The New York Mets' latest signing of Luke Weaver follows a hilariously strange trend set by the team in recent years. Weaver is the latest player to join the Mets immediately after playing for the New York Yankees.
This trend has Yankees fans poking fun at the Mets' direction, and Mets fans are beyond frustrated. Ultimately, the Mets making these moves has nothing to do with David Stearns having a sense of humor or the Mets looking to get any sort of revenge on their crosstown rivals. It has everything to do with the players simply being good fits on a team trying to win baseball games.
List of Yankees players who have signed with the Mets since 2023
Again, the list of notable former Yankees to sign with the Mets since the 2023 offseason is rather large.
Player | Position | Year Signed |
|---|---|---|
Luis Severino | RHP | 2023 |
Harrison Bader | OF | 2024 |
Frankie Montas | RHP | 2024 |
Juan Soto | OF | 2024 |
Clay Holmes | RHP | 2024 |
Devin Williams | RHP | 2025 |
Luke Weaver | RHP | 2025 |
Weaver becomes the seventh former Yankee to sign with the Mets in this span, the fifth since the 2024 offseason, and the second this offseason alone. What's even funnier is that five of those players went straight from the Yankees to the Mets, with Harrison Bader (who played most of 2023 with the Yankees before finishing that season with the Reds) and Frankie Montas as the lone exceptions.
As funny and as strange as this might be, all seven of these players have one thing in common. They made sense on the Mets.
Mets signed former Yankees players who fit on their roster
Luis Severino made a lot of sense for the Mets as a bounce-back candidate on a one-year deal, and sure enough, he was a key piece on the 2024 team. Harrison Bader was signed to be their starting center fielder, and he was rock-solid for most of the year. Frankie Montas fit the Severino mold the following offseason, but as everyone in the Tri-State Area knows, that one didn't age nearly as well.
Juan Soto is, well, do I really need to explain that one? It's Juan Soto. Clay Holmes was a really good reliever for the Yankees, and the Mets wound up getting a really solid year out of him in their rotation in 2025. As for Williams and Weaver, both of them should fit nicely in the back-end of the team's bullpen. The Mets needed relievers, and Williams and Weaver were among the best options available in free agency.
The Mets didn't go out of their way to sign these players because they played on the Yankees. They signed them because they fit on their roster and are talented. Montas is the only signing thus far that hasn't aged well, and there's no reason to believe Williams and Weaver, two relievers with strong track records, will flop in Queens.
While the Mets don't sign former Yankees because of their experience in the Bronx, having that experience certainly doesn't hurt.
Signing players who have succeeded in New York is a strong strategy for the Mets
Playing in a big market is not for everyone. We've seen countless players fold under the pressure of New York City, and I can't say I blame them fully. I can't say the pressure of New York is why guys like Ryan Helsley and Cedric Mullins struggled as mightily as they did after the Mets acquired them, but it probably didn't help them as they were struggling.
Knowing this, why not show extra interest in players who have proven they can pitch under the bright lights of New York City? After a rough start, Devin Williams really settled in. Despite his postseason hiccup this past season, Luke Weaver revived his career in the Bronx. Of the list of six players the Mets have signed in recent years, only Montas really crumbled under the New York City pressure. Sure enough, he's the only clear bust of the six as of this writing.
Signing any external option comes with some semblance of risk, but it feels less risky for a New York team to sign a player who has already succeeded in this market. It's one less thing to worry about.
Yankees and Mets are following similar paths
The Mets garnering the reputation of just taking the Yankees' scraps doesn't make much sense for a couple of reasons. First, the players they've signed, again, are good and filled clear roster needs. Second, the Yankees are the team acquiring former Mets who are far less impactful. Just look at this list from that exact same time frame.
Player | Position | Year Acquired |
|---|---|---|
Marcus Stroman | RHP | 2024 |
Dennis Santana | RHP | 2024 |
Pablo Reyes | INF/OF | 2025 |
Carlos Carrasco | RHP | 2025 |
Adam Ottavino | RHP | 2025 |
Geoff Hartlieb | RHP | 2025 |
Amed Rosario | INF/OF | 2025 (Trade) |
Paul Blackburn | RHP | 2025 |
This list doesn't even include players like Dominic Smith, Billy McKinney and Chasen Shreve (I can include others), former Mets who signed minor league deals with the Yankees in this span. The reason why this list doesn't get nearly as much attention as the Mets' one is that none of the players here have played much of a role in the Bronx.
Why is it a bad thing when the Mets sign actual good players who played for the Yankees, but the Yankees get no attention when they sign mediocre to bad players who do nothing in the Bronx after playing for the Mets? Weird how that works.
Anyway, the Mets should continue the trend of signing former Yankees by making any of these moves in free agency.
Mets should consider signing any of these former Yankees
RHP Michael King
Michael King isn't the lockdown reliever he once was with the Yankees. In the past two years, he's established himself as a legitimate frontline starter since being traded from the Yankees to the San Diego Padres. For the Mets, a team in dire need of starting pitching, few, if any, options are more appealing in free agency than King.
OF Cody Bellinger
After trading Brandon Nimmo away and letting Pete Alonso walk, the Mets' need for an impact bat, particularly in the outfield, is glaring. Kyle Tucker is the best option, but Bellinger should be much cheaper. He is a better and more versatile defender and has proven he can succeed in New York. The Mets can do a lot worse, even if I don't love Bellinger's offensive fit at Citi Field.
RHP Jake Cousins
Jake Cousins getting non-tendered by the Yankees wasn't shocking since he's expected to miss most of 2026 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery, but he was a key member of New York's bullpen in 2024, posting a 2.37 ERA in 37 appearances. Signing Cousins to a cheap two-year deal, adding him as a potential option down the stretch and for 2027 makes a lot of sense, especially since the right-hander still has a minor league option, giving the Mets all kinds of flexibility.
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