3:50pm: Hagenman’s deal is a split contract, per Will Sammon of The Athletic on X. He’ll make $850K in the majors and $225K in the minors.
3:05pm: The Mets announced that they have signed right-hander Justin Hagenman to a major league contract. He had just elected minor league free agency earlier this month. The club’s 40-man roster count jumps to 34.
Hagenman, 28, cracks a major league roster for the first time. He was drafted by the Dodgers back in 2018 but when to the Red Sox as part of the 2023 deadline trade that sent Enrique Hernández to Los Angeles. The Sox never added Hagenman to their roster, so he qualified for minor league free agency after 2024 as a player with seven seasons of minor league experience. However, the Mets apparently saw enough to give him a 40-man spot today.
Over the past four years, Hagenman has thrown 302 2/3 innings on the farm with a 4.19 earned run average, 25.7% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. He has primarily been a reliever in his career but served more of a swingman role in 2024 without his rate stats changing much. He tossed 91 2/3 Triple-A innings this past year with a 4.91 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. The home run ball seemed to be an issue, as he allowed 21 this year, a rate of 21.4% per flyball.
The Mets need plenty of help on the pitching staff. Each of Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, Brooks Raley, Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek, Phil Maton, Joey Lucchesi and Drew Smith became free agents at the end of 2024, opening a few holes in both the rotation and bullpen. Hagenman gives the club some depth for both and can theoretically do so for quite some time. Since this is his first time on a big league roster, he still has a full slate of options and no big league service time.