Syracuse.  You may hear little of his name in a Mets context ever again, but his all-around-the-field versatility suggest that Righthanded MJ could be a guy who can fill in after July 31 for any player the Mets might care to move. 

And should a hard-to-recognize and easy-to-forget version of the Mets limp home in September, you might end up seeing more than a little of this guy after all.

[Cowtipper]

Adbert Alzolay released!

[Cowtipper]

Mets release Mike Baumann!

Mets sign Cesar Morales!

[Cowtipper]

Grae Kessinger released!

[Cowtipper]

Mets trade for Matt Seelinger. Mets DFA Zuniga. Mets call up Seelinger. Robert sent on rehab to Binghamton. Dedniel Nunez sent on rehab to Binghamton. 

[Frayed Knot]

48 minutes ago, Cowtipper said:

Mets DFA Zuniga. 

This sentence wants to make me pronounce DFA as Daphne

[Edgy MD]

A very important but infrequently told chapter in Mets history is the tale of the short but consequential tenure of Bing Devine as general manager.  Bing was gone by the time the 1969 Mets won the World Championship, but the team that claimed the title was largely his.  Bing's first season (1967) at the helm featured 54 players — a record that stood for decades — as he largely turned his roster over twice, in season, looking for players and combinations that would be helpful when this team was ready to compete.

Miracles will come, in some 1969 of the future, but as the 2026 Mets have not been hinting of a magical turn this summer, the work of a GM becomes reloading.  As the team prepares to sell off parts, and the can of miracles gets kicked down the road a stretch, should these things come to pass, management will be asked to still field a putative MLB team the last two months of the season, and to evaluate who might have a magic bean or two to add to that can.

Some of those figures appear below.

Transactions, 7/2/2026

COMING
Transferred from St. Lucie to Binghamton on Rehab Assignment	Added to 40-Player Roster and Assigned to Syracuse
Relief Pitchers
Dedniel Núñez	Jefry Yan
R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 High Level: MLB (2025)	L/L DoB: 1996-08-17 High Level: MLB (2026)

Rookie sensation of 2024 and UCL victim of 2025, Dedniel Núñez got back on the field in 11 months, as teams are willing to accelerate the recovery schedule a small amount for relievers, which kind of makes sense and kind of doesn't.

Steady Deddy gave up a run in an inning and two thirds in St. Lucie, but has yet to be touched in two innings with the Rumble Ponies.  If walk/strikeout ratios are something you use to measure a rehabbing pitcher's progress, he has fanned four and walked none in 3 2/3 innings, and 4/0 is irrational!

Fellow Dominican Jefry Yan is at the other end of the spectrum — a grizzled veteran of something like a dozen professional seasons in the stateside minors and abroad.  He was added last summer and retained this winter with little fanfare, but damned if they didn't do something to get the guy on the good foot.

IP	R	ER	H	HR	BB	SO
8.0	4	3	4	0	6	21

The guy's ERA is the bottom line, and that sits at 3.38, which certainly seems serviceable.  But the real story here is that the guy has retired 24 guys and 21 of them have been on strikeouts and that is the sort of thing that makes a man stand up and say AMEN! — as does the report that Jefry is bringing 100-mph heat from the left side.

Adding a guy to the 40-Player Roster mid-season without promoting him to the big is certainly unusual, and as the maneuver comes at the top of the month, it suggests that the player had a opt-out clause if the team didn't rosterize him.  But keep your eyes open for him in coming weeks as opportunities arise.

No hurry on Dedniel, but the clock is certainly ticking on this Jefry Yan guy.

Transactions, 7/4/2026

GOING

Released

Infielders

Grae Kessinger

R/R DoB: 35667 High Level: MLB (2024)

Grae Kessinger, Houston Astro of 2023 and 2024, is a third generation MLB player — albeit indirectly, as he follows his grandfather Don Kessinger and uncle Keith Kessinger.  He spent the first seven or eight weeks of the season on the IL, and never quite caught up following a damaging hammy injury early in spring training.  But considering those bloodlines, and being the only Graeber in MLB history, one might be forgiven for wishing him the best at his next stop. 

