The Mets will select Craig Kimbrel’s contract, bringing the veteran reliever back to the big leagues and setting up a roster move that could come as soon as today. He will earn $2.5 million when added to the active roster, but the club still needs a corresponding transaction to clear space on the 26-man roster.
The Mets have two open spots on their 40-man roster, so the immediate hurdle is the active roster, not the reserve list. If Tobias Myers is not sent down after throwing 36 pitches in a long relief outing last night, Richard Lovelady could be designated for assignment to make room for Kimbrel.
Kimbrel signed a minor league contract with the Mets in January and had more than enough service time to qualify as an Article XX(B) free agent, which is why his deal included three built-in opt-out dates: five days before Opening Day, May 1 and June 1. The Mets did not carry him on their Opening Day roster, and Kimbrel chose to pass on his first opt-out chance and remain in the minors.
His path back has been brief but unmistakable. He pitched a single inning for the Mets’ A-level affiliate in St. Lucie this year, while the major league club has already used 46 different players in 2025 as it keeps cycling fresh arms between the bullpen, Triple-A and DFA limbo.
That churn has made the bullpen especially unstable, with injuries and roster movement shaping nearly every decision. Huascar Brazoban and Myers are the only pitchers in the Mets’ current bullpen who still have minor league options, and Clay Holmes’ exit last night with hamstring tightness only sharpened the pressure on the staff.
Kimbrel is not arriving as a reclamation project so much as a short-term answer with a track record. He pitched 12 innings last year and posted a 2.25 ERA, numbers that were enough to keep him in the conversation even after he spent the spring in the minors. Now the Mets are turning to him because they need another arm, and because this one was always waiting in the wings.
