Triple-A 

Syracuse Mets (27-25) 4, Rochester Red Wings (32-20) 8

Box Score

• OF Nick Morabito: 0-for-3, 2 BB (.748 OPS)
• C Kevin Parada: 1-for-3, BB, RBI

Syracuse dropped their second game of the series to Rochester and has now lost 4 of their last 5 contests. Kevin Parada is now 7-for-17 since getting promoted to Triple-A.

• LHP Zach Thornton (4.96 ERA): 4 1/3 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
• RHP Alex Carrillo (6.00 ERA): 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K,

Thornton made his first start back for Syracuse since his first major league debut on May 20th.

Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs (24-22), 6, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (16-31) 2

Box Score

• DH Jorge Polanco: 1-for-2, R (1.000 OPS)
• 3B Nick Lorusso: 0-for-3. BB, RBI (.720 OPS)
• 1B JT Schwartz: 1-for-3, BB (.587 OPS)

Polanco scored one of the team’s two runs, but Binghamton’s offense was mostly stagnant.

• RHP Douglas Orellana (3.80 ERA): 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K
• LHP Felipe De La Cruz (1.84 ERA): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K,

Both Orellana and De La Cruz went scoreless, but the staff was doomed by a three-run sixth inning that put the game to bed.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (14-32) 6,  Wilmington Blue Rocks (25-21) 7

Box Score

• SS Mitch Voit: 2-for-5, HR, RBI (.692 OPS)
• RF John Bay: 2-for-3, 2 BB, 3B, RBI (.805 OPS)
• DH Ronald Hernandez: 2-for-5, 2 RBI (.739 OPS)

The top three hitters in the Brooklyn lineup carried the load, led by an elite performance by John Bay.

• RHP Hunter Hodges (2.37 ERA): 2 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
• LHP Gregori Louis (2.51 ERA): 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Hodges and Louis turned in solid results, but some early woes and a blown save turned this game on its head. Brooklyn pitchers surrendered three home runs in the game.

Low-A

 St. Lucie Mets (21-26) 4, Bradenton Marauders 6

Box Score

• SS Elian Peña: 3-for-4, R (.806 OPS)
• 3B Antonio Jimenez: 1-for-3, BB, R (1.115 OPS)

Over his last four games, Elian Peña has put up a 167 wRC+, recovering nicely from a brief slump.

• Josh Blum (0.00 ERA) 1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• Cam Tilly (6.44 ERA) 4 1/3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K

The Mets’ seventh-round pick in 2024, Cam Tilly, struggled but battled through 4 1/3 innings, while the St Lucie bullpen covered the remaining innings and didn’t allow a run.

The post Mets Minors Recap: Peña Collects Three Hits appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Thornton, a southpaw, has done an unbelievable job of filling up the zone. As he currently owns a 69.1 Strike% (97th percentile) and a 52.1 Zone% (92nd percentile), and with the ability to fill the zone as he has, his walk rate is extremely low at 6.5%. Usually, a pitcher that puts the ball over the plate like Thornton doesn’t have great strikeout and whiff numbers, but that is simply not the case here, as he sports a 28.3 K% and a 27.9 Whiff%, which is solid. His contact numbers are mixed; his wOBA and xwOBA numbers are solid, but his barrel rate is below average, and his HardHit rate and average EV rate rank near the bottom. After a good look at his numbers, let’s take a look at his arsenal.

Photo Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Thornton will mix in six pitches, but his slider, four-seam, and sweeper take up 88% of his pitch mix. He can also throw a changeup, slurve, and sinker. He won’t wow you on the radar gun as his average fastball velocity is 91.3 (up to 94.5 mph in Triple-A), but he locates his pitches really well, as stated before. His sweeper and slider both get solid horizontal break as for the sweeper it moves 13 inches and the slider is much tighter but stills moves about 5 inches, those two pitches according to Stuff+ are his best. His overall stuff sits at 98, which is just below average.

