The Mets had over 20 minor league players become free agents.
On November 4, 2024, 513 minor league players were declared free agents, as their minor league contracts expired. With over 100 players in the organization, ranging from newly-signed teenagers who recently made their professional debuts in the Dominican Summer League to 30-something grizzled veterans still looking for a major league role while palying in Triple-A, the Mets had a total of 23 minor leaguers in the organization declare free agency. While many were recent arrivals to the organization, having signed one-year deals covering the 2024 season, many have been part of the Mets’ family for years.
OF Stanley Consuegra
2024: 118 G, 419 AB, .215/.302/.344, 90 H, 22 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 42 BB, 147 K, 10/15 SB (HIGH-A/DOUBLE-A)
Signed for $500,000 out of the Dominican Republic on July 2, 2017, Stanley Consuegra missed a lot of early developmental time to injury and COVID, but when he finally got regular playing time, he highlighted why he was a target of the Mets, ranking as a system top prospect multiple time since 2021. Consuegra has plenty of natural strength and a long swing that generates torque from his lower half, allowing him to punish balls he makes solid contact with; In July 2022, he hit a home run that was estimated to have travelled over 500 feet due to the fact that it easily cleared the left field wall and almost hit the Thunderbolt, the rollercoaster in the lot adjacent to Maimonides Park. His swing gets very long, and combined with an inability to read spin, has resulted in an eye-popping strikeout rate.
In the outfield, Consuegra does not have afterburners, but once he gets going, he covers a lot of ground. Coupled with his strong throwing arm, which can reach 95 MPH or more, he has all the qualities a prototypical right fielder, with the ability to play center field in a pinch.
OF Carlos Cortes
2024: 83 G, 281 AB, .246/.330/.456, 69 H, 11 2B, 0 3B, 16 HR, 37 BB, 60 K, 3/4 SB (TRIPLE-A)
Drafted twice by the Mets, the first time out of high school in 2016 and the second time out of Coastal Carolina University in 2018, Carlos Cortes is a jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. Over the course of his collegiate and professional career, he has played all positions, hit from both sides of the plate, and thrown with both arms.
Cortes stands open at the plate an uppercutty swing, a stark difference from his earlier high school and collegiate days, when his bat path was much more level. His swing mechanics are fluid and Cortes swings at most pitches with intent. As such, there is some swing and miss in it, particularly against breaking balls out of the strike zone and versus left-handers. Pitches that he is able to make solid contact with jump off the bat despite his small stature; his load, coil, bat speed, barrel accuracy, and swing plane all magnify the power that you might expect from a guy that stands just 5’7”. He displays above-average raw power, but stagnation in his hit tool has limited his accessible raw during in-game situations.
Defensively, Cortes does not have a true home. Because his arm strength is fringy from both sides and because he is a slightly below-average runner, he profiles better in the infield, at second base. Being an outfielder makes him a bit more valuable as a player, and as such, the Mets have primarily used him in the outfield since 2021.
SS Mateo Gil
2024: 82 G, 289 AB, .211/.250/.356, 61 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 15 BB, 85 K, 2/4 SB (HIGH-A/DOUBLE-A)
The son of Benji Gil, who played for the Texas Rangers and Anaheim Angels in the mid-90s to mid-00s, Mateo Gil was a somewhat divisive prep prospect. The St. Louis Cardinals took a shot on him, drafting the at Timber Creek High School alum in the third-round of the 2018 MLB Draft and buying out of his commitment to Texas Christian University by giving him to a $900,000 contract bonus. Gil was traded to the Colorado Rockies in the Nolan Arenado trade, and then in December 2022 was selected by the Mets in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. Listed at 6’1”, 180-pounds, Gil is probably closer to 200 as his upper body has filled in a great deal since first being drafted. He stands square at the plate, holding his hands high and wrapping his bat behind his head. His swings uses a small leg kick and is almost all upper body. His plate discipline is not the best, leading to a lot of poor contact and strikeouts, but he has the ability to put a charge in balls that he hits squarely with his whippy stroke.
A shortstop for much of his earlier career, Gil has played more at the hot corner than he as at the keystone since returning to the field in the post-pandemic shutdown era. With a strong arm, good range, good footwork around the bag, and good reaction times, he still has the ability to play shortstop but with his thick upper body in short spurts but is probably better suited at third in the long-term.
