Mets Roster Central: The Summer We Said Goodbye

As we prepare to regroup for the arrival of new faces at the major- and minor-league levels, hoping to propel the 2027 Mets forward, we are compelled to note that some around us have excused themselves from the table this summer without much notice, even (initially) among Mets Roster Central staff themselves.

But oh, what we have missed!  Carlos Mendoza's most fateful moment, the particle physicist employed by a major-league team, and more!

Transactions, 7/3/2026

GOING

Signed away by Monclava (Mexican League)

Relief Pitchers

Robinson Martinez

R/R DoB: 1998-03-20 High Level: AA (2025)

Robinson Martinez had been a fugitive from the Baltimore, Miami, and Philadelphia systems when the Mets spotted him in Dominican Summer League, liked what they saw, and signed him to a minor-league deal back in December, but there must've been a health issue, because they released him on April 1 without getting into a single Spring Training game.

It took until July for him to find a new home, getting into 16 games with Los Acereros de Monclava.  He's already made his first appearance back with Escogido, the same Dominican Winter League team he was with last season, hoping another version of the Mets will spot him anew.

Transactions, 7/14/2026

GOING

Signed away to Minor-League Contract by SFG

Relief Pitchers

Alex Carrillo

R/R DoB: 1997-06-06 High Level: MLB (2025)

Alex Carrillo — two R's, two L's — made three appearances for the Mets in 2025, and two were bad and the third was terrible.  In fact, it is not too much to say that third appearance was the most eventful and indicting of Carlos Mendoza's career as Mets manager.

The Mets found themselves up 2-1 over Cincinnati that July 18 evening at home.  It was the end of four, and Sean Manaea had been cruising.  But Manaea had been on a workload restriction as he worked back from oblique and elbow injuries.

That's too bad.  One can generally say that MLB managers baby pitchers in such situations, trying to preserve them for future situations that will perhaps never be as high leverage as the moment they are in, but we weren't there.  We did not know the fullness of Manaea's vulnerability to reinjury.  In retrospect, seeing how long it eventually took for Manaea to return to full effectiveness, one can give him a pass on the hooking.

BUT ... this was the first game back from the All-Star Break.  If the Mets had to get five innings holding a lead from their bullpen, this was the day to do it.  But with this slender lead, Mendoza did not turn to Brooks Raley.  Nor did he reach out to Brandon Waddell.  Going to Edwin Díaz that early was right out, but one might guess veterans like Reed Garrett, Max Kranick, and Kevin Herget were all chomping at the bit when the phone rang.  As, we hope, were José Buttó and Dedniel Núñez — young, but beautiful, throwing effectively, and well rested.

But Mendoza thought ... something, and decided to go to Carillo first.  Carillo, again, had appeared in two previous games and yielded runs in both.  Whatever greater good Mendoza was willing to sacrifice this moment for, sacrifice it he did, as the game blew up in his face over the course of Carillo's 1 1/3 innings, in which he gave up five runs on two walks and three hits — all three of which left the yard, lest you think those runs scored after he left the game.

We're not here to bury Carillo.  Young pitchers are a risky bet, and he didn't put himself in the game.  But the Mets would lose, 8-4. and finish the season tied with these very same Cincinnati Reds, losing the playoff berth to them based on winning the seasons series, making this decision easily the most fateful of Carlos Mendoza's Met tenure.

You don't like to make so much of one moment, but Carillo has yet to appear in the majors since, and Mendoza's career marches on.

Transactions, 7/16/2026

GOING

Signed away to Minor-League Contract by STL

Relief Pitchers

Rayner Reyes

R/R DoB: 2005-10-20 High Level: DSL (2026)

Rayner Reyes has a cool name.  It means "Counselor of Kings," or the like, but he didn't last long enough with the Mets, sadly, to acquire a face.  He threw 18 innings in the DSL and walked 16 batters.  While that be the place to work out your kinks, the Mets felt they had seen enough and let him go at the start of Spring Training.

Signed mid-season by St. Louis, the Cardinals either found a him to be a new man, or molded him into one, because he threw 9 2/3 innings for the Cards and only walked one guy — a guy with a .400 OBP.

Be patient and thoughtful, Mets!

Transactions, 7/17/2026

GOING

Signed away by Tijuana (Mexican League)

Relief Pitchers

Adbert Alzolay

R/R DoB: 2995-03-01 High Level: MLB (2024)

Adbert Alzolay was actually a case of the Mets trying to be patient.  The team signed the six-year Cubs veteran to a two-year minor-league contract to allow him to rehabilitate from UCL surgery under their watch without a threat of him jumping to a new team once he was ready.