To wrap this up, Thornton will have to continue to locate his pitches as he did in Syracuse to be successful, and from what we’ve seen of him over his MiLB career, he’s been able to do so at every level he’s played.

The post Zach Thornton Ready for Major League Debut appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Position: RP B/T: R/R
Player Data: Age: 31 (12/16/1993)

2025 Traditional Stats: 61 G, 60 1/3 IP, 2.83 ERA, 1.044 WHIP, 59 SO, 18 BB
2025 Advanced Stats: 145 ERA+, 24.2 K%, 7.4 BB%, 3.04 xERA, 3.63 FIP, 3.76 xFIP, 1.2 bWAR, 1.0 fWAR

RUNDOWN

Drafted by the Texas Rangers in the ninth round of the 2015 draft, Pete Fairbanks burst onto the scene in Tampa Bay after being dealt from Texas in 2019. His main breakout year was the COVID-shortened season, in which he threw 26.2 innings with a 2.70 ERA. In a year when the Rays made it to the World Series, Fairbanks was one of their main contributors out of the bullpen.

His best year, 2022, had a delayed start after suffering a torn lat during spring training, which made him miss time until mid-July. When he came off the IL, he was elite, putting up a 1.13 ERA, 43.7% strikeout rate, and a 0.86 FIP in 24 games.

Fast forwarding to 2023, his first full season as a closer was a success, gathering 25 saves and a 2.58 ERA. His name was on everybody’s radar at that point. Going into 2024, expectations were high, but Fairbanks didn’t live up to the standards he set the season moving, seeing his ERA jump almost a full run and his strikeout rate drop from 37% to 23%. It wasn’t a great season, but also not a bad one.

Fairbanks came back in 2025 and showed that he can still shut down big league batters at a solid rate. While his strikeout rate only went up .4%, his walk rate dropped almost 2%, and his barrel rate fell to 4.8. The 31-year-old figured out a new way to approach batters, as his stuff+ has fallen from 149 (career high in 2022) to 111 this past season. Instead of trying to overpower batters, he’s simply just thrown as many strikes as possible, limiting walks and limiting damage. Combine that with a 24% strikeout rate, and you still have a really good pitcher.

Contract

The Rays declined to re-up Fairbanks for 2026 at $11 million. Fairbanks on the open market could get more than that with more years attached. MLB Trade Rumors predicts Fairbanks will get a two-year contract worth $18 million, which isn’t a bad deal for many teams, as you can potentially get a top-end closer at a solid price tag. It’s worth noting that Fairbanks has Raynaud’s syndrome, which makes it difficult for him to pitch in cold weather, and that may scare off some northern teams from signing him.

Recommendation: Worth Checking In

Signing Fairbanks really only makes sense for the Mets if they cannot retain Edwin Díaz, as to put it simply, I don’t believe, looking at Stearns’ track record, that he will commit to two hefty deals in the bullpen. At that same point, if the Mets can find a way to retain Díaz while also bringing Fairbanks, their back end of the bullpen could be one of the best in baseball. Time will tell us how the cards will fall, but hopefully the Mets find a way to retain Díaz or get Fairbanks, or maybe both.

The post Free Agent Profile: Pete Fairbanks, RP appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Starting in Brooklyn (High-A), Benge had a great start, putting up a slash line of .302/.417/.480 for a .897 OPS and 169 wRC+. The power was impressive, to say the least. The Brooklyn Cyclones’ ballpark, Mamdonies Field, is known for killing left-handed hitters, but Benge fought through it, played fantastic baseball, and earned a promotion to Binghamton (Double-A).

Now in Double-A, Benge really put himself on the map and started to cement himself as one of the top prospects in all of baseball. It all came together for him as he put up a ridiculous slash line of .317/.407/.571 with eight homers and 23 RBIs in just 32 games. Benge’s name started traveling fast around the baseball world as he flew up every major prospect board, which made his Triple-A call-up towards the end of the year very exciting.

