Mets Immediately Release 4 Players After Disastrous Season

The New York Mets released four minor league players on Thursday, according to the official MiLB transaction log.

All four were assigned to the organization’s Dominican Summer League affiliates—DSL Mets Blue or DSL Mets Orange—the lowest rung of the minor league ladder.

The moves came a day after the Milwaukee Brewers clinched their first World Series title, marking the formal start of the offseason for a Mets club that finished 74-88 and last in the NL East.

The released players are right-handed pitcher Cristian Dudamel (DSL Mets Blue), catcher Jesus Griman (DSL Mets Blue), shortstop Angel Ozuna (DSL Mets Blue), and shortstop Jose Padilla (DSL Mets Orange).

These are routine roster trims of young international free agents who did not progress as hoped during the 2026 DSL season. None had advanced beyond the complex-level Dominican leagues, and none appeared on any higher affiliate or the major league roster.

Dudamel, a 19-year-old from Barquisimeto, Venezuela, signed with the Mets as a free agent on January 15, 2026.

Listed at 6-foot-1 and 160 pounds and batting and throwing right-handed, he appeared in eight games (mostly in relief) across the DSL Mets Orange and Blue clubs. He posted a 0-1 record with a 5.79 ERA, 11 strikeouts, and a 2.14 WHIP over 14 innings, with one save.

Griman, an 18-year-old catcher from Turmero, Venezuela, was signed on August 1, 2025. Standing 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds and batting and throwing right-handed, he spent parts of 2025 and 2026 in the DSL.

In limited 2026 action he hit around .184 with no home runs and seven RBI across his career sample of 38 at-bats. He also logged a brief pitching appearance (0.2 innings).

Ozuna, a switch-hitting shortstop from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, signed only on June 10, 2026. Born July 6, 2007, and listed at 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds, he played 20 games in the DSL, hitting .203 with one home run, 10 RBI, one steal, and a .651 OPS in 59 at-bats.

Padilla, a left-handed-hitting shortstop from El Vigía, Venezuela, was signed on January 15, 2025. Born June 24, 2008, and listed at 6-foot-1 and 159 pounds, he spent two seasons in the DSL.

Across 189 career at-bats he hit .169 with two home runs, 15 RBI, and six steals. In 2026 with the DSL Mets Orange he batted .196 with one home run and five steals in 107 at-bats.

These releases free up roster spots and resources at the complex level as the Mets turn their attention to higher-priority roster decisions under president of baseball operations David Stearns.

They have no bearing on the major league club or the 40-man roster.

For the players themselves, the moves end their Mets affiliation; as free agents they can seek opportunities with other organizations.

Such cuts of underperforming or non-progressing international signees are a standard part of the postseason minor-league housecleaning process.