Adbert, though never became ready, flaming out over 14 2/3 minor league innings this summer.  The Mets have done at least one of these creative every year for several years running — either signing guys injured drawing interest from other teams to two-year minor-league deals, or signing minor-league free agents to MLB contracts despite no MLB experience.

These are exciting flanking maneuvers to watch your team make, and they are the kind you keep your eye on, because if they work out, they can change how teams do business.

But none, so far, have worked out.

Transactions, 7/20/2026

GOING

Signed away by Ottawa (Frontier League)

Relief Pitchers

Jamdrick Cornelia

L/L DoB: 2005-11-17 High Level: DSL (2024)

Rooting we certainly were for young Jamdrick Cornelia, partly because it's always nice to see players coming from somewhere beyond the usual places (noting that Curaçao isn't that off the map, as far as baseball players go), partly because Curaçaoan players always give us an opportunity to type a cedilla, and party because he was signed three an a half years ago, but we still haven't been able to find a photo except the one at left, in which he looks like a second-grader who will need to throws to propel the ball the full 60 feet 6 inches to the plate.

Alas, Jammy — despite a 2.97 ERA over (small) parts of three seasons — hadn't pitched since 2025 when the Ottawa Titans signed him, and despite going unscored upon in three appearances, he found himself sent packing by them as well, after getting caught up in roster crunch.

Transactions, 7/28/2026

GOING

Signed away by Gastonia (Atlantic League)

Relief Pitchers

Tyler Burch

R/R DoB: 1997-09-02 High Level: MLB (2024)

Idaho native Tyler Burch never saw the field at all for the Mets at any level as the former Phillies/Orioles prospect spent the first half of the season on the Injured List with Binghamton.  Hopefully his 14 1/3 innings of Atlantic League action went some ways to getting his career back on track.

I'm pretty sure he's completely difficult guy from Tyler Burch, the particle physicist working for the Red Sox, but ... holy crap!  There's a particle physicist working for the Boston Red Sox!! 

Transactions, 8/4/2026

GOING

Signed away by Monterrey (Mexican League)

Infielders

Yonny Hernandez

S/R DoB: 1998-05-04 High Level: MLB (2023)

Yonny Hernandez hasn't tasted a major-league sunflower seed since 2023, but those seeds are so good, and so Yonny soldiers on, alternately working the grind and lying in wait for his next taste.  Along the way, he gave the Syracuse version of the Mets some of his best baseball, slashng at .305 / .394 / .385 // .779 for the team's top farm club while spitting time between second and third with a few cameos at short.

Sadly for Yonny, the opportunities that arose in the Mets infield this summer were for shortstops and firstbasemen, and he carried on with that near-.400 OBP while the likes of Gabriel Arias, Andy Ibáñez, Ronny Mauricio, Christopher Morel, Zack Short, Eric Wagaman, and Jared Young got calls Yonny did not get.

Most of those selections were defensible, but don't tell that to Yonny.

Fun Yonny Hernandez facts include his tearing up the Atlantic League in 2024 with a .325 batting average for the Long Island Ducks, and that he shares his name with a Colombian motorcyclist who has been tearing up the pavement with the MotoGP World Championship, among other biking circuits, since 2010. 

Transactions, 8/12/2026

COMING

Unretired and Activated from Voluntarily Retired List

Relief Pitchers

Brett Banks

L/R DoB: 2001-10-03 High Level: Brooklyn (2026)

Not everybody in these transactions are here because they quietly left the organization.  Some are here because they quietly came back.  Consider Brett Banks.  Brett, the 2023 11th-round pick out of UNC-Wilmington mysteriously retired after three appearances in 2026.  There was no reported injury and no apparent regression — just a guy hanging 'em up.

But hey, sometimes life doesn't cooperate with your career, and you have to walk away.  But the Mets kept him on the reserve list, and come mid-August, Brett decided to go back into the salt mines of St. Lucie.  He initially didn't prosper, which is to be expected coming back after time away from training, but he finished strong with 4 1/3 scoreless innings following a promotion to Brooklyn.

Mets Roster Central will reach out to the Mets and to Brett and try to get more to the story, and we hope everything is going well for the young Metling.

