The Mets are amidst another disappointing campaign. The blue and orange are sitting nine games under .500 (26-35) and are beginning to prepare to sell off a big chunk of the roster at this year’s trade deadline.
Despite the squad’s struggles, no free rides have been on the roster this season when a player has underperformed or acted out.
Recently, the Mets designated a pair of former all-stars for assignments, and they have now been officially released.
The Mets have released Jorge López and Omar Narváez
According to Tim Healey of Newsday, the Mets have officially released Jorge López and Omar Narváez.
López signed a one-year $2 million contract with the Mets this past offseason, hoping to return to the all-star form he had with the Baltimore Orioles.
The 31-year-old had done just that other than having a few bad outings. The Puerto Rico native had pitched 26.1 innings across 28 appearances to a 3.76 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP and 19 strikeouts.
López would still be on the Mets if not for chucking his glove over the protective netting and into the crowd after being ejected against the Dodgers and then ranting postgame, saying, “I think I’ve been on the worst team in probably the whole f–king MLB.”
Time will tell if López gets another chance now that he’s on the open market, but with his recent actions, no team wanted to spend a waiver claim on him and be on the hook for the remainder of his deal.
Narváez signed with the Mets before the 2023 season on a two-year $15 million deal to be the starting catcher until Francisco Álvarez was ready for the major leagues.
The 32-year-old never quite found his footing in Flushing and struggled in 2024, slashing .154/.191/.185 across 28 games with no home runs and five RBIs alongside an abysmal 12 OPS+. Defensively, Narváez hadn’t fared much better as he had a negative seven defensive runs saved above average and had thrown out just two of the 35 steal attempts.
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Narváez will likely get picked up by another squad with him now on the open market, but no team likely was willing to pick up the $7.5 million cap hit on the struggling catcher and would rather wait to pay him the veteran’s minimum.