Inside The Mets

A.J. Minter reveals why he chose New York Mets in free agency

Relief pitcher A.J. Minter revealed why he opted to sign with the Mets this offseason.

Logan VanDine

Feb 15, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher A.J. Minter (33) pitches during a spring training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 15, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher A.J. Minter (33) pitches during a spring training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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After spending his first eight seasons with the NL East rival Atlanta Braves, relief pitcher A.J. Minter revealed one of the main reasons why he joined the New York Mets.

Minter, who signed a two-year, $22 million deal with New York (with an opt-out after the 2025 season) during the offseason, was a guest on the latest episode of the Meet at the Apple podcast. The lefty revealed that it was new teammate David Peterson and the Mets' training staff that convinced him to join the Amazins' due to Peterson having a similar hip surgery.

"That was kind of the big reason why I chose to come to the Mets was the medical staff," Minter said. "The technology, the pitching lab, David Peterson having the same surgery, so I knew this medical staff was very familiar with the surgery and the process and the rehab and recovery."

Minter appeared in just 39 games for the Braves last season, with multiple stints on the injured list. It started in late May with a left hip impingement that sidelined him until July; in mid-August, the 31-year-old landed back on the IL with the same injury, ultimately leading to season-ending surgery.

Read More: A.J. Minter finally makes his Mets spring training debut

Following the 2023 season, Peterson underwent similar surgery to repair a damaged labrum in his left hip, which forced him to miss the first three months of last season. Despite this delayed start, the 29-year-old lefty went 10-3 with a career-best 2.90 ERA, alongside 101 strikeouts over 121 innings pitched. Peterson also recorded his first career save in the Mets' decisive Game 3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card series.

Minter made his spring training debut with the Mets back on March 12 against the St. Louis Cardinals, and was very sharp. With his fastball reaching as high as 93 mph, the lefty tossed a perfect inning.

Even though Minter was a consistently strong reliever throughout his time with the Braves, perhaps the offseason hip surgery can lead to a resurgent season, akin to Peterson last year.

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Logan VanDine
LOGAN VANDINE

Logan VanDine is a contributing writer for On SI's Mets. Logan is a graduate of Rider University where he majored in Sports Media and minored in Sports Studies. During his time at Rider, Logan worked for Rider's radio station, 107.7 The Bronc as a sports host, producer and broadcaster, and for the school's paper: The Rider News. He began his time with The Rider News as a section writer for sports and was a copy editor for two years followed by being one of the sports editors during his senior year. Logan also placed third in the New Jersey Press Foundation Awards for sports feature writing. Aside from his work at On SI, he is also a writer for FanSided covering the New York Giants and Mets and also covers the Giants for Total Apex Sports. Give him a follow on X: @VandineLogan

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