Free-agent reliever Brooks Raley and the New York Mets are in agreement on a one-year contract with a club option for a second season, according to sources familiar with the deal.
Here’s a breakdown of the contract, via major-league sources.
2025: $1.5 million.
Plus in 2025: $125,000 each for 10, 15, 20 games pitched. $175,000 each for 25, 30, 35 games pitched. He'll also get $250,000 if added to the major-league roster.
2026: $4.75 million club option ($350,000 buyout).
Plus in 2026: $250,000 each for 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 games pitched.
Immediately after signing Raley, the Mets placed the left-hander on the 60-day Injured List. He underwent Tommy John surgery last May and is still recovering from the elbow reconstruction, so he will not be an immediate option for a Mets team that desperately needs left-handed arms in the bullpen.
Mets sign Brooks Raley to add some much-needed bullpen depth
A.J. Minter and Danny Young are the only two left-handed arms to pitch out of the Mets’ bullpen this season. But Minter was placed on the 15-day Injured List due to a lat strain and there’s a chance he’ll need season-ending surgery. Young, meanwhile, posted a 4.32 ERA in 10 games but was placed on the 15-day Injured List with a left elbow sprain and will undergo Tommy John surgery, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic.
Raley, 36, recently threw for interested teams and his doctors believe he can start a rehab assignment in June, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Raley was with the Mets in 2023 and 2024, so there’s plenty of familiarity between the two sides. And when he has been healthy, he’s posted a strong 2.48 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched.
In seven major-league seasons, Raley has posted a 4.04 ERA in 222.2 innings pitched. He should be viewed as an early trade deadline addition for New York considering that he’ll return at some point midseason for the Mets. But considering the injuries to the Mets’ pitching this season, bolstering the pitching staff should be a top priority for president of baseball operations David Stearns.