Braves Lose Longtime Lefty to NL East Rival in Free Agency

It's pending a physical, but another member of the 2021 World Series team is departing from Atlanta and heading to Flushing, Queens

AJ Minter is heading to the Mets pending a physical | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Another longtime member of the Atlanta Braves is heading elsewhere. According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, left-handed reliever AJ Minter has agreed to a two-year deal worth $22 million with the rival New York Mets. 

Heyman added that this deal has an opt-out after the first year and is pending a physical. 

Minter has player opt-out after year 1 https://t.co/VhzdziXnCz

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 17, 2025

The Mets had been linked to a few relievers recently, including free-agent and Braves target lefty Tanner Scott. In that report, the Mets were reported to be aiming to add one or two relievers. They have agreed to a deal with one and it sees them poach a member of the Braves bullpen. 

Minter was a member of the Braves bullpen for eight seasons and was a member of the 2021 World Series team. 

Minter is coming off a season that saw him sidelined for quite a bit of time with a hip injury. But when healthy he was as reliable as ever. 

In 39 appearances, Minter finished with a 2.62 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP and 35 strikeouts across 34 1/3 innings. He had his second-best ERA in a season in which he pitched in 30 games or more. 

In his previous three seasons, he had made 60 or more appearances with a 3.13 ERA in that time. There is a good chance he will be back fully healthy next season. 

Meanwhile, the Braves continue their search to fill this gap in the back end of the bullpen. They’re now missing arguably their top lefty reliever. If the Braves aren’t able to bring in another top reliever in free agency as a response, we could see them turn to in-house, left-handed options such as Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer to fill this role.