Mets Roster Central: The Arroyo Boomerang

In between a handful of stray Met minor-leaguers being lovingly rehomed and sad demotion for Jonah Tong, a strange series of transactions befell Christian Arroyo.

Transactions, 5/5/2026

GOING

Signed away to Minor-League Contract by WAS

Relief Pitchers

Colby Frieda

R/R DoB: 37462 High Level: Division I+ (2024)

Colby Freida, who does not have naturally curly hair, had an ignominious start to his pro career.  He was signed by the Mets out of college as an undrafted free agent, but released at the end of spring training, without playing any actual regular-season games for the organization.  This is why the only thumbnail pic at left depicts him as a Troy University Trojan.  He also played for Kentucky, and frankly, I would have stuck with that, as that Troy hat insignia looks like the Tesla logo, which itself looks like an intrauterine device.

Anyhow, his starting off with a 10.50 ERA through six innings, as a 23-year-old playing against teenagers in the Florida Complex League, suggests the Mets may not have been particularly rash in letting him go, but we're glad to see him playing for pay.

Transactions, 5/12/2026

GOING

Signed away by Saltillo (Mexican League)

Relief Pitchers

Daniel Juarez

L/L DoB: 36797 High Level: AAA (2025)

Venezuelan-born infielder Daniel Juarez certainly seems like a natural for La Liga Mexicana de Béisbol. Unfortunately, the circuit has no team situated in Ciudad Juárez, but Daniel has done the next-best thing, settling in with a 1.42 ERA through his first 6 1/3 innings with Los Saraperos de Saltillo (who have a much cooler hat insignia than Troy U!).  Having been in the Mets system since 2019, topping out at AAA in 2025, he will almost certainly get another chance in affiliated ball.

Transactions, 5/16/2026

GOING

Signed away by Ciudád de México (Mexican League)

Relief Pitchers

Kevin Gowdy

R/R DoB: 35750 High Level: AAA (2025)

Kevin Gowdy, with his very jocky name, is a minor-league vet still looking for his first taste of The Show at 28.  He was within sniffing distance for a few years there, but was deeply ineffective — lotta walks, lotta hits — at Bingo this year, and so it's off to the Mexican capital to find himself.

And there are worse ways to live.

Transactions, 5/22/2026

GOING

Signed away to Minor-League Contract by KCR

Relief Pitchers

Luke Jackson

R/R DoB: 1991-08-24 High Level: MLB (2026)

It's been five teams in 10 years for veteran reliever Luke Jackson, and a few more at the minor-league level.  After his brief-and-abortive tenure with the Syracuse Mets, we are happy to see him take his career to a new employer, but fans of the Omaha Royals may be less happy as his struggles to remain afloat have continued apace.

He's got an MLB championship ring, though, and you don't.

Transactions, 6/1/2026

GOING	COMING
Released	Sent to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment
Infielders	Catchers
Christian Arroyo	Francisco Alvarez
R/R DoB: 1995-05-30 High Level: MLB (2023)	R/R DoB: 2001-11-01 High Level: MLB (2026)

Francisco Alvarez' capacity for rapid healing and torrid rehab assignments has now reached near-legendary status.  He has already gone 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI in his first start in Syracuse, while catching six innings and throwing out the only Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRider baserunner foolish enough to run on him.

If only he could turn that miracle-working ability toward keeping himself from over-swinging at the big-league level, he could grow into the MVP performer that Mets Roster Central knows he can be.

At any rate, don't grow too attached to Hayden Senger.

Christian Arroyo has been the most consistent hitter at Syracuse all season — hitting .300 with lots of MLB experience in a big market and all poised to be the guy that makes the Mets everybody's first call when they have an emergency at second base.  And that team may very well be the Mets themselves.

So why on earth would the Mets just up and release the guy?

Mets Roster Central notes that Arroyo got cut loose on the first of the month, which suggests that he had an upward-mobility clause in his contract, requiring the club to release him by a certain date (June 1 is a nice, round date) if he hasn't yet been promoted.  AAA guys with beaucoup big-league experience tend to get such clauses.

