Lefty taken from the Yankees is their most unexpected NY Mets non-roster invitee

The New York Mets announced their long list of non-roster invitees for spring training. We’ll certainly see more than these guys plus those on the 40-man roster. Non-roster invitees seem to be more of a formality as anyone within the organization can participate in games. Getting the invite is merely a vote of confidence that there’s at least some interest in the player performing for the team in the coming year.

Most were already known. One who hadn’t been confirmed was Matt Turner. A lefty reliever taken from the New York Yankees in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, he had an incredibly odd way of finding his way to the Mets organization.

Turner signed with the Yankees on a minor league contract on December 5. On December 10, he was changing boroughs. Why pick him and then offer the invite? His minor league statistics don’t hint at much but a look at how he did in the Independent League and in Mexico will show some vastly different results than anything he ever did in affiliated baseball.

Matt Turner isn’t coming straight from the Independent League but he might as well

The 26-year-old southpaw was originally an 11th round draft pick by the Cleveland Indians back in 2017. He made it to Double-A in 2023 before departing for a noteworthy year in the Atlantic League and later the Mexican League. He had a 2.44 ERA in 48 innings with 17 saves and a 11.6 K/9 rate. They were the kind of numbers that likely had him jumping onto David Stearns’ radar.

He completed his year with a 17.2 inning stretch in Mexico with a 1.53 ERA and 10.7 K/9 rate. All the while he was posting good walk numbers as well, 3.4 BB/9 with York and 2.5 BB/9 in Mexico.

Turner returned to affiliated ball last year with the Colorado Rockies. Just because he didn’t get to Denver doesn’t mean he didn’t have to deal with hitter’s ballparks. He did well in less than a dozen innings with their Double-A team in Hartford but saw the effects of pitching in Albuquerque. He had a 6.45 ERA and just under a strike out per inning in his 44.2 innings. Their home ballpark has been one of the toughest for pitchers as is a large part of the Pacific Coast League.

Turner’s formal invitation to Mets camp is good news for him, maybe worse for others. The team took multiple players in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft. Fellow pitchers Justin Armbruester and Aaron Rozek didn’t receive a welcome mat. Offseason additions of Robinson Martinez, Tyler Burch, and Trey McGough had their letters from Hogwarts lost in the mail, too.

Turner is one of four lefty relievers the Mets are inviting to camp. He’ll compete alongside the likes of Anderson Severino, Joe Jacques, Nate Lavender, and maybe even Brandon Waddell (a starter technically) for some big league playing time when the team needs a second lefty. Out of the gate, they’re likely to be down a man with A.J. Minter out.

The Mets aren’t shy about setting records for pitchers used. If he does well, Turner will get one of those temporary roster spots for an evening in 2026.