How Brandon Waddell fared in Mets debut

In his first major league outing in nearly four years, Brandon Waddell turned in an impressive outing for the New York Mets despite falling short against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.

Feb 12, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Brandon Waddell (82) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Even though the New York Mets' eight-game home winning streak was snapped by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday, lefty starting pitcher Brandon Waddell turned in an impressive outing in his Mets debut.

After Huascar Brazobán pitched the first two innings for New York, Waddell entered in the top of the third inning to make not only his Mets debut, but his first big league outing in four years. The lefty was everything the Mets could have hoped for on the night as he tossed 4.1 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits and no walks while striking out four batters in a no-decision effort.

The 30-year-old exited his outing after recording the first out in the top of the seventh inning with a much-deserved standing ovation from the Citi Field crowd.

4.1 scoreless innings for Brandon Waddell in his Mets debut! pic.twitter.com/caZPLbY6IO

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) May 1, 2025

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After the game, Waddell met with reporters and spoke about what it felt like to pitch in the major leagues for the first time since 2021.

"It was awesome, it's good to be back," Waddell said. "It's something, I guess, in spring training, I think I can pitch here and that was one of the reasons I really wanted to come back. To be able to do that is pretty cool."

"I think I can pitch here and that was one of the reasons I really wanted to come back. To be able to do that is pretty cool"

- Brandon Waddell pic.twitter.com/XROmXTxO6C

— SNY (@SNYtv) May 1, 2025

It's been a long time coming for Waddell: after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB Draft, the lefty has bounced around throughout his career from multiple teams. Before Wednesday's appearance, his only major league experience came in 2021 with the St. Louis Cardinals. In four outings for St. Louis, Waddell went 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA and seven strikeouts across 9.1 innings.

From 2022 to 2024, Waddell pitched overseas for the Doosan Bears of the Korean Baseball Organization and the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He made two separate stints with Doosan, with the first coming in 2022; after making 12 starts with Rakuten in 2023, the lefty's contract was transferred back to Doosan, where he remained until December 2024 when he signed a minor league deal with New York.

The lefty hurler was also asked about his reaction to receiving a standing ovation from the Mets faithful after his sharp outing.

"It's awesome, something I definitely didn't expect," Waddell said. "But you can feel it as a player. It means a lot to have that support. It's something we always really cherish."

While he may not stick around in he major leagues for the long haul this season, this was certainly an encouraging outing by Waddell, Given the Amazins' have been dealing with pitching injuries lately, especially to their bullpen, the innings he was able to provide against the Diamondbacks have quickly become important.