Transactions, 6/2/2026

COMING
Transferred from Binghamton to Syracuse on Rehab Assignment	Re-Signed and Assigned to Syracuse
Infielders
Jorge Polanco	Christian Arroyo
S/R DoB: 1999-11-13 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1995-05-30 High Level: MLB (2023)

And there you have it!  The cat came back the very next day!  After less than 24 hours of free agency, Arroyo is back with Syracuse, and we suspect he never left the club at all. 

Perhaps he is back with a modest salary bump, and perhaps he has a further promote-me-or-release-me clause set to trigger in another month, but back he is, hopefully continuing to hit .300 and not putting voodoo pins into a Marcus Semien doll.

Jorge Polanco has gone from Binghamton to Syracuse on his personal rehab journey, and along the way, has played all of three innings in the field, and number that is not expected to grow propitiously in the coming weeks (or even months) as his struggle with Achilles tendonitis continues.  Thanks to Commissioner Manfred, however, playing the field is not a requirement for being a New York Met, so he is expected to return in the near future.  But as the former middle infielder was always going to be hardpressed to provide enough offense to justify his deployment at first, whether a wounded-stem version of him can provide the stick to be the Mets DH is certainly an open question.

He won't likely take any particular job away, but as a switch-hitter, rather scrape appearances in different measures away from Jared Young, MJ Melendez, Eric Wagaman, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos, but unless another injury clears a path for his activation, we can expect Waggy to be the guy who loses his roster spot.

Transactions, 6/2/2026

GOING		NEUTRAL	COMING
Demoted to Syracuse	Transferred from Bullpen	Promoted from Syracuse	Signed as International Amateur Free Agent out of Venezuela, Assigned to DSL Orange
Relief Pitcher	Starting Pitchers	Relief Pitchers
Jonah Tong	Sean Manaea	Joey Gerber	Wraniger Navas
R/R DoB: 2003-06-19 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/L DoB: 1992-02-01 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 1997-05-03 High Level: MLB (2026)	R/R DoB: 2008-01-19 High Level: Academy (2026)

Mets Roster Central was actually impressed with Jonah Tong's recent outing against Seattle, and was disappointed to see him exiled back to Syracuse for further seasoning.  His stuff was certainly big league with several of his offerings qualifying as out pitches, but clearly his faith was not as strong in his stuff as ours is, as he spent much of the evening nibbling around the edges, and lost too many to walks.

We retain faith that he has a weaponized future.

Who gets his slot in the "rotation" (such as it is, with all the opening an piggy-backing going on) is not a matter that has yet been publicly decided, but Sean Manea has certainly moved himself to the front of the conversation with his long relief work in recent weeks, so we are going to plant him there for now until we hear more.

Please welcome back the cute-assed dimples of Joey Gerber.  Joey has been far more successful in the majors than in the minors this month, but if you're going to have a disparity, that's the way to have it.

And if Manea isn't the answer, we keep looking down that depth chart, and if we go 200 or so steps down, we meet a new Venezuelan teenager with the rocking name of Wranager Navas,  A novice he may be for now, but may the Metly circle of life ever continue.

See you in San Diego!

Your 2026 New York Mets

	Starting Pitchers
	Sean Manaea	Nolan McLean	Freddy Peralta	David Peterson	Christian Scott
	R/L DoB: 1992-02-01	R/R DoB: 2001-07-24	R/R DoB: 2996-06-04	L/L DoB: 1995-09-03	R/R DoB: 1999-06-15
Relief Pitchers
Huascar Brazobán	Joey Gerber	A.J. Minter	Cionel Pérez	Brooks Raley	Austin Warren	Luke Weaver
R/R DoB: 1989-10-15	R/R DoB: 1997-05-03	L/L DoB: 1993-09-02	R/L DoB: 35176	L/L DoB: 1988-06-29	R/R DoB: 1996-02-05	R/R DoB: 1993-08-21
Relief Pitchers	Catchers		Infielders
Devin Williams	Hayden Senger	Luís Torrens	Bo Bichette	Brett Baty	Vidal Brujan	Marcus Semien
R/R DoB: 1994-09-21	R/R DoB: 1997-04-03	R/R DoB: 1996-05-02	R/R DoB: 1998-03-05	L/R DoB: 1999-11-13	S/R DoB: 1998-02-09	R/R DoB: 1990-09-17
Infielders		Outfielders
Mark Vientos	Eric Wagaman	Carson Benge	A.J. Ewing	MJ Melendez	Juan Soto	Jared Young
R/R DoB: 1993-12-11	R/R DoB: 1997-08-14	L/R DoB: 2003-01-20	L/R DoB: 2004-08-10	L/R DoB: 1993-11-29	L/L DoB: 1998-10-25	L/R DoB: 1995-07-09

