Free Agent Profile: Jalen Beeks, RP
Jalen Beeks
Position: RP B/T: L/L
Age: 32 (07/10/1993)
2025 Traditional Stats: 61 G, 57.1 IP, 3.77 ERA, 1.081 WHIP, 47 SO, 20 BB
2025 Advanced Stats: 115 ERA+, 20.3 K%, 8.7 BB%, 3.87 xERA, 4.01 FIP, 4.29 xFIP, 0.2 fWAR, 0.9 bWAR
Rundown
Jalen Beeks is once again on the open market. He signed a late deal in March with the Arizona Diamondbacks and turned in the best season of his career since 2022.
In 2025, the left-handed reliever appeared in 61 games throwing 57 1/3 innings with a 3.77 ERA. He once again relied on inducing soft contact (69th percentile average exit velocity) on the ground (72nd percentile ground-ball rate). In doing so, he was able to work around a subpar strikeout rate (32nd percentile) and some walk issues (38th percentile).
Beeks’ most important asset, being a left-handed pitcher, is getting the opposing lefties out. Last season, lefties slashed .218/.266/.345 (.611 OPS) against Beeks. For his career, lefties own a .697 OPS against him. This is important given how many touch lefties the Mets face in the National League East and the National League as a whole.
The seven-year veteran relies on a three-pitch mix. He throws his four-seam fastball the most, around 53% of the time over the last two seasons. That pitch usually sits in the 94-95 mph range. He also relies on a changeup and cutter. Last season, the changeup was an elite pitch for him, as the opposition only hit .067 against it. The 11 pitching run value the pitch carried last season ranked fourth among 309 qualified pitchers.
Across his seven-year career with five teams, Beeks has a career 4.31 ERA. However, he has a xERA below 3.85 in each of his last four seasons. Since 2022, as he missed all of 2021 (Tommy John surgery), he has thrown at least 42 1/3 innings in each as a reliever.
Contract
As mentioned, Beeks scored a one-year deal very late last offseason. The Diamondbacks only gave the veteran $1.25 million and he provided terrific value on that said deal. Despite turning in a decent season, any pay increase Beeks gets this offseason likely won’t be too much. A one or two-year deal worth around $5 million annually would likely get it done.
Recommendation
As it stands, the Mets only have one reliable left-handed reliever in their bullpen on their projected roster for next season (Brooks Raley). A.J. Minter, who is coming off season-ending lat surgery, has a player option as well. However, there is no guarantee he will return to his pre-surgery self nor that he’ll be 100% ready to go by the beginning of the season. The original timetable given was 10-to-12 months. The surgery was completed in May.
With that being said, the Mets should certainly add another left-handed reliever sometime in the offseason. Beeks would be a perfect low-priced investment that should bring back a great return. The Mets will surely want to allocate a majority of their funds toward starting pitching, a move like Beeks would help save funds elsewhere while filling a big need.
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