Mets spring guide: 36 thoughts for 36 pitchers, from Adcock to Manaea to Zuber (2025)

The New York Mets received at least 30 starts from three members of their rotation last season yet still used 35 different pitchers (excluding position players who took the mound). Indeed, valuing depth, particularly with pitching, emerged as a hallmark for David Stearns in his first year as Mets president of baseball operations. Along the way, reliever Dedniel Núñez broke out despite not being part of big-league camp in spring training. With improved infrastructure in terms of coaching power and use of technology, the Mets may have other relative unknowns pop up as contributors.

With less than a week to go before the start of spring training, here’s one thought for every pitcher expected at the Mets’ camp in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Ty Adcock, RHP: Health is a key for Adcock, a 27-year-old with just 15 major-league games on his resume. He has worked on adding a split-change to generate more swing-and-miss into his arsenal.

Adbert Alzolay, RHP: The Mets signed Alzolay, the former Chicago Cubs closer, to a two-year minor-league deal, as The Athletic reported last month. He will be in camp, but he is rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss the season.

Paul Blackburn, RHP: After undergoing a cerebrospinal fluid leak repair in October, he just recently began throwing off a mound, so his availability for Opening Day is a question. It’s unclear whether Blackburn will remain part of the rotation as the club’s sixth starter or work from the bullpen in a long-relief role. Maybe he does both. To that end, one evaluator brought up a familiar comp for Blackburn: Trevor Williams, who performed well in a hybrid role with the Mets in 2022. Similar to Williams, Blackburn may be effective as a reliever because he can provide length and fill up the strike zone.

Huascar Brazobán, RHP: In three major-league seasons, Brazobán owns a 117 ERA+. Though he faltered after a midseason trade to the Mets (5.14 ERA), he holds value as someone with success at the major-league level who can still be optioned to the minor leagues when necessary.

José Buttó, RHP: Logic dictates the Mets stretching Buttó out early in spring training as a just-in-case provision because it’s always easier to reduce than to ramp up. As a reliever, Buttó had a 2.00 ERA in 23 appearances, 36 innings. Regardless of his role, he needs to be more efficient with pitches and gain leverage in counts to increase his chances of sustainable success.

Génesis Cabrera, LHP: As minor-league deals go, clubs can do way worse than signing someone like Cabrera, 28, who had a 3.59 ERA/5.13 FIP in 69 appearances for the Toronto Blue Jays last season.

Griffin Canning, RHP: Speculatively, considering Blackburn’s health situation, Canning might have the advantage for the job of sixth starter. Before signing him, the Mets impressed Canning during their recruiting call, so perhaps they see an opportunity to get a little more from what’s largely been a four-pitch mix (four-seam fastball, changeup, slider, curveball) over Canning’s career.

Chris Devenski, RHP: Look for the Mets to help find ways for Devenski to lean into his changeup, which projects as an above-average pitch. Devenski has had an up-and-down career with some injuries, but as a minor-league addition, there’s no risk in taking a chance on him.

Edwin Díaz, RHP: Perhaps no one needs a boring, successful season like Díaz, who returned after missing all of 2023, battled inconsistent performance and got slapped with a suspension. But even another highly successful season would prompt intrigue; he can opt out after the 2025 season.

Rico Garcia, RHP: Scouts say Garcia owns an elite fastball. The 31-year-old is on a minor-league deal after leading the International League with 20 saves while in the Washington Nationals organization last season.

Reed Garret, RHP: Through his first 17 outings (25 innings), Garrett had a 0.72 ERA. From May 22 to the end of the season (36 appearances, 32 1/3 innings), Garrett had a 6.12 ERA. While the sweeper and splitter looked like plus-pitches, opponents hit both his fastballs well (.686 slugging percentage against his four-seamer, .550 slugging percentage against his two-seamer).

Anthony Gose, LHP: Before the 2012 season, Gose was a top-100 prospect — as an outfielder. He never fulfilled that potential. Those days as a position player are over. Gose is on a minor-league deal as a pitcher, an endeavor he started in 2017. He has demonstrated success on the mound in Triple A (3.36 ERA in 77 2/3 career innings at the level) but has yet to translate it to the majors.

Justin Hagenman, RHP: Known as a quick study, Hagenman has demonstrated health and versatility over his minor-league career. In mid-November, the Mets signed the 28-year-old to a split contract (different salaries for the major and minor leagues).

Dom Hamel: Tapping back into a preferred velocity range (93-95 mph after falling a couple of ticks below that last season) and continuing to work on a cutter are big things for Hamel, who looks to bounce back from a 6.79 ERA in Triple A.

Grant Hartwig, RHP: The Mets re-signed Hartwig to a minors deal after non-tendering him in November. Hartwig logged appearances in 2023 and 2024 with the Mets but missed a chunk of last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Kevin Herget, RHP: The Mets claimed Herget, 33, off waivers in November from the Milwaukee Brewers. Last season in Triple A, he produced a 2.27 ERA (47 2/3 innings) with 59 strikeouts and just 11 walks.

Clay Holmes, RHP: A familiarity with new Mets assistant pitching coach Desi Druschel plus arriving early to Port St. Lucie should ease Holmes’ transition to starting, a role he performed at the beginning of his career. Holmes is working on new pitches, including a four-seam fastball and changeup, to make him more effective against left-handed batters. Durability will be a question, particularly early in the season and the Mets likely won’t rush the process. It wouldn’t be shocking if camp ended with Holmes not yet completely stretched out to, say, 105 pitches.

Max Kranick, RHP: The Mets intend to use Kranick, who can be optioned to the minors, as a reliever. By the end of last season, his velocity sat at 96 mph and increased at times to 98 mph with room for more. He also worked on a sweeper late in the year with Grayson Crawford, the Mets’ pitching coordinator, and some evaluators view it as a potential weapon.

