Mets sign Luke Weaver for $22 million as bullpen rebuild accelerates in Queens

The New York Mets kept raiding the Yankees’ pipeline connected Wednesday, agreeing with reliever Luke Weaver connected a two-year, $22 cardinal contract, a root told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The determination adds different experienced limb to a bullpen that has been scrambling for certainty since person Edwin Diaz near for the Dodgers.

Mets adhd Weaver and deepen the Yankees-to-Queens pipeline

Weaver becomes the latest erstwhile Yankee to onshore successful Queens, joining Devin Williams this offseason and a increasing database of high-profile departures successful caller years that includes Juan Soto, Clay Holmes and manager Carlos Mendoza. The reunion space is straightforward: Weaver and Williams spent clip unneurotic successful New York, and present they are expected to assistance stabilize the precocious innings for a Mets nine trying to reshape its individuality aft Diaz’s exit.

Williams is expected to instrumentality implicit arsenic closer, with Weaver helping signifier the span to the ninth. Williams signed a three-year, $51 cardinal declaration with the Mets past period aft 1 play with the Yankees.

Weaver’s rise, setback, and relation shift

Weaver, 32, has remade himself arsenic a reliever aft a starter’s vocation that ne'er afloat clicked. A 2014 first-round pick, helium posted a 3.21 ERA successful 126 alleviation appearances for the Yankees crossed 2024 and 2025. Before that, his résumé was rougher: a 5.14 ERA implicit 144 games, including 106 starts, crossed 8 seasons with six clubs.

The Yankees archetypal grabbed him connected waivers from the Seattle Mariners successful September 2023. He turned 3 beardown starts for an out-of-contention squad into a one-year, $2 cardinal woody for 2024, with a $2.5 cardinal nine enactment for 2025, past settled into a bullpen relation that ranged from multi-inning limb to setup antheral to person during the Yankees’ World Series run.

His trajectory shifted aboriginal past season. Weaver replaced Williams arsenic closer, past suffered a hamstring wounded successful aboriginal June that sidelined him for 3 weeks. Before the injury, helium carried a 1.05 ERA successful 24 appearances. After it, helium posted a 5.31 ERA implicit 40 games and the struggles bled into October, erstwhile helium allowed 5 runs without signaling an retired successful his archetypal 2 ALDS appearances against the Toronto Blue Jays. Weaver aboriginal suggested helium felt uncomfortable with mechanical adjustments helium made precocious successful the twelvemonth to debar tipping pitches.

New York besides claimed right-hander Cooper Criswell disconnected waivers from the Red Sox, adding starter extent and different bullpen option.