The New York Mets have a busy offseason ahead as they look to bolster their roster for another deep playoff run in 2025.
Aside from ensuring superstar slugger Pete Alonso is re-signed, the Mets must address the bullpen, which was the team’s Achilles’ heal this past season.
Although the Mets’ latest move isn’t ground-breaking, it’s a step toward rejuvenating their lackluster relief core.
“Right-handed pitcher Justin Hagenman, who spent a season and a half with the (Triple-A) Worcester Red Sox without getting a call-up from the parent club in Boston (Red Sox), signed a one-year free agent deal with the New York Mets Monday,” MassLive’s Sean McAdam reported Monday.
Hagenman has logged a 32-15 record with a 3.87 ERA, 421-to-122 strikeout-to-walk ratio, .243 batting average against and a 1.23 WHIP throughout his six-year career in the minor leagues, during which he pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Red Sox farm systems.
The 28-year-old was dealt from the Dodgers to the Red Sox at the 2023 trade deadline, along with RHP Nick Robertson, in exchange for two-time World Series champion Kiké Hernández.
With Hagenman now traded away from Boston, the Red Sox are left with nothing from the Hernández trade, as Robertson is currently with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Although Hagenman has more experience pitching out of the bullpen, he performed slightly better as a starter this year for Triple-A Worcester.
It’s too early to tell what the Mets have planned for Hagenman, but perhaps they’ll give him the opportunity to make his Major League Baseball debut in 2025.