Transactions, 8/19/2026

GOING

Signed away by CHC to Minor-League Contract

Infielders

Jackson Cluff

L/R DoB: 1996-12-03 High Level: AAA (2026)

Jackson Cluff joins Yonny Hernandez in the club of AAA infielders who couldn't get a tumble with the big club in 2026, even as Zack Short (Zack Short!) somehow started three games for The Queensmen.  Unlike Yonny, who didn't get the call because he hadn't been playing shortstop, Jackson was just in the midst of a really terrible season going .169 / .289 / .309 // .598 in 216 plate appearances for Dick Scott in Syracuse.

A week after the Mets let him go, the playoff bound Cubs picked him up.  You need emergency depth down the stretch, or perhaps guys to play as you rest your regulars, and the Chicago scouts presumably told the team he wasn't as bad as he had played.

Jackson proceded to go .169 / .289 / .309 // .598 in 68 more trips for the Iowa Cubs, and those scouts are all, "Well, yeah, but we also told you about Pete Crow-Armstrong, so ... !"

Transactions, 8/19/2026

GOING

Signed away by York (Atlantic League)

Relief Pitchers

Jordan Geber

R/R DoB: 1999-07-31 High Level: AAA (2026)

Back in Spring Training, the Mets had Joey Gerber and Jordan Geber.  They were giving serious looks to both players and OH! the laughs we had!  Two guys with similar names!  Both funny names!

Joey, acquired for cash from the Rays before the 2025 season, pitched well enough to get into seven games with the big club before being released in August.  And while you may ask "Who didn't?" well, Jordan Geber didn't, spending most of the season with Binghamton, and cameoing with Syracuse before being released on August 3.

He was released, in fact, exactly one day after Joey Gerber, leading Mets Roster Central to strongly suspect someone in administration, confused the two, looked up and said, "Didn't we release that guy?" and released the other one, just to make sure.

Transactions, 10/15/2026

GOING	GOING	GOING
Signed away by PHI to Be Third-Base Coach and Infield Instructor	Opted for Free Agency	Opted for Free Agency
Manager	Infielders	Outfielders
Carlos Mendoza	Vidal Brujan	MJ Melendez
S/R DoB: 1979-11-27 High Level: MLB (2026)	S/R DoB: 1998-02-09 High Level: MLB (2026)	L/R DoB: 1993-11-29 High Level: MLB (2026)

No more looking back (for now), as these transactions bring us up to the current moment.  Vidal Bruján joined the 2026 Mets for nine appearances, but about 1,670% of his value can be found in a single game — way back on May 11.  The Mets were tied with Washington at six apiece in the 11th.  Mark Vientos had gone oh-for-five, but he was the magic runner that opened the top of the inning for the Mets, and Vidal was sent in to run for him.  The Mets had blown a late two-run lead, had had trouble advancing guys in scoring position, so who knows where things are going, but you don't want Vientos out there as the tying run.

Brett Baty lined one to center, giving Broojie a chance to advance to third, which he did, and then Marcus Semien lofted a fly down the left-field line, giving Vidal a chance to score, which he did.  Neither was superheroic, but neither would have been likely with Vientos out there!

Big whoop, right!  He did what any pinch-runner would be expected to do, but ... here's the thing — the game wasn't over.

VB stays in the game to play short, moving Bo Bichette to third, and Baty to first, improving the Mets D at all three positions.  The Nats score their magic runner in their half of the inning, despite Brujan getting an assist and a putout, and the Mets come up again in the 12.

These sorts of wars of attrition come too rarely these days, and you didn't want to see the Mets blow this. The 2026 Nats bullpen has not yet established themselves as the legendary unit they would be by the end of the year, but they are the 2026 Nats bullpen.

Hayden Senger (Hayden Senger?!) comes up, and everybody in the park knows he's bunting.  But still, he gets it down and advances magic runner mystic sprinter Tyrone Taylor to third.  And Carson Benge plates him with an infield hit.  A cheap way to get the lead back, but the lead is back.  In extra innings, with the free runner everywhere, however, a one-run lead is not enough.  We know this.

So, Bo Bichette singles up the middle, and the Nats walk the hell out of Juan Soto to bring up Vidal Brujan!  It's one of the easiest decisions of Blake Butera's season as Nats manager.  Vidal certainly wasn't in the game for this situation, but this is the one he found himself in. 

And then he did this:

RBI bunt single!  Gutsy as hell!  Popping it up in the air could have led to a double-play, but ... coulda but didn't!

And from there, the floodgates opened.  Game over.  That bunt broke the Nats pen for good, possibly for the season.  The Mets would put up a total of 10 runs before the inning was out, the most profligate extra inning in the team's long history, but Vidal's RBI was the biggest and bestest.