Transactions, 7/5/2026

GOING	COMING
Demoted to Syracuse	Traded from DET for Cash, Assigned to Syracuse	Added to 40-Player Roster and Promoted from Syracuse
Relief Pitchers
Joey Gerber	Matt Seelinger	Guillo Zuñiga
R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1995-04-19 High Level: AAA (2026)	R/R DoB: 1998-10-10 High Level: MLB (2024)

If you watched last night's game, you saw the debut of Guillo Zuñiga.  Gary pronounced the name with a straight N as zoo-NEE-gah, like actress Daphne Zuniga, instead of the zoon-YEE-gah pronunciation indicated by the tilde.  Anyhow, baseballreference.com says the latter is correct, and while we have faith in Gary Cohen getting his shit together, we can hardly afford a repeat of the jay-or-EESE debacle.

Anyhow Guillo, looked pretty sweet last night, sawing off bats at the handle and making a basket catch on a week popup.  He also looked like one big Colombian — putting the bedimpled Joey Gerber on notice (one hopes) that he will have to earn his way back to Flushing.

Also joining the swelling 40-Player Roster (calling it a "40-Man Roster" does not allow for room to believe a woman may one day play for the Mets) is Matt Seelinger.  Matt had been DFA'd by the Tigers and the Mets, rather than hope to grab him on the waiver wire, made a move and acquired him for cash money.  Matt is local boy several times over, born in the Long Island hamlet of Westbury, NY, graduating from W.T. Clarke High School in nearby Salisbury, and then going on to play four years for Farmingdale State College.  As Farmingdale has spent most of its history as a two-year community college, you can't come from a much more obscure stateside background to find yourself at the threshold of the bigs.

And yeah, this is the time of the year when the Mets are prone to add local figures and feel-good stories to give themselves some good press, and gain some good will from the credulous and gullible, but we at Mets Roster Central can't help ourselves. 

GO, MATT SEELINGER!!!

But wait ... there's more ... .

Transactions, 7/7/2026

GOING	GOING	GOING
Designated for Assignment	Designated for Assignment	Demoted to Syracuse
Relief Pitchers	Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Alex Carrillo	Guillo Zuñiga	Ronny Mauricio
R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 1998-10-10 High Level: MLB (2026)	S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 High Level: MLB (2026)
COMING	COMING	NEUTRAL
Promoted from Syracuse	Ended Rehab Assignment and Activated from IL	Transferred from Syracuse to Binghamton on Rehab Assignment
Relief Pitchers	Infielders	Outfielders
Matt Seelinger	Jorge Polanco	Luis Robert, Jr.
R/R DoB: 1995-04-19 High Level: AAA (2026)	S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1997-08-03 High Level: MLB (2026)

As we went to press, there was an absolute busload of transactions announced — an absolute, packed commuter bus, too.  One of those flex jobs.

We knew we'd be seeling Seelinger sooner or later, and were prepared to celebrate, but regret to lose big ol' Guillo Zuñiga so quickly and hope it's not for good.  Overlooked in last nights crazy finale against the Braves is that Guillo was in a position to walk away with the win after Soto's dramatic ninth-inning homer, but by blowing the save, Devin Williams vultered away from him the chance to gain a win in his first — and possibly only — game as a Met.

Luis Robert, Jr.'s reassignment from Syracuse to Binghamton reads like a demotion, but it is more likely just about saving him a road trip.  The OrangeMets hit the road yesterday to start series in Norfolk (tonight's opener was rained out), while Bingo stayed more local with a trip to Hartford.

