The Mets have moved on from Adbert Alzolay, releasing the right-hander after his stint with Triple-A Syracuse, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He’s now a free agent and free to sign with any club.
Alzolay, 31, once looked like a real late-inning weapon. In 2023 with the Cubs, he turned in a breakout season, logging 64 innings with a 2.67 ERA.
He struck out 26.5% of the batters he faced, walked just 5.1%, and got ground balls on 42.2% of balls in play. That year, he also stepped into the closer role and finished with 22 saves.
The momentum didn’t last. Early in 2024, his velocity had dipped and he posted a 4.67 ERA across 17 1/3 innings.
Later that summer, he landed on the injured list and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in August. Chicago non-tendered him ahead of 2025.
That led him to the Mets on a two-year minor league deal covering 2025 and 2026. It was a logical arrangement for both sides, since Alzolay was expected to miss the entire 2025 season. The Mets knew the first year might not bring any on-field return, while Alzolay got rehab time, salary, and access to club facilities.
He did miss all of 2025, then worked his way back onto the mound in 2026. After building up in the lower levels, he arrived at Triple-A Syracuse about a month ago. The results there never really turned the corner.
In eight appearances, he threw 8 2/3 innings and allowed ten earned runs. Some of that line came with bad luck in a small sample, but the underlying numbers weren’t encouraging: seven strikeouts among 43 batters faced, a 16.3% strikeout rate, and five walks, which works out to 11.6%. His four-seam fastball averaged 92.5 mph, a noticeable drop from the 95.3 mph he averaged during that 2023 breakout.
So the Mets have decided to cut bait. Given what he showed at his peak, Alzolay figures to draw some interest elsewhere, but he’s not walking into a bullpen and fixing it overnight. Any club that signs him will be betting on a rebound in velocity, strikeouts, or both.
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