Chris
The New York Mets addressed their desperate need for backend bullpen help by signing veteran lefty reliever AJ Minter to a two-year, $22 million deal.
The 31-year-old southpaw, who had spent his entire eight-year career with the Atlanta Braves, immediately projects to be the Mets’ setup man in front of Edwin Diaz, potentially forming one of the more imposing 1-2 late-inning punches in baseball.
When healthy, Minter is one of the more consistent, reliable relievers in baseball. Since the start of the 2020 season, he has a 2.85 ERA across 243 innings pitched, 292 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 1.086. His finest season came in 2022 when he posted a 2.06 ERA in 70 innings with 94 strikeouts compared to just 15 walks.
He has been bitten by the injury bug over the last two seasons, dealing with a shoulder injury that kept him out for two weeks during the 2023 season and a hip injury that sidelined him for a month in June before ending his season in August due to it needing to be surgically repaired.
