The New York Mets bolstered the back end of their bullpen on Wednesday, agreeing to terms with right-hander Luke Weaver, league sources confirmed to The Athletic.
The deal, first reported by the New York Post, is for two years and $22 million. It reunites Weaver with Devin Williams; both pitched in the late innings for the New York Yankees last season. Weaver joins lefties A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley as the Mets’ set-up options ahead of Williams, who is taking over for Edwin Díaz as the Mets’ closer.
Weaver, who ranked No. 40 on The Athletic’s Free Agent Big Board and was projected to receive a deal worth $19 million over two years, hopes to recapture the magic he had two years ago after a down 2025.
In 2024, Weaver transitioned into a full-time bullpen role for the first time in his career and excelled. He had a 2.89 ERA in 62 games, striking out 11.0 batters per nine innings while becoming a Yankees fan favorite for his quirky interviews and intensity on the mound. He even became the team’s closer in the playoffs, helping its push to the World Series.
But this season was different for Weaver, whose ERA was nearly a full run higher at 3.62. He appeared in 64 games, but struggled midway through and late in the season. He started the year with 13 straight scoreless appearances and then missed nearly a month in the summer with a left hamstring strain. He wasn’t the same when he returned, posting a 5.31 ERA over his final 40 games.
His lowest point came in the postseason when he revealed that Yankees coaches had alerted him to possible pitch tipping problems that he said not only messed with his delivery but also affected his mentality on the mound.
Still, Weaver seems plenty capable of bouncing back. His .196 expected batting average against ranked within the top fifth percentile in MLB. He also posted strong chase (32.8 percent) and whiff (31 percent) rates, and his expected ERA was 3.02. But in a potentially alarming trend, Weaver’s average fastball velocity was down 0.6 mph to 95.1 mph from 95.7 mph in 2024.
Weaver was drafted in the first round by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2014 out of Florida State University. He’s played for six teams: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners.
The Athletic’s Will Sammon contributed to this story.