Eric Wagaman was selected to the New York Mets' roster on May 26, 2026, giving the outfielder-hopeful a return to the big leagues after a hot stretch at Triple-A Syracuse.
The move came as the Mets reinstated left-hander A.J. Minter and infielder/outfielder Jared Young from the injured lists at 2:50 p.m. ET and placed outfielder Tyrone Taylor on the 10-day injured list with a right hip flexor strain, while optioning right-hander Jonathan Pintaro and outfielder Nick Morabito the same day.
Wagaman, who was claimed by the Mets the previous month, had been optioned to the minors, put on waivers and cleared before tearing through Syracuse pitching: in 13 games he hit.372/.462/.581 over 52 plate appearances and posted a.424 batting average on balls in play, performance the Mets cited when they selected him on Tuesday.
Those numbers are a sharp recent sample, but they sit atop a longer minor-league track record: from 2022 to 2024 Wagaman hit.276/.348/.473 with a 131 wRC+ across 897 plate appearances, a profile that explains why the club claimed him and kept him on the depth chart.
The roster churn was not limited to Wagaman. Minter, who signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets going into the 2025 season, was reinstated from the 60-day injured list after a rehab stint that began in April. Minter threw 11 innings in 2025 before a lat strain required season-ending surgery; his rehab was later slowed by left hip discomfort and he had been moved to the 60-day injured list before this week’s return.
The Mets then transferred Luis Robert Jr. to the 60-day injured list at 6:05 p.m. ET, a move that makes him ineligible to return until late June. Robert Jr. originally landed on the injured list in late April with a lumbar disc herniation; the transfer clears a 40-man roster spot but deepens an outfield shortage that helps explain why the club turned to Wagaman.
All of the moves landed against the pressure of a struggling team. On May 26 the Mets were 22-32 and 7.5 games back of a playoff spot, a record that sharpens the urgency behind every call-up, every roster shuffle and every injured-list move the front office makes.
The tension inside that urgency is obvious: Wagaman’s Syracuse tear is real but small-sample; Minter’s return restores a prized signing but follows a season-ending injury and recurring hampering issues; and Robert Jr.’s transfer keeps a key bat sidelined until late June. The result is a roster that must balance short-term fixes with longer-term recovery timelines.
What happens next is straightforward and consequential. Wagaman’s immediate performance will tell whether the club found a short-term jolt or a placeholder while other pieces heal. At the same time, Minter’s health — freshly tested after interrupted rehab — will be watched closely as the Mets try to stabilize a bullpen that needs usable innings from its left-handers.
For now the decisive image is simple: Eric Wagaman returns to the majors carrying the kind of recent production that earned him a spot, but he steps into a club 7.5 games out and thin in the outfield, where the next month of performance and reinforcements will determine whether these roster moves were patchwork or the start of a turnaround.