SS Jeremiah Jackson
2024: 121 G, 453 AB, .205/.245/.373, 93 H, 19 2B, 0 3B, 19 HR, 23 BB, 123 K, 11/13 SB (DOUBLE-A)
A highly-regarded prep prospect from Alabama, the Los Angeles Angels originally drafted Jeremiah Jackson in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of St. Luke’s Episcopal High School in Mobile, buying him out of his commitment to Mississippi State University with a $1,194,000 signing bonus. At the 2023 trade deadline, the Angels sought to bolster their bullpen and sent Jackson to the Mets in exchange for big league reliever Dominic Leone. Jackson generates power from the loft in his swing and the torque created from the coil in his upper and lower halves, most of it down and in to his pull side, but he generally struggles against pitches outside of his wheelhouse as a result, as his plate coverage is very limited otherwise. While he can punish mistakes, he struggles against breaking balls, expanding the zone, swinging-and-missing, and making weak contact, and generally waits for fastballs that he thinks he can drive for extra bases.
Defensively, Jackson has experience playing multiple positions. In the infield, he has shown quick reactions, above-average range, and an above-average arm, making him a fit for second base, third base, and shortstop. Since 2022, he has played limited time in the outfield. Conceptually, his athleticism, range, and arm should allow him to play any of the three outfield positions to varying degrees, but Jackson needs to improve his read of the ball off the bat and his routes to the ball, and until he does that and gets more time in the outfield under his belt, his utility there is limited.
OF Jaylen Palmer
2024: 87 G, 287 AB, .216/.308/.418, 62 H, 22 2B, 0 3B, 12 HR, 34 BB, 129 K, 12/16 SB (HIGH-A/DOUBLE-A)
Brooklyn-born Jaylen Palmer was drafted out of Holy Cross High School in Flushing in the 2018 MLB Draft and generated a lot of early buzz thanks to his combination of speed, power, and athleticism, but a long swing and problems adjusting to spin have stagnated his bat. When Palmer hits the ball square, he can really put a jolt into the ball, as he has registered exit velocities around 110 MPH in the past, but he has struggled getting good wood on ball consistently. His pitch recognition is fair, but his swing is so long levered that he simply is unable to adjust once he commits to balls with spin and movement, resulting in swings-and-misses or balls that are hit with weak contact. The flaw is troubling, as Palmer has plenty of attractive secondary baseball tools.
The tall, leggy Palmer is an average-to-above-average runner and has learned to turn that into a weapon on the basepaths. He shows good instincts out of the box and hustles on the basepaths, allowing him to take the extra base. Defensively, Palmer’s speed has allowed him to transition from the infield to the outfield. Drafted as an infielder, he began his career primarily playing third base and shortstop but now plays center field adroitly. His natural athleticism and speed allow him to play center, and as he becomes more comfortable in the outfield, he will learn to see the ball off the bat better and learn better routes to the ball, rather than relying on his speed and afterburners to close in on the ball late. His arm is average-to-above-average and would fit anywhere in the outfield.
3B Jose Peroza
2024: 23 G, 70 AB, .243/.342/.371, 17 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 10 BB, 27 K, 0/0 SB (DOUBLE-A)
Originally signed out of Carlos Guillen’s academy in Venezuela on July 2, 2016 for $280,000, Jose Peroza never really developed as expected. The short-and-stocky 16-year-old was literally corn-fed and farm strong from a life on a farm, but the power many scouts and evaluators thought would come with better nutrition and weight training never came. Nicknamed the “mayor of Brooklyn” due to the amount of time he spent there over the course of his career, Peroza is extremely stocky, listed at 220-pounds but probably weighing more than that in actuality. He has a quiet set-up at the plate, with a wide base and his bat barred behind his head. He swings with a slight leg kick, with a bat path that contains a bit of loft. His bat speed is average at best but is able to muscle pitches that he is able to barrel squarely, especially to his pull side.
Defensively, Peroza has a strong arm and is currently capable of playing third base, but his body will likely be a high maintenance one as he ages, meaning that he may lose mobility and range around the hot corner, limiting him to first.
OF DJ Stewart
2024: 100 G, 240 AB, .213/.363/.350, 51 H, 9 2B, 0 3B, 8 HR, 50 BB, 81 K, 6/6 SB (TRIPLE-A/MLB)
A minor league free agent who was signed by the Mets in February 2023, former Baltimore Orioles top prospect DJ Stewart was surprisingly solid for the Mets in 2023. Promoted in July from Syracuse on the power of 16 home runs in 51 games, Stewart turned into an everyday contributor in the dog days of summer, hitting .244/.333/.506 with 11 home runs in 58 games. He started the 2024 season on the major league roster, but struggled, hitting a paltry .177/.325/.298 with 5 home runs in 74 games. He was demoted to Syracuse in August, performing well there, but would not return to the Mets down the playoff hunt stretch or in the playoffs themselves.