The big news, though, perhaps, is the return of Jorge Polanco.  While Polanco has been the target of a disproportionate amount of animus as the putative replacement for Pete Alonso at first, his slow start didn't help, and whatever you can hang on him regarding his persistent Achilles injury, that hasn't helped either.  But here he is back, and while he hasn't lit it up in his rehab assignments, he's a veteran who should adapt quickly to game speed, assuming he's in good enough condition to play at all.

It's 2026, anyhow.  They got machines to get you used to game-speed pitching.    

As we go to press a second time, the Mets are parading pitcher after pitcher against the Royals, and struggling to get outs.  Sooner or later, their newest pitcher will get the call.

GO, MATT SEELINGER!!!

[Cowtipper]

Mets DFA Jared Oliva. Mets select the contract of Dan Hammer. Mets option Tobias Myers. 

[Cowtipper]

In a stunning blow to the Mets and their 2026 fortunes, pitcher Alex Carrillo, who made his debut in 2025 and posted a 13.50 ERA in 3 games, has been released. 

He lost the ability to throw strikes and had 26 walks in 21 innings at Syracuse. 

Zuniga has been outrighted to Syracuse. 

[Cowtipper]

Vientos to IL, Zach Short called up. Tobias Myers is back up as Dan Hammer is sent down. 

[Cowtipper]

Jared Oliva has been released and Matt Seelinger has been outrighted to Syracuse. Tobias Myers has been optioned and Zach Thornton has been recalled. 

[Edgy MD]

Apologizing for the lack of recent updates, but we have recently been asked by powers that be to keep roster update posts to one-per-week.  That is more than a challenge for a feature that was intended be defined largely by timeliness, but we will attempt to provide substance and insight where timeliness may not be possible.  And lacking that, we will attempt to provide colorful giveaways like rubber bracelets with inspiring affirmations.

At any rate, we will attempt to help you keep up with the hand-penciled roster books you keep at home.

The Mets, meanwhile, may be looking ahead to next year, or they may be looking to reshuffle, welcome back injured players, and field as competitive a team as they can down the stretch, but to judge from the Boston series, what they don't appear to be trying to do is win.

Transactions, 6/24/2026

COMING

Signed as International Amateur Free Agent out of Cuba, Assigned to DSL Mets Blue

Relief Pitchers

Cesar Morales

L/L DoB: 2006-11-24 High Level: Academ (2026)

It is unclear how long 19-year-old Cesar Morales has been in the United States, but he comes to the Mets with no experience in the Cuban Serie Nacional de Béisbol, which most players join as teenagers, so it's a good guess that he has been schooling over here, while retaining his Cuban-ness in order to allow him the protection from the draft that non-American/Canadian players get.

He's had a strong start in the Dominican Summer League, giving up one run (on a solo homer) in 4 2/3 innings, while striking out seven and walking three.  He has a .167 batting average against.

Call him up!

Transactions, 6/29/2026

GOING

Released

Relief Pitchers

Mike Baumann

R/R DoB: 34952 High Level: MLB (2024)

Mike Baumann came to the Mets with four years of at the big-league level, which, you know, is good for him.  But the way he got there betrays so much of what is wrong with baseball roster building.  He spent three seasons with the Orioles, and then he fell into DFA hell in year four, getting cut and claimed, cut and claimed, cut and claimed, traded for cash, dropped, ironed, thrown in the pokey (that's probably just a rumor), and basically bounced around until his head spun off, ultimately spending 202r with five different teams, before getting released by Miami on the eve of the Rule V draft.

So the stability of a year in Japan should have been a relative relief.  You want to be in the big leagues, of course, but for players on the fringes the rising whale gets the harpoon, and five harpoons in 2025 was probably five too many.  (of course, whaling is still legal in Japan, and even there, he bounced between the majors and minors but stayed in one organization.

He sought to test himself again stateside, signing with the Mets, but threw only one inning in spring training, and after getting assigned to Syracuse, split the season between being hurt and ineffective.

His journey will probably go on.  He's been unsigned for two weeks, but fresh arms will be called on to fill holes after the flurry of trades that is to come.

