The Mets and left-hander Brooks Raley have agreed to a deal, pending a physical, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. It will be a one-year pact with a club option for 2026. The Mets have an open 40-man roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary if it’s a major league deal. The financial components of the deal for the Vanguard Sports client have not yet been reported.
Raley, 37 in June, was with the Mets last year when he required Tommy John surgery in May. That put him on the shelf for the remainder of the campaign and the start of 2025 as well. He is evidently making progress in his rehab, as it was reported last week that he threw for interested clubs. Sherman relays that Raley’s doctors believe he can start a rehab assignment in June.
Prior to his surgery, he had a good run as an effective lefty reliever. He spent 2015 to 2019 pitching as a starter in Korea but was able to return to affiliated ball and carve out a bullpen job. From the start of 2020 to the present, he tossed 184 1/3 innings, allowing 3.42 earned runs per nine. He had a 29% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate in that time.
The Mets are plenty familiar with him, as they acquired him from the Rays ahead of the 2023 season. He posted a 2.80 ERA in 54 2/3 innings for them that year. That compelled them to pick up a $6.5MM club option on his contract for 2024, which was a net $5.25MM decision at that time on account of the $1.25MM buyout. Unfortunately, they only got seven innings out of that investment before he got hurt.
The two sides have now reunited on a fresh deal. The structure reflects his current injury status. Raley will presumably bank a bit of money this season, even though he will only pitch about half of it in a best-case scenario. For the Mets, by investing in Raley now, they are hoping to get a bit of a payoff later this year with the option giving them a chance to carry it into 2026. Such arrangements are common for pitchers in this position.
The Mets have one of the best bullpens in the league so far this year. Their relievers have a collective 2.35 ERA, which is second only to the Padres. The lefty contingent currently consists of A.J. Minter and Danny Young. They don’t strictly need Raley but pitching injuries are fairly inevitable and the Mets love to stack depth. He’ll work his way into their plans in the coming weeks. If he is getting a big league deal, he could be moved to the 60-day injured list if he Mets don’t expect him to be big league-ready by late June.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, USA TODAY Sports