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 MLB role 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.
RHP Robert Colina
2024: DNP (INJURY)
Signed by the Mets out of Venezuela on July 2, 2017 for a $85,000 signing bonus, Robert Colina was having a solid, under-the-radar season in 2023, but it ended prematurely due to an injury that preventing him from pitching at all in 2024. The right-hander throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot with a long action through the back. His mechanics are sound and do not show any particular red flags in relation to either injury or control. Listed at 5’11”, Colina is short for a pitcher, and his 175-pound frame is already well filled in and proportionate, making additional growth at this point unlikely.
Colina’s fastball averaged 92 MPH prior to his injury, ranging from 89 to 93 MPH. The pitch averaged a slightly above average spin rate and displays positive spin axis traits but the pitch did not register many swings and misses, with batters able to square up on it. Instead, his curveball was his main strikeout pitch, an offering that logged more whiffs over his career than his fastball. The pitch sat between 75 and 80 MPH and featured a bit of horizontal movement and a ton of vertical drop. While he mainly was a two-pitch, fastball-curveball pitcher, he occasionally mixed in a cutter and changeup.
RHP Justin Jarvis
2024: 28 G (10 GS), 87.0 IP, 88 H, 47 R, 44 ER (4.55 ERA), 30 BB, 84 K (DOUBLE-A/TRIPLE-A)
Acquired by the Mets from the Milwaukee Brewers on July 31, 2023 in exchange for a package of utilityman Mark Canha and cash, the 6’2”, 185-pound right-hander throws from high three-quarters arm slot with a long action through the back. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, sitting 90-94 MPH and averaging 92 MPH. The pitch generally records average spin rates for a fastball, but thanks to its axis, the spin is mostly backspin, giving it ride in the zone. He complements the pitch with a gyroscopic slider that sits around 80 MPH, a curveball that sits in the mid-to-high-70s, and a low-80s splitter. All three project as fringe-average offerings, with his slider flashing average-to-above-average with its late slice through the zone.
Jarvis prefers throwing to his glove side, throwing right-handed batters down and away and left-handed batters down and in. While he gets his fair share of strikeouts, he has had problems with home runs in the past, his 19 homers allowed tied for most in the Midwest League in 2022 and in 2023 he again allowed 20 between the three leagues he pitched in. All in all, Jarvis has a deep enough arsenal and can command all of his pitches well enough to start, as his whole is greater than the sum of his individual parts.
RHP Brian Metoyer
2024: DNP (INJURY)
The Mets’ final 40th round draft pick in history, selected out of LSU-Alexandria in 2018, Brian Metoyer underwent Tommy John surgery in 2022. Recovery and setbacks caused him to lose the entire 2023 season as well as the entire 2024 season.
Tall and lanky, Metoyer threw from a three-quarters arm slot with a long action through the back. The Natchitoches native was mainly a two-pitch pitcher, using a fastball that he can cut and sink and a curveball. The pitch sat in the low-90s prior to his Tommy John, averaging 92 MPH, dipping a little lower when he sinks it and a little higher when he cuts it. All three distinct variations of his fastball generally got hit hard, but he maintained an impressive 65% ground ball rate in 2021 and allowed just one home run, making a strong defense behind the right-hander important for his future success. As impressive as that number is, it pales in comparison to another, pertaining to his curveball, which sat in the high-70s-to-80 MPH and featured anywhere between 50-60 inches of vertical break and 12-16 inches of horizontal movement. During the 2021 Arizona Fall League, the pitch averaged 3205 RPM and maxed out at 3492 RPM, giving the pitch massive drop. Unfortunately, Metoyer generally struggled commanding it. The movement on his pitches allowed him to miss bats, but until he learns to command them better, it will also be an Achilles heel.