Transactions, 7/2/2026

GOING

Released

Relief Pitchers

Adbert Alzolay

R/R DoB: 34759 High Level: MLB (2024)

One otherwise-rare maneuver the David Stearns-era Met have been fond of is the two-year minor-league contract.  You find a guy, often with MLB experience, that needs more time to pitch his way past an injury and/or surgery than a year can afford.  You suspect he will be attractive to teams next season, so you sign him this season, spend a year supervising his rehab, and hope it will pay off in year two.

It seems like a nice flanking maneuver on paper, but we can't think of a single case of this working for Stearns, and Adbert Alzolay, who spent six year on the Cubs' pitching staff, is the latest case of this continuing to not really work out

FUN FACT: It's not really fun per se, but Adbert made his MLB debut against the Mets, getting the win with four strong innings of relief.  You may remember this as The Walker Lockett Game.

Transactions, 7/7/2026

GOING
Designated for Assignment		Demoted to Syracuse
Relief Pitchers		Infielders
Alex Carrillo	Guillo Zuñiga	Ronny Mauricio
R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 36078 High Level: MLB (2026)	S/R DoB: 2001-04-04 High Level: MLB (2026)
COMING
Added to 40-Player Roster, Promoted from Syracuse, and Transferred from Rotation	Ended Rehab Assignment and Activated from Injured List
Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Matt Seelinger	Jorge Polanco
R/R DoB: 1995-04-19 High Level: AAA (2026)	S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2026)

Now we are starting to get busy.

Two guys are DFA'd for two different reasons.  It sucks to be Guillo Zuñiga, but he got DFA'd not through failure, but stupid policy that treats human beings as disposable.  He pitched in one game and pitched a successful shutout inning, but in the ever-crazy search for people to throw mop-up innings in an MLB baseball season that is all too often treated as one big mop-up job, that one inning somehow made him too useless to keep around on the roster the next day, and as a veteran without options, overboard he was thrown.

But here's the deal — HERE'S THE @#$%ING DEAL! — Guillo was in line to take home the win in his one Mets appearance, but he had it sucked away by weepingly bad outing by Devin Williams, who continues to be given high-leverage, ninth-inning work because it is more important for the organization to redeem a bad decision than to win games.

Alex Carrillo, on the other hand, simply got tossed because he had been on the roster all season long without a big-league appearance and the Mets needed that spot to activate Jorge Polanco.  Can you imagine how badly things have to be going for you to be on the 2026 Mets roster and not be given a chance to come up and pitch a garbage inning on some Tuesday night in the midst of a 12-game losing streak?

Matt Seelinger, Long Island native and eight-year minor league vet got the call to be fed to the sharks instead, and as you probably know by now, the sharks did what sharks do.

Transactions, 7/8/2026

GOING
Designated for Assignment	Added to 15-Day Injured List with Right Forearm Strain	Promoted from Syracuse and Transferred from Rotation
Relief Pitchers
Matt Seelinger	Austin Warren	Xzavion Curry
R/R DoB: 1995-04-19 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1996-02-05 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 36003 High Level: MLB (2026)
COMING
Promoted from Syracuse	Transferred from Binghamton to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment	Transferred from Syracuse to Binghamton on Rehab Assignment
Relief Pitchers		Outfielders
Tobias Myers	Dedniel Núñez	Luis Robert, Jr.
R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1996-06-05 High Level: MLB (2025)	R/R DoB: 1997-08-03 High Level: MLB (2026)

If you did sit through that lone Matt Seelinger appearance, you saw humanity at its best.  A dream that had been deferred for so long was in the guy's grasp, only to blow up in his face, and he not only stayed out there grinding as seven runners crossed the plate in a game that the Mets were winning, but he sucked it up and went out there for a second inning and knocked 30 runs off his ERA.

It was a completely unfair situation for him or anybody to make their MLB debut in — we are now treating a tie game in the seventh inning as mop-up work? — but whatever the Mets management is trying to do these days, winning the day does not appear to be one of them.

