David Stearns opened the Mets’ offseason by taking a low-profile swing with real upside, claiming second baseman Kyren Paris off waivers from the Angels.
Paris, a second-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, arrived with a prospect pedigree that still matters. He was ranked as the Angels’ No. 4 prospect in 2024 and has put together productive stretches in the minors, including a 2026 line of .274/.384/.458 across Double-A and Triple-A. Over his last 34 games with Triple-A Salt Lake, he hit .339/.442/.669 with a 163 wRC+, nine doubles and 11 home runs.
The big-league results haven’t matched that track record. Paris has struggled in the majors, though his sample is still small - just 88 games since his debut in 2023. Because the Angels used up all of his minor league options, the Mets will have to keep him on the major-league roster if they want to hang onto him.
At first glance, the move could easily get lost in the shuffle of an offseason. But Paris fits a spot where the Mets need help. Second base is unsettled, with Marcus Semien struggling and Brett Baty proving inconsistent, and that opens the door for a real competition.
Paris would still have work to do to jump ahead of the Mets’ top prospect, Jefferson Rojas, but he’s at least in the mix. His age also makes him a different kind of waiver claim than the usual out-of-options player. Drafted at 17, he’ll be 25 at the start of next season.
There’s also a case to be made that the Angels didn’t give him enough runway. Paris never played more than 44 big-league games in a season for a club that wasn’t contending, which raises the question of whether his development was handled well.
He brings more than just bat-to-ball upside, too. Paris has played shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots, giving him the kind of defensive flexibility that can keep a player useful even when the roster gets tight.
This is the kind of bet Stearns has liked to make. He’s shown a willingness to target younger players with upside, and that approach has paid off before, even if it has been less reliable in recent years. His evaluations of older big-league talent have missed at times, including Jorge Polanco and Frankie Montas, but his track record with younger players has been much stronger.
That includes his Mets work, with Carson Benge as one example, and it also reaches back to his Brewers days, when he helped assemble pieces that became part of a championship team. He signed Jackson Chourio and Abner Uribe in international free agency, both of whom are key to the 2026 season.
The Angels have also shown a willingness to move on from young players before they fully blossom. Mickey Moniak was released in 2025, then signed a one-year deal with the Rockies and turned in the best season of his career. Moniak had more big-league experience than Paris, but the pattern is hard to miss.
Moves like this don’t always draw much attention. Sometimes, though, they end up mattering more than anyone expects. If Stearns is leaning back into the player-development playbook that has worked for him before, Paris could be the first small move that helps shape the Mets’ offseason.
In Other News...
Mets Just Sent A Strong Signal With An Unusual Infield Move
The Mets added another infield option this week, signing Christian Cairo to a one-year split contract after claiming him off waivers from the Phillies. Cairo spent most of the 2026 season at Triple-A with Philadelphia before ending the year at Syracuse, giving New York a player it has already seen up close in its own system and a bit more organizational depth in the middle of the diamond.
It also came as part of a broader roster shuffle, with the Mets outrighting several players from the 40-man roster, including Cristian Pache, Eric Wagaman, Philip Abner, and Cameron Weston. Moves like this often say as much about the clubs winter priorities as any splashier transaction, and New York is clearly continuing to sort through which pieces it wants to keep in the mix as the roster takes shape. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Prospects Are Sending Very Different Signals In Arizona
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For the Mets, the bigger takeaway is not any single score but the range of signals coming from Arizona. Some players have added to solid cumulative numbers, while others are still working through the kind of up-and-down stretch that often defines fall ball, leaving the organization with a fuller picture but not a finished one. The results have been useful, if not always tidy, and they have kept several of these names in the conversation as the AFL schedule moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Add Another Pitching Wild Card To Their 40-Man Mix
The Mets added another arm to their 40-man mix by claiming right-hander Jack Anderson off waivers from the Twins, a move that fits the clubs recent habit of collecting pitchers who can cover multiple roles. Anderson has already seen big league time with Minnesota and Boston, and his brief major league sample last year came with a 2.19 ERA, enough to make him an intriguing depth piece as the roster takes shape.
Anderson also arrives with two minor league options remaining, which gives the Mets some flexibility if they want to shuttle him between New York and Syracuse as needed. For now, he looks like the kind of pitcher who could be deployed as an opener or a long reliever, a useful profile for a staff that always seems to need one more option ready to absorb innings when the schedule gets messy. [Read more 🡒]