One of the calling cards of the David Stearns era has been a glut of relievers brought it, called up, sent down, designated for assignment, released, waived, purchased, or otherwise moved around the fringes of the Mets’ organization. While for some folks, myself included, the constant churn can seem like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic at points, the process allows the Mets to get looks at a ton of pitchers and decide if those pitchers have a role in the team longer-term than just the inning or two that is directly in front of them.
In that regard, the Mets seem to like Kevin Herget quite a bit. Over the past 18 months, the Mets have acquired fellow Bergen County, NJ native Herget thrice: claiming him off waivers from the Reds after the conclusion of the 2024 season, signing him as a free agent in mid-July after his first stint with the Mets and subsequent stint with the Braves ended, and then signing him again to a minor league deal in December.
Now, to be fair, the Mets don’t like him that much, as he only threw 12 total innings for the big league club in 2025, and they designated him for assignment twice. The DFAs have more to do with roster construction than anything else; the fact that he was brought back each time is more of an endorsement than the releases were a referendum on his talents.
In his limited time in the majors, Herget only had one appearance that could be classified as bad, and that was when he was left in too long in a laugher against the Tigers. He didn’t strike out a ton of batters, but he limited damage and was dependably giving the Mets at least an inning, if not multiple innings, in each appearance. His final Mets line was a 3.00 ERA in 12 innings over six appearances with six strikeouts and three walks.
His numbers didn’t look too different in Syracuse either (2.81 ERA over 32 innings with 35 strikeouts and eight walks). Simply put, he limits hard contact with a mostly three-pitch mix of four seam fastball, cutter, and changeup. The fastball average velo was just 92.1 mph in 2025, which is not what you’d expect from a right-hander out of the bullpen, but he makes it work.
The question remains to be seen if he can make it work for any extended period of time in the majors and, just as importantly, if the Mets will give him the opportunity to answer that question. Herget is out of options, so if the Mets call him up, he’s going to really have to prove his worth to not have the same DFA shuffle happen again. And while his skillset is certainly useful, with limited bullpen roles, a soft-tossing righty without big strikeout numbers is going to be a hard sell.