You can find someone to argue about with most potential New York Mets offseason additions. Should they do whatever it takes to re-sign Pete Alonso or let him walk? Is Edwin Diaz going to become too expensive to keep around? Siding with one upcoming decision would have you standing on an island all by yourself.
We know Alonso is opting out. Diaz is likely to as well. Then there are guys like Frankie Montas and A.J. Minter who’ll opt into their contracts because of season-ending injuries, the former expected to miss all of 2026.
The easiest decision of all is what to do with Brooks Raley. Picking up his $4.75 million team option for 2026 is the easiest call of all for David Stearns to make this offseason.
Brooks Raley should return at a bargain rate to the Mets in 2026
Raley is one of the latest Tommy John surgery success stories in Major League Baseball to come back and look as good as he ever did. In 30 games with the Mets in 2025, the lefty was 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA. A 2.1 BB/9 and 8.8 K/9 rate assured us it wasn’t just luck in his limited 25.2 innings of work. No, Raley was a mid-season savior for the Mets bullpen.
First acquired by Billy Eppler ahead of the 2023 season, Raley has cemented himself as one of the better relief pitchers to suit up for this ball club in recent history. He now has a 2.47 ERA in a Mets uniform with more games and innings pitched for them than any other ball club.
It’s easy to forget what a unique career Raley has had. He pitched in the KBO from 2015-2019 after limited big league action with the Chicago Cubs. He was a starter over there, but upon signing a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds for the 2020 campaign, he became a reliever. His 2022 season with the Tampa Bay Rays saw him make several strides toward becoming a successful big league pitcher. He has remained a steady big league reliever with his latest accomplishment being how quickly he was able to come back from a major surgery and pitch as well as he did.
At less than $5 million for the 2026 season, the Mets took a calculated risk and will benefit from having Raley around for another round.