Carson Benge. Photo by Rick Nelson

When Benge was called up to Triple-A he played four games before going on the minor-league injured list for about 12 days. He would return to get about a full month of baseball at the highest level of professional baseball he’s played since.

You can tell he had a bit of an adjustment period as he posted a slash line of .178/.272/.311 in just over 100 plate appearances. Still, you have to remember Triple-A has statcast data so you can go under the hood a little bit to see how the underlying metrics look.

For Benge, they looked really good, as he had an average exit velocity of 92.1 mph and a hard-hit rate of 52.8% which is solid and shows that maybe bad luck played a factor in why his start in Syracuse was cold. For reference, the 92.1 mph average exit velocity would have ranked in the major league’s 89th percentile and the hard-hit rate in the league’s 93rd percentile.

Mets’ president of baseball operations, David Stearns, said to reporters at the GM meetings that Benge will have an opportunity going into spring training to make the Mets’ opening day roster, which is very encouraging for one of the Mets’ young and exciting prospects.

The post Deep Dive Into Carson Benge’s Sensational 2025 Season appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Overall, it was a solid outing from one of the Mets’ top starters, even though it wasn’t super long. The only hiccups he had were a bases-loaded jam he escaped in the second inning and a Mike Trout solo home run in the third.

Manaea came out of the gate fast, striking out the side in order in the first inning, with his fastball/sweeper combo that has been lethal since coming off the IL. Throwing those two pitches almost exclusively today (four-seamer 70%, sweeper 26%, slider and changeup combined 5%), the two pitches combined generated 11 of Manaea’s 12 whiffs.

“Fastball was good, slider was good,” Manaea said postgame of his outing. “Effective enough.”

Something to keep an eye on, though, is that Manaea’s velocity was down an average of two miles per hour on both the fastball and sweeper. His velocity diminished as the outing went on, and Manaea admitted after the game he didn’t feel he his best, and that he’s still working on getting his stamina up.

“I definitely didn’t feel great out there, but good enough to get the job done,” Manaea said. “I think stamina-wise, just not full there yet. It’s just building up from there.”

Carlos Mendoza said it was good to see Manaea be able to work without being on his A-game during the outing.

“I feel like he was grinding out there,” Mendoza said. “He battled and it was good to see, on a day where maybe he wasn’t feeling it for a lot of different reasons.”

After the Trout homer, Manaea didn’t allow another baserunner, retiring seven straight to cap off his day. He handed it off to Huascar Brazobán and the bullpen to finish it off. Manaea earned his first win after a Mets offensive explosion in the bottom half of the third inning, where Francisco Lindor tallied an RBI single and Pete Alonso hit a three-run home run.

The post Sean Manaea Earns First Win of 2025 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Position: 3B B/T: R/R
Age: 31 (6/3/1994)
Contract Status: Under control until 2027

2025 Traditional Stats: 256 PA, .248/.297/.370/.667, 59 H, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 18 BB, 56 SO
2025 Advanced Stats: 85 wRC+, 89 OPS+, 21.1 SO%, 6.8 BB%, .288 BABIP, .295 xwOBA, 0.8 fWAR, 1.0 bWAR

Rundown

Ramón Urías made his MLB debut in 2020 and has been a regular player with the Baltimore Orioles ever since. With his and the Orioles’ struggles, it seems a change of scenery could benefit both sides.

The bat has fallen off tremendously in 2025, going from a 114 wRC+ in 2024 to an 85 this year, but Urías has turned his defense around at the hot corner going from -9 OAA last year to 2 OAA this year, which is what makes him valuable enough to teams to take a chance and see if they can bring the bat back to 2024 form. Urias has never been known as a high-barrel, hard-hit bat, but more as a contact-first, spray-type hitter with some power. I believe the bat-to-ball skills are still there, but Urias hasn’t been able to find them yet this year.

