Former Mets reliever signs NRI with NL East rival

An NL East division rival is beefing up its bullpen with a couple of former Mets relievers as Spring Training gets underway.

Jul 26, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Jake Diekman (30) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

As the New York Mets prepare to officially start Spring Training on Wednesday, a couple of former teammates are battling for a spot with an NL East rival.

On Tuesday, veteran reliever Jake Diekman signed an NRI (non-roster invite) to attend Spring Training with the Atlanta Braves. Diekman, 38, signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Mets for the 2024 season that also had a vesting option for 2025.

Through 43 appearances with the Mets, Diekman posted a 2-3 record with a bloated 5.63 ERA and 1.47 WHIP across 32 innings pitched; the lefty was designated for assignment by the Mets at the end of July and released by the team in early August. 

Jake Diekman to Braves. Dylan Covey too. Minors deals @JustBB_Media and @JustinCToscano on them

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 11, 2025

The Braves find themselves with a major hole to fill in their bullpen after losing high-leverage lefty A.J. Minter to the Mets on a two-year deal. Atlanta also lost Jesse Chavez and will potentially be without hard-throwing reliever Joe Jimenez for most of the year after offseason knee surgery. So far, the Braves haven’t done much to replenish their bullpen aside from acquiring Anderson Pilar in the Rule 5 Draft.

Diekman would add another veteran left-handed presence for a team that has aspirations of making a deep run into October this year. Atlanta already has Dylan Lee, Aaron Bummer, and Angel Perdomo as southpaws in the bullpen, so at this stage in his career, Diekman would have to make quite the impression to be considered for the Atlanta roster.

Along with Diekman, the Braves also signed right-hander Dylan Covey, who was briefly a Met when he signed a one-year contract in October. After re-signing Ryne Stanek in January, the Mets designated Covey for assignment and sent him to Triple-A Syracuse; Covey elected to enter free agency and signed a minor league deal with Atlanta on Tuesday.