The Mets assigned left-hander Brandon Waddell outright to Triple-A yesterday, as noted by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Waddell had been designated for assignment earlier this week to make room for catcher Drew Romo on the 40-man roster.
Waddell, 31, returned to the majors for the first time since 2021 this year. Prior to the 2025 season, Waddell had pitched 12 2/3 MLB innings across four different organizations during the 2020-21 seasons. He posted a 5.68 ERA and 6.41 FIP during that time. His results were much better this time around, as he delivered a solid enough 3.45 ERA with a 4.54 FIP across 31 1/3 innings of work as a long relief arm for the Mets this year. While Waddell’s top-level run prevention numbers weren’t bad, the peripherals told a different story. A 16.4% strikeout rate left much to be desired, and the lefty’s 37.4% ground ball rate, 10.0% barrel rate, and 8.2% walk rate were nothing to write home about either.
Waddell’s time with the Mets came on the heels of a three-year run of solid work in the KBO league, where he pitched for the Doosan Bears. In 43 KBO starts, Waddell posted a 2.98 ERA while posting a respectable 21.1% strikeout rate and generating grounders on more than 50% of his batted balls. It was a much more encouraging profile over all than the one he flashed in the majors with the Mets this past year, and Waddell’s 5.02 ERA in 75 1/3 Triple-A innings in 2025 offer little encouragement headed into 2026. While the lefty might not look to be a solid rotation option like other KBO pitchers (such as Erick Fedde and his quality performance for the White Sox and Cardinals in 2024) have proven themselves to be in the past, he’s a perfectly useful non-roster depth piece for the Mets.
That’s what he’ll be headed into 2026, though given the uncertain state of the Mets’ pitching staff it’s not impossible to imagine injuries allowing Waddell to force his way back onto the MLB roster at some point next year if he can turn his numbers at Triple-A around. Of course, that will depend on the club’s moves going forward this winter. It’s possible the team could make rotation additions that would push youngsters like Jonah Tong and Brandon Sproat into depth roles themselves, minimizing Waddell’s opportunities to get back to the majors. With that said, it’s also not impossible to imagine those same young hurlers getting discussed in trade talks, and a trade of one or both of those young righties could make Waddell one of the team’s top non-roster depth arms alongside Robert Stock.