Digging further into his offensive stats, Urias has seen his strikeout rate jump 2% with his BB rate dropping slightly, but along with that, he’s seen his wOBA fall 40 points this year, which has contributed to some of his fall at the plate. A team like the Mets would likely try to get Urias back focused on his game, and also going to a contender could help his results.

Package

Considering that Urías is having a down year, the price shouldn’t be very high, but many teams are going to be looking for infield help going into the July 31 deadline, and with his team control, it’s not going to be particularly cheap.

Proposed Deal

METS RECEIVE

• IF Ramón Urías

ORIOLES RECEIVE

• IF Yorber Semprun
• LHP Felipe De La Cruz (Unranked)

Recommendation

This deal only happens for the Mets if they trade one of Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, or Ronny Mauricio to have a backup infielder who, if needed, can get everyday reps. Depth is always good to have on a contending team, especially going down the stretch and playoffs, because of injuries or general wear and tear. Plus, you at least have Urias under team control for the next three years. From the Orioles’ perspective, the 17-year-old Semprun is batting a strong .337/.430/.477 in 100 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League and can play second base, third base, and shortstop. Additionally, they would get a decent depth arm for their system in De La Cruz. This move would also open up a major league spot for one of their prospects.

The post Trade Profile: Ramón Urías, 3B appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Position: SP B/T: R/R
Age: 31 (04/08/1994)

2025 Traditional Stats: 12 G, 12 GS, 62 IP, 6-5, 5.95 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 42 SO, 11 BB
2025 Advanced Stats: 65 ERA+, 15.6% SO%, 4.1% BB%, 4.26 xERA, 5.72 FIP, 4.28 xFIP, -0.4 fWAR, -0.4 bWAR

RUNDOWN

The 31-year-old right-handed starter has been subject to trade rumors as the Orioles’ disappointing season continues and Eflin’s contract expires at the end of the year. Currently on the 15-day injured list with lower-back soreness, Eflin seems to be getting better as he completed a second rehab start Sunday. (He’s allowed two earned runs in eight innings over two starts.) This season hasn’t gone the way Eflin would have hoped, as this is his second IL stint, and when he is on the field, he hasn’t been at his best.

Eflin has made 12 starts this year, hurling 62 innings. But in that time, he has been getting roughed up, as his ERA is 5.95 and his FIP sits at 5.72. His bread-and-butter sinker/cutter combo has been one of the reasons he has struggled, going from a combined run value of +15 in 2024 to a -4 in 2025. But that also could be cause injuries were hampering him.

His changeup has been his only positive pitch this season, according to Statcast run value. He only threw the pitch 148 times all last year, but this year, he’s thrown it 156 times, mostly to lefties. Hitters are slugging just .346 off the changeup. Eflin’s Stuff+ also has had a downtick this year, going from 100 (league average) to 93 (below league average). With all that, let’s take a look at what a potential package could look like.

PACKAGE

Eflin is a rental as his contract ends at the end of the year. That lessens his value, and along with his performance struggles, it shouldn’t be a crazy cost. Last trade deadline, the Rays got a handful of prospects for Eflin, but his value is much less now than it was then. Here’s our offer:

Mets Receive:

• RHP Zach Eflin

Orioles Receive:

• RHP Dom Hamel (No. 24 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, No. 48 according to Mike Mayer)

Recommendation

Eflin is a solid starter who has simply had a down year overall, but with the Mets needing starters, Eflin could be a decent fit, should the Mets think they could correct his woes. The worst-case scenario for the Mets is you cut your losses in the offseason and minimal prospect cost. Best-case scenario, he gives the Mets solid innings down the stretch and helps stabilize the rotation.

The post Trade Profile: Zach Eflin, RHP appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Position: SP B/T: L/L
Age: 34 (06/05/1991)
2025 Traditional Stats: 19 G, 18 GS, 98 IP, 4-8, 4.59 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 73 SO, 33 BB
2025 Advanced Stats: 93 ERA+, 17.7% SO%, 8.0% BB%, 4.93 xERA, 5.11 FIP, 4.50 xFIP, 0.4 fWAR, 0.7 bWAR

Rundown

Andrew Heaney has been in the league for 11 years and has played for six different organizations, but with his name circling in trade rumors, he could be looking at a new home by the July 31 deadline.

