An under the radar relief option the Mets already have

Meanwhile, Daniel Murphy is on the Hall of Fame ballot, and a pair of Marlins pitchers that could become options for New York

What’s up with the Mets? 🍎

• Former Met Daniel Murphy is among the 12 first time candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot (HOF)

• Former Mets bench coach John Gibbons joined the Terry Collins Show to discuss what went wrong down the stretch in 2025 (Youtube)

• 13 players received a qualifying offer in 2025, including Edwin Díaz - they have until today to official accept or decline it

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Rumor Mill 🔎

• Marlins RHPs Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera are two popular names among teams searching for starting pitching (MLB Network)

• The Red Sox are viewed as a strong contender to sign Pete Alonso (MLB.com)

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The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️

This week on The Just Mets Podcast hosts Rich MacLeod and Andrew Claudio react to a week of rumors, David Stearns comments and come up with a Plan B if the Mets (foolishly) allow Edwin Díaz to leave in free agency…

SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

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A relief option nobody is talking about ✍️

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Mets bullpen clearly needs an overhaul, and as we’ve discussed several times over the last week or so, the free-agent status of closer Edwin Díaz is of paramount importance at the moment.

But there’s a name that will be in the mix for a set-up role in 2026 that has not gotten much press, that I’m extremely intrigued by.

Hard-throwing 30-year-old righty Adbert Alzolay.

The Venezuelan-born hurler signed with the Cubs as an international free-agent in 2013, and while it took six years for him to navigate his way through the Chicago minor league system, he proved to be worth the wait.

In parts of six seasons with the Cubs, Alzolay appeared in 121 games (27 of which were starts), and pitched to a 4.04 ERA over 254 Major League innings. His ERA is quite a bit higher than you would expect, however, with just a cursory glance at his peripheral numbers.

Adbert Alzolay’s metrics in 2023, via Statcast

Alzolay’s lifetime WHIP of 1.16 is extremely impressive, opponents have managed just a .230 batting average against him, and he’s punched out well over a hitter/inning.

His walk rate is higher than you would like—at nearly three/nine innings, but there’s clearly a lot of upside to Alzolay and his potential.

I vividly remember his MLB debut—which came against the Mets during the COVID-truncated 2020 campaign. That night he fired four innings against the Mets while allowing just a Todd Frazier solo homer and striking out five. I recall afterwards thinking “who is this kid?” which is probably why I was excited when the Mets signed him last January to what at the time felt like a shrewd move.

Alzolay had Tommy John surgery in August of 2024 and was going to miss the entirety of 2025 no matter what. The Mets chose to bet heavily on his potential for ‘26 by signing him to a two-year free-agent pact, gaining the opportunity to oversee his rehab, get to know him personally, and gamble that he could become a difference maker out of their bullpen in year two.

Now that he’s fully healthy, the team is ready to collect some dividends.

That said, the Mets cannot go into spring training expecting Alzolay to all of a sudden be ready to become the dominant 8th inning man they need. He has appeared in just 18 games over the last two years and the sum total of 121 over the last five years. So, Alzolay is hardly the savior for the Mets bullpen problems. They must—and will—make several other additions to the relief corps, but I do believe they’ll give the veteran every opportunity to prove he can be an asset to the Major League club, and don’t be surprised if he ends up being given the chance for a significant role for this team in 2026.

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Around the League 🚩

• The Padres have re-signed LHP Kyle Hart (Fansided)

• The Yankees re-signed left-handed reliever Ryan Yarbrough (NY Post)

• The Nationals introduced their new manager, Blake Butera, on Monday afternoon (Washington Post)