The Mets keep churning the bottom of the roster, and their latest move brings in a left-hander with a very clear problem to solve.
New York claimed Philip Abner off waivers from the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday and designated right-hander Xzavion Curry for assignment. Abner, who is 24, has 18 big league appearances on his résumé and a 6.75 ERA in the majors.
A few details make the move at least a little more interesting. Abner played at the University of Florida with Brandon Sproat, and he arrives with the kind of profile the Mets have been willing to tinker with before.
His fastball has been the obvious issue. The pitch has averaged 90.6 mph this year across 174 offerings, which Baseball Savant places in the 6th percentile.
That’s not much of a weapon for a pitcher whose most-used pitch is supposed to set the tone. It’s also the sort of thing a team can look at and decide there’s room to reshape.
Brooks Raley, after all, hasn’t thrown a 4-seam fastball since 2023. Abner could be another candidate for that kind of makeover.
The results on the heater have been rough. Batters have hit .349 with a .558 slugging percentage against the pitch this season, and much of Abner’s 7.11 ERA in 2026 traces back to that weakness.
His curveball, his second-most-used pitch, also doesn’t jump out as something he can lean on heavily going forward. A sinker or sweeper might give him a better path if the Mets want to build something new.
There is some reason to think there’s more here than the surface numbers suggest. In 46 career Triple-A innings, Abner has posted a 3.72 ERA and a 10.6 K/9 rate, which stands out considering the lack of velocity.
And while there aren’t split numbers available for this season, last year he handled lefties well. Left-handed hitters batted .157/.217/.315 against him, even though he gave up four home runs to them and only one to righties.
Right-handers hit .283/.348/.383 overall.
The Mets also get a pitcher with age on his side and two minor league options left after this year, which helps explain the appeal. He may not stick, and he’s certainly not a sure thing, but he does give New York another arm to stash on the 40-man roster and possibly keep around until camp.
The Giants had just claimed Abner off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks a little over a month ago, so they clearly saw some of the same upside. There’s nothing flashy about the pickup. Still, the Mets appear to think Abner is the kind of project they can try to sharpen.
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