The Mets have reportedly made their first move of the Winter Meetings, signing reliever Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league deal Tuesday morning, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon.
A lanky right-hander
with an over-the-top deliver, Edwards Jr. began his big league career with the Cubs, winning a World Series ring as a 24-year-old rookie in 2016 before posting two strong seasons out of the bullpen. Across 2017 and 2018, Edwards Jr. held a 2.81 ERA with 161 strikeouts in 118.1 innings pitched. After getting off to a stumbling start in 2019, the Cubs traded Edwards Jr., and he struggled to find success with a quartet of teams in the coming years. In 2022 and 2023, he bounced back with the Nationals as an effective (albeit less dominant) bullpen arm before injuries derailed his 2023 campaign. Last season, Edwards Jr. racked up just six major league innings, spending most of his time with the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate.
Edwards Jr. is a three-pitch pitcher, sporting a four-seam fastball, a 12-6 curveball, and a changeup which he sparingly sprinkles in. During his Cubs days, Edwards Jr. relied on the fastball well over two-thirds of the time, though today the pitch averages just a tick above 93 mph rather than sitting around 95 mph. Edwards Jr. has also historically been more effective against righties than lefties, holding righties to a .156 batting average in 2023 while lefties hit .350 against him.
If the 34-year-old earns time on the major league roster, he’ll be joining a relief corps including recent high-end signing Devin Williams. The status of Edwin Díaz still looms large as the biggest question for the Mets’ bullpen, and arguably the biggest question of the organization’s offseason as the Winter Meetings progress. Whether the Mets re-sign their elite closer or pivot in a different direction, there’s sure to be more moves to come as the team shapes their pitching staff for 2026.
