Checking in on the other half of the NY Mets trade for Jose Siri

Jose Siri is back in the New York Mets lineup just in time to relieve us of the constant barrage of Cedric Mullins. It took him practically all season to heal from a broken leg, returning for the final few weeks as a multi-tool defender, runner, and hopefully admirer of actual home runs. He stared at a double a little too long his first game back on Tuesday.

Siri’s time with the Mets went on pause early. Just 11 games logged and a pair of hits now, he’s an exciting player we could see play in every game on the base paths and with the glove without ever grabbing lumber.

So far, the trade has been pretty irrelevant to the Mets. What about the player they gave up? In order to acquire Siri, the Mets traded Eric Orze. It didn’t seem like a travesty for Mets fans who saw him give up 4 innings in 1.2 innings last season. How have things gone for him in 2025?

Eric Orze has shown plenty of potential for the Rays this year

Now implanted in the minor leagues for a little over a month, Orze’s journey back to the farm doesn’t feel as much like a punishment as it does a chance to get better. Far from terrible in his 39.2 innings in the majors this season, he went to Durham with a 2.72 ERA on the year. He struck out 38 batters and walked them at a rate of 3.4 per 9.

Success has continued in Triple-A. Orze has 25.1 innings there with a 4-0 record and 2.13 ERA. His 11 K/9 comes as a surprise to no one. It has always been a strength. Serving up home runs and a few too many walks in Triple-A was his issue. Those have been tamed a little bit with some room for improvement. He has a home run rate of 1.1 per 9 and walk rate of 3.6 per 9 in the minors. Each is only slightly worse than his MLB totals (0.9 and 3.4 per 9).

Even if Orze does turn into something, giving up a 27-year-old (now 28) reliever without much MLB experience for a shot at a player like Siri seems worth it. The Mets have team control over Siri through the 2027 season with a possible non-tender if they feel he hasn’t performed up to their expectations. There’s a possibility that the team goes into next year with the hope of keeping Siri and Tyrone Taylor as the center field duo to start things off until one of the young kids is proven ready. Each could theoretically then shift into a bench role although the redundancy may prove to be too much. Siri is Taylor to extremes.