Xzavion Curry who we first met in "On a Double Word Score, That Would Be 72 Points," becomes the latest plug of cannon fodder in a war the Mets sure don't seem to be trying to win.  Austin Warren, who was viciously dragged in that Matt Seelinger game — doing far worse than Seelinger, in fact, is now reported as injured, and while a cynic may throw water on that report, it isn't too much to ask a team to diagnosis these things before five runs cross the plate without a single out being recorded.

Tobias Myers, who had been rock solid before the Mets decided to stretch him, at which point he became soft and squishy and has remained, is back, wondering when he got put on the Syracuse carousel.   Dedniel Núñez and Luis Robert, Jr. indefatigably work through their rehab, passionately trying to get back where they were, so they can be a part of ... this.

This! 

Transactions, 7/9/2026

GOING
Released	Demoted to Syracuse	Designated for Assignment
Relief Pitchers		Outfielders
Alex Carrillo	Tobias Myers	Jared Oliva
R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1995-11-27 High Level: MLB (2025)
COMING
Promoted from Syracuse	Cleared Waivers and Assigned to Syracuse
Relief Pitchers
Dan Hammer	Guillo Zuñiga
R/R DoB: 35683 High Level: AAA (2026)	R/R DoB: 36078 High Level: MLB (2026)

No, Alex Carrillo, it's not that the Mets just wanted your MLB roster spot when they DFA'd you.  They apparently wanted your AAA spot as well, and that's a helluva fall for a guy who gave them 4 2/3 ... well, really ineffective ... innings as the team began crashing and burning around this time last year.

Jared Oliva, we need your roster spot too, and we can't promise that you won't get the same fate as Alex.  Hitting .200 in the International League is on brand for 2026, but we have to pretend harder than that.

Myers, now a human yo-yo, is back down, Zuñiga survives waivers, and Dan Hammer gets a reward for his 1.77 ERA in Syracuse. 

Transactions, 7/10/2026

GOING		COMING
Designated for Assignment	Placed on 10-Day Injured List with Right Hand Fracture	Promoted from Syracuse	Added to 40-Player Roster and Promoted from Syracuse
Relief Pitchers	Infielders	Relief Pitchers	Infielders
Dan Hammer	Mark Vientos	Tobias Myers	Zack Short
R/R DoB: 35683 High Level: AAA (2026)	R/R DoB: 1993-12-11 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1995-05-29 High Level: MLB (2026)

Know what we hate?  We hate when a guy takes a pitch off his hand, it sounds terrible, it looks terrible, he's in agony, the trainer goes out, manipulates his hand, leaves him in the game to run the bases, only to have him removed a half inning later when the obviously fractured hand starts swelling up like a grapefruit and he ends up on the Injured List for a few months while it heels.

We realize benches are short these days and we frankly don't care.  Show some humanity and don't force Mark Vientos to run the bases with a fractured hand that amateurs like ourselves could diagnose through TV screens while watching from home.  God forbid the guy was compelled to slide and damaged his hand worse while remaining in the game.

There may be a prospect or two you were thinking you might get a look at in Vientos' stead.  You get Zack Short instead.  And because we're catching up here and you've already largely seen what went down, Short started all three games of the Boston series as Bo Bichette rested up for ... something ... went 0-for-6 with a walk, was replaced before the end of all three games, and joined the Mets in losing all three games, each of which was winnable.

In case you missed it.

Dan Hammer, meanwhile, gets sent packing with naught but a bullpen session as evidence of his Metliness.  It has all grown quite insane.

Transactions, 7/11/2026

GOING	COMING
Released	Cleared Waivers and Assigned to Syracuse
Outfielders	Relief Pitchers
Jared Oliva	Matt Seelinger
R/R DoB: 1995-11-27 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1995-04-19 High Level: AAA (2026)

Jared Oliva, your destiny has been sealed.  The Mets, though, perhaps appreciative of that second sackup inning Matt Seelinger gave them, spared him the same sad fate.

