Proper-handed reliever Jorge López and the Mets are in settlement on a one-year, $2 million deal, a supply instructed MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The membership has not confirmed the transfer.
A veteran with eight large league seasons beneath his belt, López spent the 2023 season with three groups, posting a 5.95 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 61 video games between the Twins, Marlins and Orioles.
After struggling as each a starter and reliever for his first six seasons, López instantly blossomed when he transitioned right into a full-time reliever with the Orioles in 2022. López was chosen to his first All-Star staff and later traded on the Deadline in a deal that introduced Yennier Cano — and three different pitchers — to the Orioles. All instructed, López had a 2.54 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 71 innings in ‘22.
López struggled to construct on his stellar season in 2023. After operating a 5.09 ERA and 5.92 FIP with the Twins in 37 video games, Minnesota traded him to the Marlins in trade for veteran reliever Dylan Floro. López subsequently struggled with the Marlins by posting a 9.26 ERA in a dozen outings. After Miami put López on waivers in September, the Orioles introduced him again to Baltimore, the place the righty posted a 5.25 ERA in 12 outings.
With a assured MLB contract, the 30-year-old López figures to have a fairly large function within the Mets bullpen behind electrical nearer Edwin Díaz — who missed all of 2023 with a torn patellar tendon in his proper knee — in addition to Brooks Raley and Drew Smith.
The Mets have already added two pitchers on Minor League offers, Kyle Crick and Andre Scrubb, and signed Michael Tonkin to a one-year deal earlier this week as they attempt to reinforce the depth of their bullpen, which recorded a 4.45 ERA final season.