Seven Relief Prospects Who Could Help the Mets in 2026

The New York Mets’ bullpen is going to look very different in 2026. Edwin Díaz has switched coasts, and Devin Williams has switched boroughs to take his place as the closer. As it stands right now, the path to Williams is pretty clear. A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley, and newly signed Luke Weaver will all likely be used in high-leverage spots throughout the season.

After them, though, the bottom four spots of the Mets bullpen still have a fair share of question marks. Another free agent signing or trade acquisition is possible, if not probable, but there will almost certainly be spring training competition for at least a couple of spots.

Former Chicago Cub Adbert Alzolay signed a two-year minor league deal with the Mets last offseason and spent all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He recently started pitching again in the Venezuelan Winter League, so he should be ready for spring training. Huascar Brazobán, who looked fantastic at times and unplayable at others last year, will be in the mix. Richard Lovelady, Cooper Criswell, Austin Warren, Joey Gerber, Carl Edwards Jr., and Alex Carrillo all have a shot as well.

But what about prospects? One of David Stearns’ hallmarks in Milwaukee was his ability to develop high-quality relief pitchers instead of needing to pay them. The current Mets closer, Williams, is one of them.

Development takes time; these things do not happen overnight. Now, two years into Stearns’ tenure with the Mets, some of these prospects are ready to start impacting the big league club.

Dylan Ross

Fans might recognize Dylan Ross from the tail end of the 2025 season (if you haven’t mentally blocked it out by now). He was promoted to the big league club on Sept. 27 in time for the final two games of the regular season, but never made his MLB debut.

Ross, a 13th-round pick in 2022, was selected by the Mets in the middle of his rehab from Tommy John surgery. He suffered a setback after signing and underwent a UCL revision procedure, pushing his timeline back another year. By the time he was fully healthy and ready to pitch in a game, the 2024 season was almost over. He made his pro debut and his one and only appearance of 2024 on Sept. 7.

After some Arizona Fall League action to end 2024, he flew through the minors in 2025. Ross started the year at High-A Brooklyn but quickly earned promotions to Double-A, Triple-A and then eventually MLB. He’s a fireballer who can hit triple digits on the gun, but he uses his splitter and his slider almost an equal amount. Both are good pitchers, and he’ll even mix in a curveball here or there. It’s a deep arsenal for a relief pitcher, and paired with top-end velocity, Ross has true back-end of the bullpen potential if he can lower the unsustainable 14.7% walk rate. Seeing as the Mets evidently felt confident enough in him to promote him to end 2025, making the Opening Day roster is a real possibility.

Ryan Lambert

An eighth-round pick in 2024, Ryan Lambert should make his MLB debut in 2026. The Mets pushed him aggressively to High-A in his draft year, a rarity, which set expectations for them to continue being aggressive with him in 2025. However, they eased off the throttle a bit. Lambert started 2025 in High-A and was quickly promoted to Double-A, but then stayed there for the rest of the year. He made 39 appearances for the Rumble Ponies and posted a 1.71 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.

Lambert’s 39.5% strikeout rate on the season trailed only Tong among Mets minor leaguers with at least 50 innings pitched, but it came with a 13.2% walk rate. He’s a classic two-pitch, fastball-slider fireballer. He can hit triple digits, he strikes a ton of batters out, and he can sometimes lose the zone. He’s a big league arm. The only question is when. Opening Day might be pushing it, the Mets may want to get him some looks at Triple-A first, but it’s not off the table. Especially today, going straight from Double-A to the big leagues is becoming more and more common.

Jonathan Pintaro

Jonathan Pintaro is a fascinating prospect. Signed out of independent ball in June of 2024, Pintaro stepped into affiliated ball for the first time as a 26-year-old and shone. He dominated High-A, was great in Double-A, and even made it to Triple-A all in his first three months in the organization. He started 2025 back at Double-A and was once again very good, and then got the call to make his big league debut straight from Binghamton. Ultimately, it didn’t go great. The Mets put him in the 9th inning to close out a 7-1 game vs. the Atlanta Braves, but gave up two runs and was only able to get two outs before the Mets turned to Díaz to finish the job.

He was then sent back to the minors, but this time to Triple-A, where he remained for the rest of the year. At 28 years old, he’s not a traditional prospect, but Pintaro’s stuff is very real. He throws a diverse five-pitch mix that’s headlined by a very good cutter and is accompanied by a 4-seam, changeup, sinker and sweeper. He’ll probably at least be given a chance to make the Opening Day roster, and if he doesn’t will certainly be in the cards for a promotion when the Mets need to make a move.

Douglas Orellana

Douglas Orellana is a fantastic storyteller. He signed with the Mets when he was 19 — old for international free agent signees — and has had to deal with the challenges that come with that throughout his pro career. He’s slowly climbed the organizational ladder, impressing at each stop, and made it as high as Triple-A last season.

He has a fastball that he throws in the mid-90s (and occasionally high 90s) along with a slider and curveball. The slider is his best pitch, and it’s a true plus offering. Now a full-time reliever, Orellana does have experience starting, so there’s an easy-to-see path for him to break into the big leagues as a multi-inning reliever. He has the stuff to give him a chance to earn higher leverage opportunities down the line, but the most likely outcome for Orellana in 2026 is to be a frequent passenger on the shuttle from Syracuse to Queens, most likely during the second half of the season.

Nate Lavender

Remember Nate Lavender? During 2024 spring training, Lavender began to emerge as a lefty with a legitimate chance to impact the big league roster at some point. Then, five games into his 2024 season, he partially tore his UCL and needed to undergo elbow surgery. The following offseason, the Tampa Bay Rays selected Lavender in the Rule 5 Draft. He spent the entire 2025 season on the injured list for the Rays, and at the end of the season, was returned to the Mets.

Lavender hasn’t thrown a pitch in a game since April 19, 2024. He will not be in play for Opening Day. But good lefties are few and far between. If Lavender has recovered from his nearly two-year absence, he has a chance to be a good lefty. IT will take time to see how his recovery has gone, but if he gets back on the mound and starts having success at Triple-A, he has a good chance to make it to Queens in 2026.

Ryan Ammons & Saul Garcia

These last two are long shots. The Mets acquired Ryan Ammons during the 2024 offseason from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Justin Slaten, who the Mets selected in the Rule 5 Draft. Slaten was never really a Met; the Red Sox essentially “moved up” in the Rule 5 Draft, and gave the Mets Ammons to do so. After starting his Mets (and professional baseball) career at Single-A, Ammons has spent about the last year and a half with High-A Brooklyn. He strikes out a ton of batters, but also walks a ton. While he’s only reached High-A, he is a lefty, and lefties are valuable. If he moves up the ladder in 2026 and pitches well, there’s a chance he could be called upon at some point by the end of the year.

Saul Garcia had a similar season to Lambert. Both pitchers appeared at both High-A and Double-A, threw about 50 innings with a sub-2 ERA, and had a high strikeout rate to go with a high walk rate. Where they differ is that Garcia spent most of his year at High-A and finished with just a taste of Double-A, while Lambert was the opposite. Garcia should start 2026 back at Double-A and figures to see significant time there, but if he pitches well enough and the Mets have a need, it’s not out of the question to see him in Queens at some point.

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