Also on 40-Player Roster

Starting Pitchers					Relief Pitchers
					#NAME?
Clay Holmes	Tylor Megill	Kodai Senga	Zach Thornton	Jonah Tong	Alex Carrillo	Daniel Duarte
R/R DoB: 1993-03-27	R/R DoB: 1995-07-28	L/R DoB: 1993-01-30	L/L DoB: 2002-01-17	R/R DoB: 2003-06-19	R/R DoB: 1997-06-06	R/R DoB: 1996-12-04
Relief Pitchers						Catchers
Reed Garrett	Justin Hagenman	Tobias Myers	Dedniel Núñez	Jonathan Pintaro	Dylan Ross	Francisco Alvarez
R/R DoB: 1993-01-02	R/R DoB: 1996-10-07	R/R DoB: 1998-08-05	R/R DoB: 1996-06-05	R/R DoB: 1997-11-07	R/R DoB: 2000-09-01	R/R DoB: 2001-11-01
Infielders			Outfielders
Francisco Lindor	Ronny Mauricio	Jorge Polanco	Nick Morabito	Luis Robert, Jr.	Tyrone Taylor
S/R DoB: 1993-11-14	S/R DoB: 2001-04-04	S/R DoB: 1999-11-13	R/R DoB: 2003-05-07	R/R DoB: 1997-08-03	R/R DoB: 1994-01-22

Designated for Assignment

Relief Pitchers

"Anderson Severino "

L/L DoB: 1994-09-17

Your Mets Coaching Staff

Manager	Bench Coach	Pitching Coach	Hitting Coordinator	Third Base Coach	First Base Coach	Bullpen Coach	Ass't Pitching Coach
Carlos Mendoza	Kai Correa	Justin Willard	Jeff Albert	Tim Leiper	Gilbert Gomez	José Rosado	Dan McKinney
DoB: 1979-11-27	DoB: 1989-07-14	DoB: 1990-09-09	DoB: 1992-08-16	DoB: 1996-07-19	DoB: 1992-03-08	DoB: 1974-11-09	DoB: 1989-06-06
Hitting Coach	Strategy Coach	Catching Coach	Coaching Assistant	Bat'g Practice Pitcher	Equipment Manager	Bullpen Catchers	Bullpen Catchers
Troy Snitker	Danny Barnes	J.P. Arencibia	Rafael Fernandez	Kevin Mahoney	Kevin Kierst	Eric Langill	Dave Racaniello
DoB: 1988-12-05	DoB: 1989-10021	DoB: 1986-01-05	DoB: 1988-08-03	DoB: 1987-05-11	DoB: 1964-07-09	DoB: 1979-04-09	DoB: 1978-06-03

Your Mets Training Staff

Director of Player Health	Head Athletic Trainer	Assistant Athletic Trainer	Reconditioning Coordinator	Reconditioning Therapist	Head Performance Coach	Assistant Performance Coach	Performance Coordinator	Soft Tissue Specialist
Brian Chicklo	Joseph Golia	Bryan Baca	Sean Bardanett	Josh Bickel	Dustin Clarke	Tanner Miracle	Jeremy Chiang	Hiroto Kawamura
DoB: 1972-07-17	DoB: 1978-??-??	DoB: Circa 1980	DoB: 1988-06-23	DoB: 1996-??-??	DoB: 1987-??-??	DoB: 1991-??-??	DoB: ????-??-??	DoB: 1962-07-19