Sean Manaea, LHP: Each spring, dozens of pitchers talk about working on their changeup. Manaea already mentioned it, doing so in a video call with reporters last month after he re-signed with the Mets. But the changeup is actually an interesting pitch to monitor in Manaea’s case. He throws it exclusively to right-handed batters and it improved during his second-half metamorphosis, becoming a put-away offering in September.

Tylor Megill, RHP: The ideal scenario for Megill includes him building off how he ended the season. He saw positive developments with his two-seam and four-seam fastballs and started to lean more into his off-speed pitches. The latter makes him better against right-handed batters who handle fastballs well. Megill is expected to work as a starter in the spring, and he still has a minor-league option left.

A.J. Minter, LHP: The Mets’ left-handed batters love the idea of no longer facing Minter, who had spent his career with the Atlanta Braves. Minter’s goal is to be ready close to Opening Day. Minter, who had hip surgery last August, said he was happy with his progress.

Frankie Montas, RHP: Will the Mets hit on Montas following their hits on Manaea and Luis Severino last year? At $34 million over two years, he will make just $1 million less than fellow veteran starter Jack Flaherty, whom the Detroit Tigers signed recently coming off a stronger season. Look for the Mets to build off the changes the Milwaukee Brewers made with Montas last season — his velocity also crept back up.

Dedniel Núñez, RHP: Among relievers with at least 30 innings, Núñez’s strikeout-minus-walk rate checked in at 29.6 percent, tied with Díaz for fifth-best in the league. For the Mets’ bullpen, Núñez is the linchpin. If he stays healthy and replicates his small-sample success from last season (2.31 ERA in 25 appearances, 35 innings), great heights become within reach for the group. Mets officials feel good about Núñez’s health after he missed the final handful of weeks because of a strained flexor tendon in his right arm. Ahead of spring training, he threw live batting practice sessions in the Dominican Republic.

Oliver Ortega, RHP: For someone who signed a minor-league deal, Ortega, 28, offers a solid floor. He has a 4.03 ERA, 20.4 percent strikeout rate and 10.8 percent walk rate over 58 career relief innings. But he had a pair of elbow-related surgeries in 2024 and didn’t pitch.

David Peterson, LHP: Among the 14 pitchers who posted a sub-3.00 ERA (minimum 100 innings) last year, Peterson was the only one with an expected ERA over 4.00 (4.59). Indeed, the advanced numbers didn’t love Peterson in part because of a 10.8 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate, easily the lowest figure among those 14 pitchers.

Sean Reid-Foley, RHP: Great mustache? Check. Struts on the mound after strikeouts? Check. Arm-sleeve tattoos? Check. A 95 mph fastball? Check. Reid-Foley exhibits the characteristics of a great reliever (seriously; he showed some good things last year with a 1.66 ERA in 21 2/3 innings). He just needs to stay healthy to prove it.

Yacksel Ríos, RHP: He earned “sleeper” labels from scouts in Triple A last season because of an ability to hit 101 mph. But he got hurt in the middle of the season. He’s healthy now and is a candidate to keep in mind down the road when the Mets dip into bullpen depth.

Kodai Senga, RHP: In mid-January, Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner visited Senga in Japan. It was a routine check-in, similar to the stops Hefner makes to visit the team’s other pitchers domestically. But it was prudent for Hefner to make the long trip; Senga and the Mets need to be on the same page after injuries robbed him of most of last season. Senga is said to be feeling good and healthy.

Ryne Stanek, RHP: In Stanek, the Mets re-signed a reliever who can handle big spots and provide durability. In seven appearances (eight innings) during the postseason, Stanek, 33, allowed three runs (3.38 ERA) with eight strikeouts. Since 2018, he has pitched in at least 55 games in every full season.

Christian Scott, RHP: Scott is in camp but isn’t expected to pitch in 2025 after undergoing a hybrid Tommy John surgery last year.

Brandon Sproat, RHP: The Mets’ best prospect, Sproat added a two-seamer to go with his four-seamer. He needs to leverage his velocity and changeup. The addition of the two-seamer gives Sproat, a power pitcher, an offering he can use to generate outs early in counts, especially against right-handed batters. He is expected to start the season at Triple A and help the Mets at some point in 2025.

Blade Tidwell, RHP: Tidwell’s best outing in Triple A was his final outing. The vertical break of his four-seam fastball saw improvement. Tidwell has great feel when it comes to manipulating the ball, but he can benefit from trimming his repertoire from six pitches to four or five.

Brandon Waddell, LHP: The Mets signed Waddell, 30, out of the KBO, where he spent the last three seasons (2.98 ERA in 244 2/3 innings). Club officials view him as a potential depth starter in the minor leagues.

Austin Warren, RHP: The Mets scooped Warren off waivers from the San Francisco Giants in mid-January. Warren’s deep arsenal offers some upside and though he doesn’t generate a ton of whiffs, he gets ground balls and limits walks.

Danny Young, LHP: Beyond Minter, Young stands out as the only other lefty reliever on the Mets’ 40-man roster. He has tinkered with some kind of cutter-gyro pitch to help him against right-handed batters (.738 OPS against RHBs, .527 OPS against LHBs last season).

Tyler Zuber, RHP: Scouts point to Zuber as a potential under-the-radar reliever who can contribute in 2025 because of pitch arsenal changes, including a two-seamer he added late last year. He has tinkered with a cutter and worked on a new changeup that should make him more platoon-neutral. But the sweeper stands out as an important pitch that Zuber needs to get right.

(Top photo of Sean Manaea: Luke Hales / Getty Images)