Mets manager praises reliever's 'unbelievable' outing after A.J. Minter injury

New York Mets reliever Max Kranick earned his flowers after another emergency outing on Saturday.

Apr 4, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Max Kranick (32) reacts after the top of the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

During the eighth inning of the New York Mets' 2-0 win over the Washington Nationals on April 26, left-handed reliever A.J. Minter walked off the mound under his own power after throwing a cutter. It was clear right away that Minter had suffered an injury, although it was not known at that point what the injury was.

Read more: New York Mets reliever A.J. Minter leaves game with injury

Regardless, he was out of the game, which meant another reliever had to come into the game right away. And New York manager Carlos Mendoza called on 27-year-old pitcher Max Kranick to come in completely cold, do his entire warm-up on the mound in front of the stadium, and get out of the eighth inning with the two-run lead intact.

And that's exactly what Kranick did.

Max Kranick comes in for A.J. Minter and gets two HUGE outs to get the Mets through the 8th 👏 pic.twitter.com/HffjM0adQy

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 26, 2025

This is the second time in three games that Kranick has come into the game cold after another reliever's injury, as he picked up Edwin Diaz on April 23 after Diaz left the game in the eighth inning due to cramping in his leg.

Kranick has made these difficult situations look much easier than they really are. And this is why Mendoza gave Kranick his flowers when speaking with the media after Saturday's win.

"Huge. I mean, unbelievable," Mendoza said of Kranick's last two outings, per an X post from SNY. "In every situation, every role, that's probably back-to-back now when he has to come in and warm up rigfht there on the game mound. That's not easy to do.

"He continues to attack, continues to make pitches, continues to get outs. He has been solid for us," Mendoza concluded.

Carlos Mendoza praises Max Kranick's "huge" and "unbelievable" performances this week coming in out of the bullpen after a Mets reliever had to leave the game with an injury:

"He's been solid for us." pic.twitter.com/AEEh9decnX

— SNY (@SNYtv) April 27, 2025

Kranick has earned a ton of respect from his franchise and fanbase in a short amount of time.