Forgotten former NY Mets player is heading to arbitration after unique season

An arbitration case in Tampa Bay usually doesn't circle back to the New York Mets, but this one does. The reliever heading to a hearing this offseason barely passed through Queens, logging one appearance and three innings before moving on. At the time, it registered as nothing more than a line on a transaction wire, easy to miss and easier to forget.

Since then, the résumé has changed completely. Over the last two seasons, he has put together one of the rarest relief profiles in the sport, combining wins, strikeouts, and holds in a way almost nobody ever does. That is why he is now headed to an arbitration hearing with the Rays, and why a pitcher the Mets barely saw has suddenly become worth a much longer look.

The stats explain why the Mets wish Edwin Uceta stayed longer

Uceta’s Mets stint moved quickly. Claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh in April of 2023, he was added to the 40-man roster and sent to Triple-A Syracuse. He was recalled not long after and made his only appearance for the New York Mets, throwing three scoreless innings with no hits allowed, two walks, and three strikeouts.

That appearance didn’t lead to a second because his season unraveled almost immediately. Uceta went on the injured list with a sprained ankle and, while rehabbing, suffered a knee injury that required surgery, thus ending his year. His time with the Amazins ended on August 16, when he was designated for assignment to make room for Dennis Santana. That was the end of his Mets tenure, before there was time for anything else to develop.

The 2024 season with Tampa Bay is where the picture starts to come into focus. Over 41.2 innings, Uceta posted a 1.51 ERA, allowing 26 hits and eight walks while striking out 57 hitters with a 266 ERA+. He didn’t reach the innings minimum to qualify for the leaderboards, but the quality of the work was still obvious. He finished at the top of the league in hard-hit rate, chase rate, and whiff rate, and opponents managed just a .183 xBA against him.

Uceta’s 2025 season ended up in rare territory. He struck out 103 hitters, recorded 21 holds, and finished with double-digit wins out of the bullpen. Only two relievers in MLB history had ever landed on that same stat line (double-digit wins, 100+ strikeouts, and 20+ holds). The ERA settled at 3.79, but that number was never the point. Everything else around it carried far more weight.

That’s why this arbitration hearing exists, and why the Mets’ side of the story still feels incomplete. It isn’t about those three innings. It’s about never getting a fourth. Sometimes the wait matters, especially with relievers, and this is one of those cases where you can’t help but wish the Mets had a little more time to see what they had.