Mets activate Reed Garrett, designate Justin Garza

The Mets announced five roster moves in advance of today’s game with the Reds, including their official selection of Brandon Sproat’s contract from Triple-A.  Sproat will make his MLB debut as today’s Mets starter, and New York is also welcoming right-hander Reed Garrett back from the 15-day injured list.  In corresponding 28-man and 40-man roster moves, right-handers Kevin Herget and Wander Suero were optioned to Triple-A, and righty Justin Garza was designated for assignment.

Garza was acquired in a trade with the Giants in June, and his five appearances with the Mets marked the righty’s first Major League action since the 2023 season when he pitched with the Red Sox.  While Garza’s first four Mets outings were scoreless, he was torched for four runs in his last game on June 20, and he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse the next day.  His Triple-A work has been far from stellar, as Garza has an 8.17 ERA over 25 1/3 innings in Syracuse.

If Garza clears waivers and is outrighted off the Mets’ 40-man roster, he has the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, since Garza has already been outrighted earlier in his week.  Given the late date on the regular-season calendar and the frequency of the Mets’ bullpen shuffles, Garza might prefer to just stick in the organization if he thinks another call back to the majors might still be in the cards.

A waiver claim is a possibility, if another team is willing to look past Garza’s lack of success in 2025.  He has added some velocity to his fastball this season and is now averaging better than 96.1mph in the big leagues and in Triple-A, even if that added heat has actually led to a downturn in his strikeout rate.  Garza has also been a lot more homer-prone in 2025 than in past seasons.

Garrett was retroactively placed on the IL on August 23, and he’ll return in short order since his bout of elbow inflammation fortunately didn’t turn out to be too serious.  The time off could also act as a bit of a reset, as Garrett struggled to a 15.43 ERA over his last 4 2/3 innings prior to hitting the injured list.

Garrett ranks second on the Mets with 54 appearances, and he’ll resume his role as one of the few true regulars within New York’s revolving door of a bullpen.  Over 52 1/3 innings, Garrett has a 3.61 ERA and a strong 28.3% strikeout rate, even if his 11% walk rate is on the high side.