The Mets announced that they have reinstated left-hander A.J. Minter from the 60-day injured list. Additionally, infielder/outfielder Jared Young has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and infielder Eric Wagaman has been selected to the roster. In corresponding active roster moves, outfielder Tyrone Taylor has been placed on the 10-day IL with a right hip flexor strain, while right-hander Jonathan Pintaro and outfielder Nick Morabito have been optioned. In terms of 40-man spots for Minter and Wagaman, the Mets had one vacancy. They said a corresponding move to open another spot will be announced prior to game time. Tim Britton and Will Sammon of Athletic reported most of these moves prior to the official announcement.
Minter and the Mets agreed to a two-year, $22MM deal going into the 2025 season. They haven’t been able to get much return on that investment yet. Minter tossed 11 innings last year before a lat strain sent him to the IL and ultimately required season-ending surgery. Here in 2026, he and the Mets started his spring ramp-up a bit behind the other pitchers. He started the season on IL but was able to start a rehab assignment in April. Unfortunately, some left hip discomfort slowed him down, which got him moved to the 60-day IL.
Ideally, Minter can now finally give the Mets an extended stretch of health and good results. Prior to this injury odyssey, he was quite an effective reliever for a division rival. From 2020 to 2024, he posted a 2.85 earned run average over 243 innings for Atlanta, striking out 30.1% of batters faced in that time. But he’s been injured for most of the past two years, actually dating back to before the Mets signed him, as he dealt with hip issues in 2024 and required surgery that summer.
Brooks Raley has been the club’s primary lefty reliever this season. Sean Manaea is also in the bullpen but is mostly working as a bulk reliever. Minter and Raley should be the primary options for situations where a traditional lefty reliever is wanted.
The Mets have been out to a rough start, with a 22-32 record, putting them 7.5 games back of a playoff spot. If they can’t climb in the standings, they could go into the deadline as sellers. Minter and Raley are impending free agents, so both would be natural trade candidates if that’s the way things go.
More to come.
