Skip to main content
Inside The Mets

New York Mets Finalize Last 2 Spots on Opening Day Roster

The New York Mets made a series of moves Wednesday, finalizing their Opening Day roster.
John Sparaco|
Feb 17, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets infielder Jared Young (29) fields a ground ball hopper during the New York Mets spring training workouts at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
Feb 17, 2026; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets infielder Jared Young (29) fields a ground ball hopper during the New York Mets spring training workouts at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

In this story:

New York MetsWashington Nationals

The New York Mets’ Opening Day roster is set.

On Wednesday, the Mets announced that infielder Vidal Bruján, left-handed reliever Bryan Hudson and catcher Ben Rortvedt were designated for assignment. The moves signaled that utilityman Jared Young and left-handed reliever Richard Lovelady secured the final two roster spots.

Young, 30, has been with the Mets organization since the start of the 2025 season. The versatile left-handed bat appeared in 23 games with the big league club last year, batting .186/.234/.488 with four home runs and six RBIs. In Triple-A, he hit .300/.396/.560 with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs over 75 games.

This spring, Young went 3-for-20 (.150) in Grapefruit League play and 1-for-6 (.167) with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. He gives the Mets a backup option at first base behind Jorge Polanco and can also contribute off the bench as a corner outfielder or designated hitter.

“We feel like there’s a lot of versatility on the roster,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said when explaining the decision to choose Young over Bruján. “That extra left-handed hitter off the bench and some starts against a tough right-on-right made the most sense for us.”

Lovelady, 30, was claimed off waivers from the Washington Nationals last week, marking the fourth time the Mets have acquired him in the past nine months. The left-hander allowed seven earned runs over 10 innings with New York in 2025 but found more success at Triple-A Syracuse, where he posted a 2.08 ERA over 17.1 innings.

After the 2025 regular season, the Mets re-signed Lovelady to a split contract. He was designated for assignment three months later and claimed by the Nationals, who kept him for most of the spring. In five Grapefruit League innings, he allowed one run on five hits and three walks while recording eight strikeouts.

“With Lovelady and Hudson, it was pretty close,” Mendoza said. “At the end, we just decided to go with Lovelady — what he’s shown for us the past year of going multiple innings, throwing strikes and his ability to get lefties out as well.”

Lovelady gives the Mets another left-handed option in the bullpen while A.J. Minter (15-day IL) works his way back from last year's season-ending left lat surgery. The veteran setup man is expected to spend early April in Port St. Lucie rehabbing before advancing to an affiliate.

The Mets’ initial 26-man roster consists of 13 pitchers, seven infielders, four outfielders and two catchers. Their season begins Thursday at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with first pitch scheduled for 1:15 p.m. ET.

If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published | Modified
John Sparaco
JOHN SPARACO

John Sparaco is a contributing writer for the Mets website On SI. He has previously written for Cold Front Report, Times Union and JKR Baseball, where he profiled some of the top recruits, college players and draft prospects in baseball. You can follow him on Twitter/X: @JohnSparaco

Share on XFollow johnsparaco
Home/News