The Mets have signed right-hander José Ureña to a minor league contract, Tim Healey of Newsday reported Thursday morning. Healey adds that he learned of the signing from Ureña himself when he saw him in the team’s clubhouse.
Ureña spent 2024 with the Rangers – his fifth different team since 2021. He made 33 appearances (nine starts), posting a 3.80 ERA with 70 strikeouts against 39 walks in 109 innings. Ureña was significantly better as a reliever, posting a 2.92 ERA in 24 outings, compared to a 5.08 mark in his nine starts. He also posted a 50.1% ground-ball rate, which was tied with David Peterson for the 13th-highest among pitchers who threw at least 100 innings.
Another encouraging sign for Ureña is that his sinker and four-seam fastball averaged 96 miles per hour – the hardest he’s ever thrown in his career. While hitters made harder contact against those pitches (92.3 MPH average exit velocity), his slider and change-up generated mostly weak contact and both had a whiff rate over 30%.
Ureña may begin the season in Triple-A, but he has a chance to make the majors as a multi-inning reliever or a spot starter. The Mets are plenty familiar with the 33-year-old, having faced him 18 times in his career, mostly when he was with the Marlins.
