The Mets have acquired right-hander Matt Seelinger from the Tigers in exchange for cash, the team announced Monday. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News adds that Seelinger had an upward mobility clause in his contract with Detroit. That suggests the Mets will be adding Seelinger to the 40-man roster, which is currently full, though the Mets have yet to formally do so.
Seelinger, 31, was originally selected by the Pirates in the 28th round of the 2017 draft. He bounced from the Pirates to the Rays, Giants and Phillies via minor league free agency and the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft before signing with the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks in 2024. Seelinger pitched well enough with the Ducks to land a minor league deal with Detroit midway through that season and has re-signed multiple minor league deal with the Tigers since.
Detroit, it seems, didn’t feel it had the roster flexibility to add Seelinger to its own 40-man when he triggered his upward mobility clause — a contractual clause that, when triggered, forces a player’s current club to make him available to all other 29 teams. If another club is willing to put the player on its own 40-man roster, the team typically has 72 hours to decide whether to add him to its own roster or let him go to the new club. The Tigers opted not to add Seelinger and have shipped him to Queens for what’s surely a nominal cash return.
Seelinger has been effective in Triple-A Toledo this season. He’s pitched 39 1/3 innings in a long relief/swing role and turned in a 3.89 ERA with a big 29.3% strikeout rate but also an oversized 11.4% walk rate. He’s sitting 92.4 mph on his four-seamer, which he couples with an 86.1 mph cutter and an 80.1 mph curveball. He’s given up a fair bit of hard contact but also notched a hefty 13.6% swinging-strike rate and held opponents to a feeble 70.4% contact rate. Those marks are notably better than the respective major league averages of 11% and 77%.
Today’s trade marks a homecoming for Seelinger. He grew up on Long Island, in Westbury, and played his college ball at Farmingdale State College — just 31 miles east of Citi Field. Whether he’s headed to the big leagues or will be selected to the 40-man and immediately optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, Seelinger is on the cusp of finally getting his first taste of the majors after a decade-long minor league/indie ball grind — and doing so just down the road from his childhood roots and college stomping grounds.