RHP Wilkin Ramos
2024: 41 G (0 GS), 51.0 IP, 41 H, 20 R, 17 ER (3.00 ERA), 28 BB, 47 K (DOUBLE-A/TRIPLE-A)
Originally signed by the Oakland Athletics on July 25, 2017, shortly after the 2017-2018 international free agent signing period began, Wilkin Ramos was acquired by the Mets following the conclusion of the 2022 season, when the 21-year-old was claimed in the minor league portion of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. Listed a 6’5”, 165-pounds, Ramos might not actually be that skinny today, but he is still notably thin and lanky. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot with a long arm action through the back, incorporating a high leg kick into his windup. He gets plenty of extension when he drops and drives off the mound and has loose and easy actions. The right-hander struggles throwing strikes, and times, as many as three-quarters of his pitches have been recorded as being thrown outside the strike zone.
Ramos primarily throws a sinker with average-to-above-average velocity, ranging 92-96 MPH and occasionally hitting the high-90s. The pitch is extremely heavy and induces plenty of groundballs. He complements it with a slider, which flashes sweeping two-plane movement when it’s at its best but can get slurvy. The pitch sits in the low-70s-to-low-80s, looser and slurvier at the lower end of its velocity band and tighter and sweepier at the high end of its velocity band. He relies heavily on his sinker, utilizing it about 75% of the time, his slider making up the remaining 25% of his pitches.
RHP Junior Santos
2024: 31 G (1 GS), 52.1 IP, 49 H, 29 R, 29 ER (4.99 ERA), 26 BB, 45 K (DOUBLE-A)
Signed by the Mets on July 2, 2018 for $275,000, the Mets have consistently been aggressive with Junior Santos’ development and professional assignments, perhaps to the detriment of his ability to mature as a pitcher. The big, 6’7” right-hander throws from a slingy low- three-quarters arm slot, utilizing a short, simple, delivery. Santos is generally able maintain his balance and avoid herky-jerky movement during his leg lift and drive off of the mound, but sometimes has trouble maintaining his arm slot, especially when throwing his secondary pitches as he has a tendency to guide them like many young pitchers do.
His fastball sits in the low-to-mid-90s, generally sitting 93 MPH, down from earlier in his career when he was sitting in the mid-90s and touching the high-90s. His fastball has slight arm-side movement, but more importantly, he can sink it. The right-hander has become more confident with the pitch, and his ground ball rates have steadily increased and crept closer to bona fide sinkerball pitcher territory until 2023, when he first was promoted to Double-A Binghamton.
Complementing his fastball are a slider and a changeup. His slider sits between 77-86 MPH and features gyroscopic spin. The pitch induces the majority of Santos’ swings-and-misses, but he often has trouble commanding it. His changeup lags even further behind in its development than his slider, as highlighted by the high variance in its movement- the pitch generally had anywhere between 6-18 inches of horizontal movement and 20-30 inches of vertical drop- and velocity- ranging anywhere between 82-90 MPH. Like his slider, he still has trouble commanding it, but unlike the slider, the pitch did not induce as many swings-or-misses and batters make more hard contact off of it.
RHP Jordany Ventura
2024: 22 G (4 GS), 38 H, 20 R, 16 ER (2.96 ERA), 20 BB, 55 K (HIGH-A/DOUBLE-A/TRIPLE-A)
After missing a great deal of time due to injuries, Jordany Ventura struggled in his initial return to the mound, but seemed to find his place in 2024, mainly pitching out of the bullpen for the Brooklyn Cyclones. Ventura throws from a high three-quarters arm slot with a simple, repeatable motion, and prior to the 2023 season, showed average-to-above-average command and control of his pitches. His 2023 season was a disaster in that regard, with the right-hander walking more batters than he allowed hits, but he turned the page in 2024, pitching out of the bullpen.
After struggling with his fastball in 2023, Ventura regained confidence with it as it regained its form. Complementing his fastball is a changeup and a curveball. Prior to his Tommy John surgery, his curveball looked like the better of the two, but since returning, his changeup appears more refined. His changeup sits in the low-to-mid-80s and its low spin rate and axis give it a lot of tumble and fade. His curveball sits in the high-70s-to-low-80s and has 11-5 bend. The curve occasionally gets too slurvy and loses shape, coming out of his hand more like a sweeping slider.
*Ventura has signed with the Yankees since this article was written.