Oliva must be a hell of an outfielder, because that .418 career MLB OPS (and a modest .734 AAA mark) hasn't ended his career yet.

Transactions, 7/12/2026

GOING	COMING
Demoted to Syracuse	Promoted from Syracuse
Relief Pitchers	Starting Pitchers
Tobias Myers	Zach Thornton
R/R DoB: 1998-08-05 High Level: MLB (2026)	L/L DoB: 2002-01-17 High Level: MLB (2026)

And, finally, Tobias Myers gets bounced one more time so the Mets can return to lefthander Zach Thornton as they needed a starter, and stretching Tobias into one hasn't been working out.  But Thornton, who had only appeared two other times for the team, just couldn't get himself with the current program and instead pitched the game of his life.

Efficiently, too:

IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	HBP	Pit	Str
7.0	2	0	0	0	2	0	5	82	56

The Mets decided that they could have none of that, turned the game over to the bullpen.  Devin Williams, who really shouldn't have been in that situation to begin with, blew up the game in the ninth, with help from a Francisco Lindor who seems deeply unhappy despite driving in the Mets only two runs on the afternoon, and the 2026 Mets, who simply cannot get out of their own way, burned down their chance at joy.

But now you know how we got here, though the why is still a very open question.  Best wishes in the second half.

[Cowtipper]

#1 draftee Carson Wiggins has been signed.

Dedniel Nunez sent on rehab to FCL Mets. 

Dan Hammer outrighted to Syracuse.

Marcus Semien sent on rehab to Binghamton. 

[Cowtipper]

Marcus Semien is back! Zack Short DFA'd. 

[Cowtipper]

Clay Holmes sent on rehab to Brooklyn.

They signed some fella named Rafi Vazquez from Southern Maryland in the Atlantic League. THIS is the kind of guy you take a flyer on: 7-0, 1.01 ERA, 0.757 WHIP. 

Luis Robert sent on rehab to Syracuse. 

Mets sign Keegan O'Hearn and Sam Carlisle as an undrafted free agents.

 

[Cowtipper]

The Mets have signed the following draft picks. It looks like the holdout so far is Marcus Ward.

Aiden Robbins
Shane Sdao
Luke McNeillie
Alex Petrovic
Aiden Keenan
Landon Koenig
Ryan Tayman
Nate Isler
Kuhio Aloy
AJ Krodel
Jacob Madrid
Zach Crotchfelt
Dustin Hagens Jr.
Gavin Guidry
Cooper Dossett
John Smith III
Kooper Schulte

They signed the following as undrafted free agents: 

Danny Melendez
Jack Toomey
A.J. Colarusso
Dylan Carey
Carter Dierdorf
Jake Ogden 
Reed Stallman

Luis Robert has been activated.

Eric Wagaman has (finally) been optioned and Dedniel Nunez has been sent on rehab to Syracuse, Zack Short has been outrighted.

[Cowtipper]

The Mets have released minor leaguer Nick Rosselli for the second time this year. They first ditched him on April 1, then he signed with the Long Island Ducks, then they re-signed him on May 12, then they released him again today. He was their 11th round pick in 2024.

They've also optioned Xzavion Curry and recalled Daniel Duarte. 

 

 

 

[Edgy MD]

Draft Special!

Running a baseball team is not for the faint of heart, and as the Mets best-laid plans for 2026 blow up in their faces on a regular basis, and undeterred leadership team has executed a pretty unconventional, and seemingly high-risk draft strategy.

