NY Mets free agent signing continues a creative trend David Stearns has embraced

While New York Mets fans are focused on the 2025 season, the front office have an eye on the future. David Stearns and the rest of the baseball operations team are hard at work looking for players that are not going to help the Mets in only 2025, but in the future as well. Specifically players that can make an impact on the 2026 roster.

On Thursday, the Mets made a move for potential 2026 success, signing pitcher Jose Marte to a two-year minor league contract. While some fans hope Marte could be a replacement for Danny Young, this is a move mostly for 2026. Marte is currently recovering from right shoulder surgery last September. This move continues a strategy the Mets have been using for years.

How Jose Marte contiunes a trend going into 2026

Although Marte did not pitch much in 2024, when he was on the mound, he put up decent numbers. In 19.1 innings with the Angels, he pitched to a 2.33 ERA, with 14 strikeouts to ten walks, a 1.241 WHIP, and an ERA+ of 183. He also spent time with Triple-A Salt Lake City, pitching 28.1 innings to a 2.22 ERA, with 33 strikeouts to 13 walks and a WHIP of 1.129.

Marte is known for his high velocity, specifically on his fastball. Both his four-seam and two-seam fastballs averaged out at 96 mph in 2024. According to Baseball Savant, that puts him in the 86th percentile for fastball velocity. He also throws a changeup, which averages at 92 mph, and a slider that he uses as his put-away pitch, getting 22.5% of the outs with it in 2024.

Marte is not the first pitcher the Mets have signed to a contract like this. During the offseason, they signed both Drew Smith and Adbert Alzolay to two-year minor league deals. Both pitchers tore their UCL during the 2024 season and needed Tommy John surgery, which means they'll miss the entirety of 2025. The goal of making moves like this is to help these players with their rehabs and hope they can return to the pitchers they were before the injury.

Although it may not seem like it, moves like this can go a long way for organizational success. It allows the Mets to get quality pitchers for a fraction of the cost. Although guys like Marte and Smith will not demand a contract that guys like Kirby Yates or Tanner Scott would, but they'd get a few million. It'd be an absolute steal if these pitchers can return to their pre-injury selves. They'd be paying minor league prices for major league arms. This gives the Mets some payroll flexibility and can be put towards more significant needs.

While it's smart for the Mets to pick up these injured relievers there is some risk. Injuries to a pitcher's elbow and shoulder are hard to come back from. There is no guarantee that they can return to the pitcher they were before the injury. Look at John Curtiss, a pitcher whom the Mets signed to a two-year deal while rehabbing from Tommy John in 2022. Before his injury Curtiss had three season of an ERA under four, however when he returned in 2023 he only lasted 19.2 innings with an ERA of 4.58.

While the Marte signing is a gamble, the upside makes it worth the risk.