Daniel Duarte’s 2026 season changed the conversation around him in a hurry.
A year earlier, the right-hander’s outlook had looked grim. He fought his way onto the Minnesota Twins roster in the spring of 2024, only to have an elbow injury wipe out the rest of that season and all of 2025.
Then came the rebound. Duarte signed a minor league deal with the Mets over the winter and got two chances to pitch for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.
One of those outings stood out in a big way: a shutdown inning against Team USA. He walked Bobby Witt Jr., then retired Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, and Kyle Schwarber in order.
That performance turned out to be a preview, not a one-off. Duarte opened the season with 12 solid appearances for Triple-A Syracuse and earned a call-up to New York.
Once he arrived, he put together seven straight scoreless appearances for the Mets. Later in the year, he also strung together nine consecutive scoreless outings, staying effective for most of the summer whenever the club needed him.
The numbers backed up the eye test. Duarte set career highs in strikeout rate at 26.8%, hard-hit rate at 24.3%, and xERA at 2.88. His season ended in September with a hamstring injury, but by then the Mets’ year had already gone off the rails.
Even with that rough finish, Duarte emerged as one of the few bright spots in an otherwise disastrous season for New York. And after entering the year well outside the team’s plans, he now looks like he has forced his way into the bullpen picture for 2027.
In Other News...
Mets Can Fix Three Roster Problems Without Another Big Splash
The Mets do not need to chase the biggest name on the market to make real progress this winter. There are sensible, lower-cost ways to patch obvious holes, and the kind of moves that can quietly reshape a roster without forcing the front office into a splashy commitment. Jake Burger, Anthony Bender and Tyler Hentges all fit that mold as possible trade targets, each offering a different way to add depth and flexibility without changing the entire offseason plan.
Burger would give New York another option at first base, while Bender could help stabilize the relief mix and Hentges would add a left-handed arm to the pitching staff. None of those ideas have turned into actual trades yet, but the appeal is clear: the Mets can address multiple needs by shopping in the right corners of the market instead of waiting for one headline-grabbing move to solve everything at once. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Offseason Plan Could Finally Address A Longstanding Infield Problem
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There is also the ripple effect that comes with any first-base move, because the Mets already have prospects for third base and could be looking at a different alignment if the roster breaks the right way. Harpers piece even raises the possibility of Bo Bichette moving across the diamond to third, though that remains speculative. For now, the bigger takeaway is simple: New York may finally have a path to solving an infield issue that has lingered for a while, even if the exact shape of that fix is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Offseason Rotation Plan Could Force A Risky Ace Debate
The Mets are headed into an offseason where the rotation could shape everything else they do, and the market is already looking tricky. Using the Freddy Peralta trade as a warning sign, the club is weighing the cost of chasing starting pitching on the trade market versus the price tag that comes with a top free-agent arm, especially with salary cap concerns potentially in the background.
Tarik Skubal sits near the center of that debate because a pitcher of his caliber could change the ceiling of the staff, but the Mets may still need to add two starters even if they land him. That leaves the front office trying to thread a narrow needle: improve the rotation enough to matter in 2026 while avoiding the kind of expensive move that can limit the rest of the roster build. [Read more 🡒]