The Mets have released right-hander Adbert Alzolay, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been pitching for Triple-A Syracuse but is now a free agent and can sign with any club.
Alzolay, 31, had a breakout with the Cubs in 2023. He pitched 64 innings for the Cubs, allowing 2.67 earned runs per nine. He struck out 26.5% of batters faced, walked only 5.1% of opponents and induced grounders on 42.2% of balls in play. He took over the closer’s role for the Cubs and racked up 22 saves that year.
But things went south from there. Early in 2024, his velocity was down and he posted a 4.67 ERA over 17 1/3 innings. He spent that summer on the injured list and required Tommy John surgery in August. The Cubs non-tendered him going into 2025.
The Mets then signed him to a two-year minor league deal for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Since Alzolay was likely going to miss the entire 2025 season, the length of that pact made sense for both parties. The Mets signed the deal knowing they likely wouldn’t get any return on their investment in the first year but could potentially benefit during the second. For Alzolay, he got some pay for his rehab year and access to club facilities.
Alzolay did indeed miss the entire 2025 season. He has been back on the hill here in 2026 but the results unfortunately haven’t been there. After ramping up at the lower levels, he reported to Triple-A Syracuse about a month ago.
Since then, he has tossed 8 2/3 innings over eight appearances, allowing ten earned runs. He had some bad luck in that small sample in terms of strand rate and batting average on balls in play, but he only struck out seven of the 43 batters he faced, a modest 16.3% rate. He gave out five walks, an 11.6% pace. He averaged 92.5 miles per hour with his four-seamer, well below the 95.3 mph average he had in his breakout 2023 campaign.
The Mets have apparently decided to move on. Based on his past success, he will likely get interest elsewhere, but he’s clearly not a near-term solution for any club with bullpen issues. He will be a project, as a signing club would have to find a way to regain some of his lost velocity and/or strikeouts.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images
