In December 2024, David Stearns signed Brandon Waddell to a minor league contract, the right-hander having spent the prior two seasons playing in Asia, 2023 with the Rakuten Monkeys of the CPBL and the Doosan Bears of the KBO and 2024 with Doosan. Scouts specifically honed in on Waddell’s improved control, a refined changeup, and a newly added sweeping slider. While the right-hander didn’t do anything in particular to stick out, he logged an extremely respectable season. He was promoted up and down
from Triple-A Syracuse to the major leagues multiple times over the course of the season and posted a 3.45 ERA in 11 games with the Mets, allowing 29 hits, walking 11, and striking out 22 in 31.1 innings.
The yeoman’s work that the left-handed did throughout the year did not go overlooked, as Stearns re-signed the left-hander for the 2026 season on a major league shortly after the 2025 season officially concluded. Not every player who steps foot on the field needs to be a star, and while Waddell certainly was not one, he was a good soldier and then some in 2025. He was designated for assignment in December and then outrighted to Syracuse after passing through waivers.
The left-hander will be competing for a spot in a Mets bullpen that has been augmented since his initial signing, but a strong showing in spring training could punch his ticket north for Opening Day 2026 in Queens as one of the final bullpen arms.