Transactions, 7/11/2026

COMING
Drafted as First-Round Selection (27th Overall) out of Arkansas	Drafted as Third-Round Selection (92nd Overall) out of Texas	Drafted as Fourth-Round Selection (120th Overall) out of Texas A&M
Relief Pitchers	Outfielders	Starting Pitchers
Carson Wiggins	Aiden Robbins	Shane Sdao
R/R DoB: 2005-06-01 High Level: Division I+ (2026)	R/R DoB: 2005-01-14 High Level: Division I+ (2026)	L/L DoB: 2003-09-29 High Level: Division I+ (2026)

The first thing you'll notice about the Mets 2026 amateur draft selections is that they went all in on pitchers.  In this day of massive pitcher attrition and increasingly shorter starter workloads, the old saw of "you can never have enough pitching" is truer than ever, but ... well, somebody has to play the field.  With fully 15 of their 19 draft picks, they went for hurlers. They probably intend to offset their appetite for arms by recruiting position players through the foreign amateur markets, or acquiring them through wheeling and dealing along the way.

A second thing you'll notice also starts off with #1 pick Carson Wiggins, and that's not just that the Mets have gone for pitching, but overwhelmingly relief pitching.  Historically, drafted players drafted players are at or near the top of their amateur team's starting rotations, and pro teams draft them with the hope that they can be that for them as well, and if that doesn't work, relief work is a workable fallback outcome.

Certainly, young Mr. Wiggins is not the first guy drafted in the first round as a reliever, and while converting a pitcher from relief to starting does happen (as in the case of Clay Holmes), it is still damned rare.

But the Mets looked past the bullpen assignment and the scant record (14 college innings), and instead saw the 102-mph fastball and pulled the trigger.  Given a chance to bet on records and established outcomes to date, the Mets instead bet on their scouting and development people and trust them to produce a weapon here.

Time will tell.  Cynics like my friend duan have suggested that there is no such thing as a relief prospect, and considering he made that remark after the Mets selected Eddie Kunz at the back end of Round One in 2007, he has a point.

Transactions, 7/12/2026

COMING
Drafted as Fifth-Round Selection (152d Overall) out of Florida	Drafted as Sixth-Round Selection (181st Overall) out of Auburn	Drafted as Seventh-Round Selection (210th Overall) out of Stanford	Drafted as Eighth-Round Selection (240th Overall) out of Mississippi
Relief Pitchers	Starting Pitchers		Relief Pitchers
Luke McNeillie	Alex Petrovic	Aidan Keenan	Landon Koenig
L/R DoB: 2005-03-17 High Level: Division I+ (2026)	R/R DoB: 2004-05-27 High Level: Division I+ (2026)	R/R DoB: 2005-03-07 High Level: Division I+ (2026)	R/R DoB: 2004-11-23 High Level: Division I+ (2026)
COMING
Drafted as Ninth-Round Selection (270th Overall) out of Cal Poly	Drafted as 10th-Round Selection (300th Overall) out of Dartmouth	Drafted as 11th-Round Selection (330th Overall) out of Arkansas	Drafted as 12th-Round Selection (360th Overall) out of UC Santa Barbara
Catchers	Starting Pitchers	Outfielders	Relief Pitchers
Ryan Tayman	Nate Isler	Kuhio Aloy	AJ Krodel
R/R DoB: 2005-08-26 High Level: Division I+ (2025)	R/R DoB: 2004-10-25 High Level: Division I (2026)	R/R DoB: 2005-07-13 High Level: Division I+ (2026)	R/R DoB: 2005-05-11 High Level: Division I (2026)
COMING
Drafted as 13th-Round Selection (370th Overall) out of Notre Dame HS (CA)	Drafted as 14th-Round Selection (420th Overall) out of Troy	Drafted as 15th-Round Selection (450th Overall) out of Missouri-St. Louis	Drafted as 16th-Round Selection (480th Overall) out of LSU
Catchers	Relief Pitchers
Jacob Madrid	Zach Crotchfelt	Dustin Hagens, Jr.	Gavin Guidry
R/R DoB: 2007-11-02 High Level: HS (2026)	L/L DoB: 2003-10-03 High Level: Division I+ (2024)	R/R DoB: 2005-01-05 High Level: Division II (2026)	R/R DoB: 2003-07-14 High Level: Division I+ (2026)
COMING
Drafted as 17th-Round Selection (510th Overall) out of Arkansas	Drafted as 18th-Round Selection (540th Overall) out of Kings Ridge Christian HS (GA)	Drafted as 19th-Round Selection (570th Overall) out of Central Florida	Drafted as 20th-Round Selection (600th Overall) out of Iowa
Relief Pitchers		Outfielders	Infielders
Cooper Dossett	Marcus Ward	John Smith III	Kooper Schulte
R/R DoB: 2004-04-10 High Level: Division I+ (2026)	L/L DoB: 2007-11-14 High Level: HS (2026)	R/R DoB: 2003-11-19 High Level: Division I (2026)	R/R DoB: 2003-12-08 High Level: Division I+ (2026)