We will have far less trouble recalling MJ Melendez.  In between Mike Tauchman going down in Spring Training and Jared Young returning from meniscus surgery in late May, Melendez was their designated lefty firstbaseman/corner outfield type, and for a while, looked kind of like he can be a guy.  As the Mets' lineup floundered early in the season, he prospered a little, starting 56 games and regularly appearing in the third, fourth, and fifth spots in the lineup.  But as continued exposure dimmed his star, it only augmented Young's and when it came down to a choice between the two, it wasn't a hard one.

MJ had the good sense, to have perhaps his strongest game in his Mets debut, doubling twice off of Shohei Ohtani, who we hear can be a tough assignment.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza moves on to Philadelphia, despite the Alex Carillo Fiasco noted above.  Apart from him being exactly as maddening as the current model of asset-management manager is, we have fond memories of him, and wish him as much luck as possible without crossing with the good fortunes of his now-former team.

That catches you up.  We hope it was the thrilling trip for you that it was for Mets Roster Central.  We hope our future updates can be shorter.  Because believe it or not, here at MRC, we respect your time!

Your Projected 2027 New York Mets

	Starting Pitchers
	Sean Manaea	Nolan McLean	Christian Scott	Zach Thornton	Jonah Tong
	R/L DoB: 1992-02-01	R/R DoB: 2001-07-24	R/R DoB: 1999-06-15	L/L DoB: 2002-01-17	R/R DoB: 2003-06-19
Relief Pitchers
Chayce McDermott	Tobias Myers	Cionel Pérez	Kodai Senga	Robert Stock	Austin Warren	Devin Williams
L/R DoB: 1998-08-22	R/R DoB: 1998-08-05	R/L DoB: 1996-04-21	L/R DoB: 1993-01-30	L/R DoB: 1989-11-21	R/R DoB: 1996-02-05	R/R DoB: 1994-09-21
Relief Pitchers	Catchers		Infielders
Jefry Yan	Francisco Alvarez	Luís Torrens	Bo Bichette	Francisco Lindor	Ronny Mauricio	Jorge Polanco
L/L DoB: 1996-08-17	R/R DoB: 2001-11-01	R/R DoB: 1996-05-02	R/R DoB: 1998-03-05	S/R DoB: 1993-11-14	S/R DoB: 2001-04-04	S/R DoB: 1999-11-13
Infielders			Outfielders
Marcus Semien	Mark Vientos	Jared Young	Brett Baty	Carson Benge	A.J. Ewing	Juan Soto
R/R DoB: 1990-09-17	R/R DoB: 1993-12-11	L/R DoB: 1995-07-09	L/R DoB: 1999-11-13	L/R DoB: 2003-01-20	L/R DoB: 2004-08-10	L/L DoB: 1998-10-25

Also on 40-Player Roster

Starting Pitchers	Relief Pitchers
Tylor Megill	Philip Abner	Daniel Duarte	Reed Garrett	Justin Hagenman	Nathan Lavender	Dedniel Núñez	Jonathan Pintaro	Dylan Ross
R/R DoB: 1995-07-28	L/L DoB: 2002-05-04	R/R DoB: 1996-12-04	R/R DoB: 1993-01-02	R/R DoB: 1996-10-07	L/L DoB: 2000-01-20	R/R DoB: 1996-06-05	R/R DoB: 1997-11-07	R/R DoB: 2000-09-01
Relief Pitchers		Catchers	Infielders			Outfielders
Jack Weisen- berger	Cameron Weston	Hayden Senger	Christian Cairo	Christopher Morel	Eric Wagaman	Nick Morabito	Cristian Pache
R/R DoB: 1997-10-08	R/R DoB: 2000-08-27	R/R DoB: 1997-04-03	R/R DoB: 2001-06-11	R/R DoB: 1999-06-24	R/R DoB: 1997-08-14	R/R DoB: 2003-05-07	R/R DoB: 2020-08-21

Your Projected Mets Coaching Staff

Manager	Bench Coach	Pitching Coach	Hitting Coord.	Third Base Coach	First Base Coach	Bullpen Coach	Ass't Pitch. Coach
Andy Green	Kai Correa	Justin Willard	Troy Snitker	Tim Leiper	Gilbert Gomez	José Rosado	Dan McKinney
DoB: 1977-07-07	DoB: 1989-07-14	DoB: 1990-09-09	DoB: 1988-12-05	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 Pract. Pitcher	Equip. Manager	Bullpen Catchers	Bullpen Catchers
Nate Irving	Tucker Frawley	J.P. Arencibia	Rafael Fernandez	Jonathon Cramman	Kevin Kierst	Eric Langill	Dave Racaniello
DoB: 33894	DoB: 1984-05-08	DoB: 1986-01-05	DoB: 1988-08-03	DoB: 1991-03-23	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	Recond. Coordinator	Recond. 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

