It’s time to Meet these Mets again.
From Nolan Ryan and Jeff Kent to Justin Turner and Daniel Murphy, the Mets always seem to have former players populating the All-Star Game. While four current Mets — Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz, and David Peterson — were selected as All-Stars this season, let’s take a look at the four former Mets who also earned a spot at the midsummer classic.
Jacob deGrom (5x All-Star; 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2025)
Baseball’s best arm is finally healthy again. Across 19 starts this season, Jacob deGrom has posted a 2.32 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with 113 strikeouts. After an injury-riddled end to his Mets career and a Tommy John surgery that disrupted his arrival in Texas, the most critical number for deGrom this year is his 112.1 innings thrown — more than he amassed in 2022, 2023, and 2024 combined.
It’s no surprise that, when he’s able to stay on the mound, deGrom is a Cy Young candidate. The 37-year-old is still averaging 97.4 mph on his fastball, and anyone who watched how intelligently he pitched during his time in New York knows that’s more than enough for him to work with. Tigers left-hander Tarik Skubal currently appears to be running away with the A.L. Cy Young Award (and pitching triple crown), but if deGrom’s season has taught us anything, it’s that we should never count our old ace out.
deGrom won’t pitch in this year’s All-Star Game, meaning we won’t see a repeat of his ten-pitch, three-strikeout inning at Cincinnati in 2015.
Zack Wheeler (3x All-Star; 2021, 2024, 2025)
Since the Mets let Zack Wheeler walk in free agency following the 2020 season, he’s recorded the second-most innings, second-most strikeouts, and second-most wins in MLB — all while pitching for the rival Phillies. It’s safe to say that the five-year, $118M deal which former Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen called a “parlay” based on “two good half seasons” has paid off both figuratively and literally, as Wheeler recently signed a three-year, $126M extension.
Though he finished second in N.L. Cy Young voting in 2021 and 2024, 2025 is shaping up to be Wheeler’s best season yet. In 19 starts, Wheeler has a 2.36 ERA, 122.0 IP, and 154 strikeouts, putting him on pace for career-highs in all three categories. Across five starts in June, Wheeler had a 0.58 ERA, allowing just two earned runs in 31 innings.
As hard as it would be to imagine back in 2020, Wheeler’s Hall of Fame case might not be all that weaker than deGrom’s. While deGrom has two Cy Young awards, Wheeler is two years younger, has 220 more innings and 19 more wins, and as of the moment both former Mets have exactly 1,779 career strikeouts. Like deGrom, Wheeler will also not pitch in this year’s All-Star Game, focusing instead on his performance with the Phillies in the second half.
Javier Báez (3x All-Star; 2018, 2019, 2025)
Báez, now 32 years old, has gone through something of a death and rebirth since he was last seen in Flushing. Following his stint with the Mets in 2021, the former NLCS MVP, N.L. MVP runner-up, silver slugger, and Gold Glove Award winner signed a six-year, $140M contract with the fledgling Detroit Tigers which until recently was shaping up to be one of the worst signings in baseball history. Over his first three seasons in Detroit, Báez’s numbers were in complete free-fall; he put up an OPS of .671 in 2022, .593 in 2023, and .516 in 2024. Báez’s once-stellar defense at shortstop was deteriorating as well, a fact which helped make him worth a shocking -1.1 bWAR last season.
But there he is, batting eighth and starting in center field for the 2025 A.L. All-Stars. He’s not the old Javy Báez — he won’t hit 30 home runs, or record 100 RBI, or steal 20 bases this season — but sitting at a 109 OPS+ and 82nd percentile Outs Above Average, he’s back to contributing on both sides of the ball. The Tigers, meanwhile, sit 11.5 games up on the A.L. Central with an MLB-best 59-38 record. It’s been a remarkable turn of events for the long-rebuilding Detroit franchise, made even more remarkable by the fact that Báez, fifth on the team with 2.1 bWAR, is right in the middle of it.
Though it wasn’t the most affectionate of relationships between Báez and Mets fans, it can be easy to forget just how good he was during his two months with the team. In 47 games, Báez slashed .299/.371/.515, clubbing nine homers while walking at a career-high 7.0% clip. Still, his Mets legacy is inevitably intertwined with the final name on our list.
Pete Crow-Armstrong (1x All-Star; 2025)
Remember what Mets fans were afraid Jared Kelenic might become? Pete Crow-Armstrong is that — but better. At just 23 years old, Crow-Armstrong is arguably the frontrunner for N.L. MVP. He’s on pace for a 40/40, 100-RBI season, and leads all MLB outfielders in Outs Above Average.
The speed and defense were never in doubt from when the Mets selected Crow-Armstrong 19th overall in the 2020 draft to when they traded him at the 2021 deadline. But as then-GM Zack Scott said two months ago on SNY, they “did not see this level of power” in store.
Crow-Armstrong will be starting for the N.L. All-Stars in center field opposite his trade-mate Javier Báez. Crow-Armstrong will be batting ninth, one spot behind Francisco Lindor in the N.L. lineup.