In this four-part series, we look back on the minor leaguers that the Mets released or traded over 2025. Today, we focus on the outfielders.
01/17/25: Syracuse Mets released OF Edward Olivares.
02/01/25:
DSL Mets Orange released OF Enderson Asencio.
• Asencio was signed by the organization in January 15, 2023 for $75,000, and thanks to his size and batting practice power, many scouts and evaluators considered him a player to follow. While there was much to like about the early returns once he finally started playing professionally, there were still many areas of improvement to focus on and hone. After two seasons, the Mets decided to cut ties with the 18-year-old.
03/21/25: DSL Mets Orange released OF Rocky Solano.
03/24/25: St. Lucie Mets released OF Jacoby Long.
• Long was drafted in the 17th round of the 2024 MLB Draft and his tenure with the organization lasted 18 total games in 2024 in which he hit .203/.271/.234.
05/18/25: Syracuse Mets released OF Billy McKinney.
05/28/25: OF José Azocar elected free agency.
• Azocar signed with the Atlanta Braves the next day, spent about a month in their system- which included a brief call-up to Atlanta- and was then released. He re-signed with the Mets at the end of June and was re-assigned back to Syracuse.
06/27/25: Binghamton Rumble Ponies released OF Alex Ramírez.
• The writing was on the wall and we all knew the other shoe would eventually drop, but it was still weird to see Ramirez’ name on the release log. Signed as a much touted and hyped international free agent on July 2, 2019 for $2.05 million- at that point the third-largest signing bonus given to an international rookie, behind Fransisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio- it took a few years for Ramirez to finally make his professional debut, but when finally did in 2021, the early returns were promising. Generally one of the youngest, if not the youngest player, in the league over the course of his first few years in Single-A and High-A baseball, Ramirez treaded water at worst and thrived at best. By the time he was promoted to Double-A, it became clear that his unconventional mechanics at the plate and free-swinging ways were a major liability. He was non-tendered in November 2024, but re-signed as a minor league free agent, keeping him in the organization, but was released after continuing to put up poor numbers in Double-A.
07/02/25: Syracuse Mets released OF Travis Swaggerty.
• Back in 2018, Swaggerty was one of the players I was interested in seeing the Mets draft with their 6th overall draft pick, but they drafted Jered Kelenic instead. Swaggerty ended up getting picked by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 10th overall pick. Given their overall lackluster careers, six of one thing, half-dozen of another, I guess. Swaggerty was one of the first players I recall who truly grew up in the digital social media age and having to furiously scrub his twitter profile during the draft process to make sure less-than-savory things did not cause embarrassments to either him or the team that eventually would draft him.
07/13/25: OF Travis Jankowski elected free agency.
07/30/25: Mets traded OF Drew Gilbert.
• Drew Gilbert became a very polarizing prospect sometime between last winter and the 2025 trade deadline. To some, he was the center fielder of the future, a solid defensive fielder who was still recovering from injuries sustained the season prior and was just starting to come out of that funk. To some, he was a bum who wouldn’t be able to stick in center field and whose bat had regressed to the point that he was unlikely to be able to be an everyday major leaguer. The jury is still out obviously, but San Francisco did call him up, for what it’s worth, and in the 39 games he appeared in, he hit .190/.248/.350 in 100 at-bats with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 1 stolen base in 2 attempts, and drew 7 walks to 20 strikeouts.
Regardless, to get something, you need to give something up, and Tyler Rogers was without question the best trade acquisition that the organization made in 2025. The funky right-hander appeared in 28 games for a Mets bullpen that desperately needed to be buttressed and posted a 2.30 ERA in 27.1 innings. Sure, he barely struck anyone out, but he didn’t allow much hard contact and gave Carlos Mendoza a reliable hand to turn to in a sea of untrustworthy relievers. He has since signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, closing the book on the deal from the Mets point-of-view and what the team got out of the deal. Now, only time will tell if it was worth it.
08/04/25: St. Lucie Mets released OF Willy Fanas.
• Initially set to sign a $1.8 million dollar contract with the Los Angeles Angels during the 2020-2021 international free agent signing period, the deal fell apart- the worst case scenario for international rookies from the Caribbean- leading to the Mets signing him for $1.5 million dollars on January 15, 2022. Fanas generally underwhelmed at every level the Mets had him assigned, from the Dominican Summer League up to the Florida State League, and after a slow with St. Lucie this season, the organization decided to cut ties with the 21-year-old.
Almost more interesting than his career was the fact that Fanas and another aspiring ballplayer, Keiderson Pavon, sued the Los Angeles Angels in a Dominican court for reneging on the verbal agreements that the team reached with the two players- aged 14 and 15 at the time. Various media reports go into detail about the reasons the suit was filed, but there have been no public updates as to what is going on regarding the suit since early 2023.
08/04/25: DSL Mets Blue released OF Anthony Baptist.
• Baptist received one of the larger signing bonuses the Mets gave out during the 2023-2024 international free agent signing periods, agreeing to terms with the organization for $1.1 million, nearly 20% of their allotted $5.2 million that year. He appeared in 32 games for the DSL Mets that summer and hit a healthy .276/.427/.476 with 3 doubles, 6 triples, 2 home runs, 12 stolen bases, and 25 walks to 29 strikeouts, all while looking solid in center field. In March 2024, prior to the start of the season, Baptist was suspended for lying about his age, claiming he was 17 at the time of his signing when he was not. He served out his suspension, was activated and appeared in a handful of games for the DSL Mets Orange in 2025 and was released.
08/15/25: Syracuse Mets released OF Rafael Ortega.
08/25/25: Brooklyn Cyclones released OF Troy Schreffler Jr.
08/29/25: Syracuse Mets released OF Pablo Reyes.
09/29/25: OF Jose Siri elected free agency.
11/06/25: DSL Mets Blue released OF Fidel Pinango.
11/06/25: OF Omar De Los Santos elected free agency.
• De Los Santos was fun to watch for a while. From 2022 to 2024, he stole 152 bases (in 188 attempts, a well-above average marginal return rate); the next highest total was Rowdey Jordan, who stole 69 bases during that same period. Never a good hitter- he batted .207/.261/.310 in 2023 and .192/.277/.348 in 2024- the Mets moved on after a third poor- though marginally improved- season (.232/.266/.424).
11/06/25: OF José Azocar elected free agency.
