Non-Roster Invitee Preview: Adbert Alozay
Adbert Alzolay signed a two-year minor league contract with the Mets before the 2025 season while recovering from Tommy John. While there was an outside chance the Mets could have him pitch in the minors in 2025, they kept him off the mound the entire summer. He pitched a few innings in winter ball after the end of the season and now enters spring training healthy.
Adbert Alzolay (left) and Nate Lavender (right) Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Alozlay had a breakout season in 2023 when the Cubs gave up trying to make him a starter. In 2023, he totaled 64 innings over 58 games with a 2.67 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 1.016 WHIP and a 160 ERA+. His Baseball Savant page was filled with red. He had a 3.63 xERA, good for the 74th percentile despite a high xBA at .242 (47th percentile). Here are some other notable stats and percentiles from 2023:
- Chase% 31.5% (79th percentile)
- Whiff% 28.1% (65th percentile)
- K% 26.5% (74th percentile)
- BB% 5.1% (92nd percentile)
- Barrel% 6.0% (81st percentile)
He totaled only 17 1/3 innings in 2024 and saw a notable slide back across most statistical categories before his injury.
- xERA 6.64
- xBA .286
- Fastball Velocity 94.5 mph
- Chase% 29.1%
- Whiff% 22.9%
- K% 17.3%
- BB% 8.0%
- Barrel% 16.4%
Note: He didn’t throw enough to qualify for percentile ranks, but if you go to his page, you can see he would been average at best for a few areas, and well below-average in most stats.
The Mets would love to see his 2023 again, which is why they took a two-year gamble on him. As a pitching staff last season, the Mets walked 556 batters, which was the seventh-highest in MLB. They need relievers who aren’t giving out free passes and generate swings and misses. Alozay enters camp with no options left, so once he gets called up, he has to stay up, or the Mets risk losing him to another team.
The focus this spring is to see what he looks like on the mound against professional hitters for the first time in two years. How many of his six pitches does he throw the first time out? How quickly does he work his whole repertoire back into his arsenal? The Mets have one spot (maybe two) in their bullpen open, but Alozay would first have to get on the 40-man, let alone the active roster.
It feels like a safe bet if Alozay is healthy, he’ll see time on the major league roster at some point this season. But first, he needs to prove it in spring training.
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