The Mets have started trimming and reshaping their 40-man roster, and one of the first moves was a waiver claim that brings in a pitcher who at least gives them something to work with.
New York claimed right-hander Jack Anderson from the Twins, according to a source. The move gets the Mets back to 40 after they had dropped the roster to 39, and it adds a pitcher who spent time in the majors with both Minnesota and Boston last season.
Anderson’s big-league line in 2026 is small, but it caught attention: 12.1 innings, a 2.19 ERA, 2.2 BB/9 and 8.8 K/9 across seven games. Those numbers line up fairly closely with what he has done in the minors overall, where the strikeout rate matches exactly and the walks are slightly lower than his 2.4 BB/9 mark.
He is hardly the kind of name that jumps off the page. A 16th-round draft pick, Anderson has had to fight for every step, and a 5.62 ERA in Triple-A did not exactly make the path easier. Still, he got to the majors and looked competent when he was there.
For the Mets, the appeal is pretty clear. Anderson has two minor league options left, which gives the club some flexibility if it wants to stash him and move him around. The expectation is that he could be used in an opener or longman role if he sticks through the offseason churn.
That said, there is no guarantee he stays put. The roster shuffle is still in motion, and Anderson’s spot is far from locked down. The Mets still have Christopher Morel, Chayce McDermott and Robert Stock on the roster even though they have no minor league options, while Eric Wagaman has already been removed and reassigned to the minors.
Anderson also made 16 of his 33 career professional starts in 2026, all in the minors. His 4.86 ERA as a starter last season may have been enough to steer the Mets away from trying to stretch him out further, which makes him look more like a Justin Hagenman alternative than a rotation project.
For now, he’s another arm in the mix - the kind of depth piece the Mets seem willing to collect and sort through as the offseason unfolds.
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