The New York Mets are rarely accused of being subtle, especially when Steve Cohen is cutting checks for the likes of Juan Soto. But while the back-page headlines scream about nine-figure superstars, the most fascinating story in Port St. Lucie this spring might be a guy who hasn’t thrown a meaningful big-league pitch in nearly two years.
Adbert Alzolay is officially back in the mix, and if you aren’t paying attention to the right-hander, you’re missing the savviest gamble this front office has made in recent memory.
Think back to 2023 because that is the version of Alzolay that David Stearns is betting on. He was the anchor of the North Side, racking up 22 saves with a 2.67 ERA and a walk rate that made him look like a metronome on the mound. He wasn’t just getting lucky; he was dominating with a 3.02 FIP and a slider that left hitters questioning their career choices. Then the wheels fell off.
The 2024 season was a nightmare of blown leads and forearm pain that eventually led to the inevitable: Tommy John surgery.
While the Cubs decided they didn’t have the patience to wait out a 14-month rehab, the Mets saw an opening. They inked him to a two-year minor league deal in early 2025, essentially paying him to sit on a training table for a year so they could reap the rewards in 2026.
A Calculated Risk Meeting Reality
The news coming out of camp is exactly what the Mets hoped for when they signed that contract. Alzolay isn’t just “throwing”—he is unrestricted and ready for a full spring training workload. That isn’t just optimistic fluff from a team PR department. The guy already went down to Venezuela and proved his arm is attached, logging actual innings for Leones del Caracas in the Winter League.
Reports from Will Sammon indicate that Alzolay is ready to fight for a spot in a bullpen that, while crowded, is always looking for high-leverage stability.
We are talking about a guy who can miss bats and, perhaps more importantly, go multiple innings when the situation gets hairy. That kind of versatility is worth its weight in gold in the modern game where managers treat starters like they have a 50-pitch expiration date.
Can he be a Weapon?
New York has become a laboratory for bounce-back arms under this current regime. They don’t just want guys who throw hard; they want guys with elite traits that can be sharpened. Alzolay has a sinker-slider combo that, when healthy, generates a ridiculous amount of weak contact and empty swings.
His 1.02 WHIP from that peak 2023 season wasn’t a fluke. It was the result of a pitcher who finally understood how to use his stuff in short bursts. The Mets aren’t asking him to be the Opening Day closer—that’s a different conversation for a different day.
They are asking him to be a weapon, and if he’s truly 100 percent, he’s the kind of middle-relief insurance policy that wins divisions in September.
There is always a risk with post-op pitchers, especially one whose 2024 ERA ballooned to 4.67 before he hit the shelf. But at the price point and the low-risk nature of a minor league deal, this is a masterclass in roster building.
Alzolay has the ceiling of a top-tier setup man and the floor of a very capable bridge to the late innings. If the Mets’ pitching coaches can keep that arm slot consistent, the rest of the National League East is going to hate seeing him run out of that bullpen door.
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