Mets sign Justin Hagenman to a Major League contract

The Mets announced that they have signed right-handed Justin Hagenman to a Major League contract. He had just entered minor league free agency earlier this month. The number of 40-man players increases to 34.

Hagenman, 28, makes a Major League selection for the first time. He was drafted by the Dodgers in 2018, but when he went to the Red Sox as part of the 2023 deadline trade, Enrique Hernández to Los Angeles. The Sox never added Hagenman to their roster, so he qualified for minor league free agency after 2024 as a player with seven seasons of minor league experience. However, the Mets apparently saw enough to give him a 40-man spot today.

Over the past four years, Hagenman has pitched 302 2/3 innings at the farm with a 4.19 earned run average, a 25.7% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate. He was primarily a reliever in his career, but played more of a swingman role in 2024 without much change in his rate stats. He threw 91 2/3 Triple-A innings last year with an ERA of 4.91, a strikeout rate of 24.5% and a walk rate of 7.8%. The home run ball seemed to be an issue as he allowed 21 this year, a rate of 21.4% per flyball.

The Mets need a lot of help on the pitching staff. Each of Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek, Phil Maton, Joey Lucchesi And Drew Smith became free agents at the end of 2024, opening up a few holes in both the rotation and the bullpen. Hagenman gives the club some depth for both and in theory he can do that for a long time. Since this is his first time on a big league roster, he still has a slew of options and no big league service time.