Things were looking pretty bleak for Daniel Duarte in the spring of 2024. He battled his way onto the Minnesota Twins roster before an elbow injury sidelined him for the rest of '24 and all of 2025.
Whether playing for Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic or being a surprisingly good piece of the New York Mets bullpen, Duarte's career rebounded nicely in 2026.
Duarte signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the winter, then made two appearances with Mexico in the WBC, including a shutdown inning against Team USA. Duarte walked Bobby Witt Jr., then retired superstars Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, and Kyle Schwarber in order.
The right-hander proved his WBC performance wasn't a fluke, posting his best season in the big leagues by far. He got the call to the Mets after 12 solid appearances for Triple-A Syracuse to start the season. He then rattled off seven consecutive scoreless appearances for New York. Duarte also had a separate streak of nine straight scoreless appearances, remaining effective for most of the summer when he got his chances with the big-league club.
Duarte posted a career high in strikeout rate (26.8%), hard-hit rate (24.3%), and xERA (2.88). His year ended with a hamstring injury in September, long after the Mets' season had gone down the drain. Still, his was somewhat of a bright spot in an otherwise disastrous year. Especially considering he wasn't a big part of the team's plans heading into the season.
Thanks to his '26 season, Duarte has likely flipped that script and should be a part of the team's bullpen picture in 2027.