2026-2027 MLB Free Agents

Hitting Coord.	Strategy Coach	Bat'g Pract. Pitcher	Relief Pitchers
Jeff Albert	Danny Barnes	Kevin Mahoney	Joey Gerber
DoB: 1992-08-16	DoB: 1989-10021	DoB: 1987-05-11	DoB: 1997-05-03

2026-2027 Minor-League Free Agents

Starting Pitchers					Relief Pitchers
Eris Albino	Dalton Mall	Matteo Morelli	Christopher Rochin	Omar Victorino	Luis Alvarez	Jesüs Anton	Mike Baumann	Yoralbert Cadíz	Joe Charles
R/R DoB: 2004-02-24	R/R DoB: 1999-08-27	R/R DoB: 2006-02-27	R/R DoB: 2006-09-18	R/R DoB: 2005-06-09	R/R DoB: 2003-05-05	R/R DoB: 2006-02-17	R/R DoB: 1995-09-10	R/R DoB: 2004-10-24	R/R DoB: 2000-04-05
Relief Pitchers
Colton Cosper	Anthony Crespo	Chris Devenski	Franyel Diaz	Kevin Herget	Joe Jacques	Wilson Lopez	Yoelvis Martinez	Trey McGough	Pablo Medina
L/L DoB: 2002-09-08	R/R DoB: 2004-05-04	R/R DoB: 1990-11-13	R/R DoB: 2004-12-18	L/R DoB: 1991-04-03	L/L DoB: 34769	R/R DoB: 2002-07-15	R/R DoB: 2006-06-21	L/L DoB: 1998-03-29	L/L DoB: 2006-10-12
Relief Pitchers							Catchers
Jahzeel Montas	Layonel Ovalles	Anthony Reynoso	Jun-Seok Shim	Jermayne Verdu	Deivy Victora	Brandon Waddell	José Aular	Austin Barnes	Julian Hernandez
R/R DoB: 2005-01-06	R/R DoB: 2003-06-16	L/L DoB: 39102	R/R DoB: 2004-04-09	?/R DoB: 2006-07-27	R/R DoB: 2005-08-14	L/L DoB: 1994-06-03	R/R DoB: 2004-01-02	R/R DoB: 1989-12-28	R/R DoB: 2005-09-24
Catchers	Infielders
Daniel Silva	Christian Arroyo	TT Bowens	Vidal Brujan	Taylor Darden	Jefrey De Los Santos	Alexander Eneas	Cole Fowler	Grae Kessinger	Leandy Mella
S/R DoB: 2005-01-12	R/R DoB: 1995-05-30	R/R DoB: 1998-05-27	S/R DoB: 1998-02-09	R/R DoB: 2000-01-16	R/R DoB: 2003-05-30	R/R DoB: 2007-09-12	L/R DoB: 2002-12-10	R/R DoB: 1997-08-25	L/R DoB: 2007-02-24
Infielders
Diego Mosquera	Sam Robertson	José Rojas	Nick Roselli	Dangelo Sarmiento	JT Schwartz	Zack Short	Kevin Villavin- cencio	Trace Willhoite	Wyatt Young
L/R DoB: 2005-05-14	R/R DoB: 2004-07-17	L/R DoB: 1993-02-24	L/R DoB: 2003-03-31	R/R DoB: 38356	L/R DoB: 1999-12-17	R/R DoB: 1995-05-29	R/R DoB: 2003-11-24	R/R DoB: 2000-11-17	L/R DoB: 1999-12-05
Outfielders
Haniel German	Simon Juan	MJ Melendez	Adolfo Miranda	Jared Oliva	Jaylen Palmer	Jeffry Rosa	Matt Rudick	AJ Salgado	Mike Tauchman
R/R DoB: 2005-12-05	R/R DoB: 2005-07-13	L/R DoB: 1993-11-29	R/R DoB: 2006-10-04	R/R DoB: 1995-11-27	R/R DoB: 2007-07-31	R/R DoB: 2004-09-11	L/L DoB: 1998-07-02	L/R DoB: 2001-09-16	L/L DoB: 1990-12-03

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