A third thing you might notice about the Mets draft strategy is that they overwhelmingly (17 of 19 selections) went for college players.  College players have less leverage at the negotiating table, and are obviously on a faster track (or at least have access to a faster track) to the big leagues, but one may conclude it shows less faith in the organization's development team.  Or maybe a management team in charge of a team playing some terrible ball wants help as soon as they can get it.

They not only went for college players, but college players overwhelmingly from the top conferences (labeled Division I+) on the transaction tables.  Teams from the ACC, the SEC, The Big 10, and the Pac 12 don't always win the NCAA championship, but the week-by-week standard of play is markedly better than in the other 26 conferences in Division I.  The worst teams in these conferences are generally as good as or better than the top teams in the other conferences — and certainly deeper.  Back when the draft had 30, 40, or 50 rounds, virtually every eligible player — backup catchers and mop-up relievers included — had a good chance of hearing their name called by a big-league team before graduation.

The difference between these four conferences and the rest of Division I is probably bigger than the gap between Division I and Division II.  Fourteen of their 17 collegiate picks came out of these conferences.

Lastly, it's notable how many of these players are not here because of eye-popping stats.

Round	Player	Numbers
1	Carson Wiggins	3.21 ERA in only 14 innings
4	Shane Sdao	7.03 ERA in 71 innings
7	Aidan Keenan	5.82 ERA in 21 2/3 innings
8	Landon Koenig	6.35 ERA in 22 2/3 innings
10	Nate Isler	4.98 ERA in 65 innings
11	Kuhio Aloy	A respectable .838 OPS, but zero games in the field, with only five games in the field in his collegiate career, and a body type that says he is likely to be sticking at DH
12	AJ Krodel	5.66 ERA in 35 innings
16	Gavin Guidry	6.39 ERA in 43 2/3 innings
17	Cooper Dossett	6.88 ERA in 17 innings

Now, all of that comes with caveats:

• We've selected only the most incriminating cases, though there certainly seem to be a lot.
• These guys, as noted, have come out of the highest levels of NCAA competition.
• The NCAA, with the aluminum bat thing happening, plays toward the hitters and away from the pitchers.
• Amateur fielders behind you have a way of inflating ERAs.

There is no shame in trusting what your scouts say over what the numbers say.  The Mets too Bobby Parnell in the ninth round with a 9-ish ERA (if memory serves) out of a relatively obscure Charleston Southern program and made a triple-digit-throwing MLB closer out of him, so it's a defensible strategy — even one we might choose to defend if the Mets weren't currently eating up all of our good will on a nightly basis, but it is sure a strategy the went for seemingly round after round after round.

Much is to be revealed.  Marcus Ward, for instance, has been labeled as a pitcher in Mets reports, but pre-draft scouting reports have him as an outfield prospect, and only a few indifferently allude to his side hustle as a pitcher.  The Mets have added an Aiden and an Aidan, a Cooper and a Kooper.  It's hard to say the future is looking bright in an organization cruising toward last place with a massive payroll and no manager, but they have paused briefly in mid-summer and selected a man named Zach Crotchfelt.

Moments like that just makes the sun shine a little brighter.