Mets to sign AJ Minter

Mets sign left-hander AJ Minterreports Andy Martino of SNY. The terms of the deal, pending a physical, are worth $22MM over two years, per Joel Sherman of The New York Post. The Bledsoe Agency client can unsubscribe after the first year, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Mets have vacancies and do not need to make a corresponding move.

Minter, 31, has been a strong performer in recent years. However, there is at least some uncertainty due to his health. He went on the injured list twice in 2024 due to left hip inflammation and eventually had surgery in August.

It’s unclear exactly when Minter will be fully healthy again, but the surgery doesn’t appear to have hurt his market. He has been linked to the Blue Jays, Cubs, Rangers and Red Sox over the past few months and now has a strong pact with the Mets. Perhaps that suggests clubs aren’t too concerned about his recovery from the hip procedure affecting him in 2025.

Just looking at Minter’s results, the robust interest makes sense. From 2020 to 2024, the lefty made 267 relief appearances, allowing 2.85 earned runs per inning. nine innings. He struck out 30.1% of batters faced while limiting walks to a 7.8% clip. He was a key relief arm for Atlanta, who allowed him to earn 16 saves and 92 tackles in that span. Even while going through the hip issues in 2024, he managed to throw 34 1/3 innings with a 2.62 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate.

Despite the hip surgery, it was reasonable to expect Minter to be one of the most popular relief arms on the market this winter. MLBTR projected him for a two-year, $16MM deal, but nearly every pitcher has earned their projections this winter, with Minter no exception. He gets a $22MM guarantee and also an opt-out, meaning he will have the option to become a free agent again next winter if he shows his health and has a strong season.

The Mets are a sensible landing spot for Minter as their bullpen is in a state of flux. At the end of the 2024 season, they saw Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek, Drew Smith and Phil Maton become free agents.

The club also entered the winter particularly short-handed in terms of left-handed relief. Raley was one such member of the 2024 club, although he underwent Tommy John surgery in late May, long before he became a free agent. Jake Diekman was released during the season. Josh Walker was traded around the same time. Alex Young was not tendered at the end of the year.

All that left the Mets with Danny Young as their only southpaw reliever on the roster, so an addition made good sense. They signed Genesis Cabrera to a minor league and has been linked to free agents such as Tanner Scott and Tim Hill. Signing either Scott or Hill could still be an option, but the lefty contingent of the Mets bullpen now looks much stronger with Minter in it. Sore Mike Puma of The New York Postis unlikely the Mets will continue to pursue Scott with Minter now on board.

For the Mets, this might be another step away from their relationship with Pete Alonso. As recently as yesterday morning, it looked like the Mets and Alonso were going to work something out. But reporting as of yesterday afternoon indicates that the Mets did not want to have a prolonged staredown with Alonso. Having other players on their radar, they instead planned to go ahead and spread money around to different players. In the past 24 hours, they have agreed new agreements with Jesse Winker and now Minter.

The deal with Minter pushed the club’s salary and competition tax figures to $297MM and $293MM, respectively, in the eyes of RosterResource. Last year those numbers were $336MM and $346MM. If they are willing to get to similar levels in 2025, they still have plenty of room to work with. That could be enough cap space to bring Alonso back, but the Mets could also look to make additional bullpen upgrades.

They are already between the third and fourth levels of CBT, which is $281MM and $301MM this year. As a third-time payer, they will face a 95% tax on more money they put up to the fourth line, and a 110% rate on spending beyond that. Since Steve Cohen became the owner of the team, the tax has never really seemed to be any kind of obstacle for the Mets.