The New York Mets don't have to worry about a last-week-of-the-season playoff push.
A year ago at this time, they were in the midst of a horrific collapse that saw them just miss out on the postseason. This time around, they've long since been out of the playoff picture.
That's helpful in just one way — it makes it easy to look toward the future.
The offseason is coming, and there will be lots of decisions to make. Many of them will involve players still under contract — there are sure to be rumors about trading Francisco Lindor , whether they're legitimate reports or not.
The Mets don't have a lot of players who are pending free agents. They've signed a lot of guys to big deals already.
But there's one really effective pitcher bound for free agency, and he won't break their bank to bring back.
The pending free agent pitcher under discussion here is Daniel Duarte.
Duarte is ending the season on the injured list, but he was everything the Mets could want him to be in 2026.
He threw in 24 games for the Mets, all in relief, for a total of 29.2 innings. He allowed 17 hits and seven walks, less than a baserunner per inning (0.81 WHIP).
In that time, he allowed seven earned runs (eight total) with three homers allowed. His ERA for the season was 2.12.
Duarte also struck out just more than a batter per inning, 30 punchouts in those 29.2 innings.
It was a feel-good story for Duarte who didn't pitch in the majors at all in 2025.
He had initially made his debut in 2022 with the Cincinnati Reds , but he gave up three runs in just 2.2 innings (10.13).
He was better for the Reds in 2023 with a 3.69 ERA in 31 appearances.
The Minnesota Twins brought him aboard for 2024, and he had a 2.25 ERA in two outings before not pitching again in the majors that year.
The Mets hoped Duarte could aid their bullpen this season after they bolstered it with bigger names who were supposed to help the back end. And even while there were plenty of other struggles, Duarte was everything the Mets could've wanted.
Duarte will turn 30 in December, and a potential pending MLB lockout could make things complicated, but if free agency ends up happening, Duarte should get interest.
You'd think the Mets would try to bring him back, but it's hard to know that for sure at the moment.
This season, Duarte was on a one-year deal that paid him the major league minimum of $780,000.
The minimum salary is one thing that could change in new collective bargaining negotiations, so players near the bottom of the barrel like Duarte will be paying attention.
He may be due for a bit of a raise anyway after putting up his 2.12 ERA in the 2026 season, even amid a rough year for the Mets.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post 2.12 ERA Pitcher Will Be New York Mets Free Agent This Winter appeared first on HEAVY .