As you can see with the stats above, the 34-year-old southpaw has been rocky this year on a Pittsburgh Pirates team that’s found themselves at the bottom of the NL Central. His ability to get on the mound and provide solid innings when called upon as a back-of-the-rotation arm is still valuable, however, making him a name to watch over the next two weeks.

His pitch mix and underlying metrics are simply not great, as he has a -11 Pitching Run Value according to Baseball Savant. Pair that with his 4.59 ERA, and it all checks out. He doesn’t “wow” batters with his velocity, as he averages 90.0 mph on his fastball, but he does keep hitters guessing with a five-pitch mix that relies heavily on his four-seamer, changeup and slider. Heaney produced solid chase and whiff results in the past, but he’s generated middling rates of 28.5 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively, in those categories this season, which has led to some overall regression.

Heaney’s Stuff+ on the year sits at 94, which is just below league average and proves that he still has something left in the tank.

He is making $5.25 million this season as a pure rental, so he could fit the mold as a solid depth acquisition for down the stretch while also giving a team like the Mets financial flexibility to make another couple of moves.

Package

Even with pitching in demand, it’s hard to see a world in which the Pirates get an out-of-this-world package for Heaney because of performance concerns.

Proposed Deal

Mets Receive

LHP Andrew Heaney

Pirates Receive

C Ronald Hernandez (No. 25 prospect per MLB Pipeline)

LHP Franklin Gomez (unranked)

Recommendation

From the Mets’ prospective, with Griffin Canning on the shelf for the rest of the year and simply just to fill out innings down the stretch, bringing in Heaney as a veteran who can go every fifth or sixth turn in the rotation and potentially become a long man out of the bullpen for the playoffs could be worthwhile. The Pirates also recoup assets in this deal for a player that will likely walk this winter, making this a sensible move for both sides.

The post Trade Profile: Andrew Heaney, SP appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Nimmo has been struggling to start the season, as he owns a slash line of .212/.274/.397 over 49 games and 197 plate appearances. The 32-year-old battled through plantar fasciitis for a majority of the 2024 campaign before sustaining a knee injury in spring training earlier this year.

He came into the day in the midst of an 0-for-16 rut, with his last hit coming on a double against New York Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga on May 16.

Nimmo, who has remained a member of the Mets’ organization since being selected in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft, boasts a career OPS of .802 with 118 home runs, 398 RBIs and 42 stolen bases in 960 contests.

We will have to wait until after the game to get further word on how serious Nimmo’s potential injury is from Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.

The post Brandon Nimmo Exits with Stiff Neck appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Canning has posted a 2.36 ERA in eight starts, exceeding all expectations. He has struck out 24.1% of batters faced while keeping walks down, and when the ball is put into play, it’s usually on the ground as his ground-ball rate is 53.9%, which is 10th-best in the majors (min, 40 IP). These changes don’t happen overnight. How did this all happen?

In 2024, Canning threw his fastball 37% of the time, and the pitch got hit hard for a negative-12 run value. The pitch also had a .534 SLG and .522 xSLG against. His changeup and slider have also been his go-to secondaries, but this year, he has made the slider his primary pitch, a major adjustment made by him and the Mets brass has paid dividends as the slider has a 32.4 whiff%. However, it’s not just the pitch that has made Canning; by throwing the slider more, it’s made his changeup and fastball more effective. Currently, his best pitch according to run value is his changeup with a +3 (tied for 12th in baseball), while the whiff rate on his fastball has jumped six percent.

The Mets have most definitely found something in Canning. It will be interesting to see if he can keep this up over the year, but even at half of this production, Canning will look like a great find by the front office.

The post Mets Have Found A Gem In Griffin Canning appeared first on Metsmerized Online.