Mets Add Pop to Roster—Just Not the Kind Fans Were Hoping For

The Mets’ transaction pace is quicker than Mookie Wilson going first to third on a routine single. Since the ball dropped on New Year’s Eve, the David Stearns and the Amazins have racked up 161 individual roster gyrations spread across 67 different transaction announcements, roughly one fresh move every 30 hours. So much paper shuffling, even Dunder Mifflin would've run out of stock, Michael Scott would call an emergency meeting, and Dwight would start hoarding printer paper like it’s a Schrute family heirloom.

By now, Mets fans have come to expect the unexpected when it comes to roster movement. But even by Flushing standards, 2025 has been a whirlwind. From the very first day of the calendar year, the Mets’ front office has treated the active roster like a dry-erase board constantly adjusting, rewriting, and rearranging. Injuries, rehab assignments, waiver claims, designations for assignment, minor league deals you name it, the Mets have done it.

In just the first six months of the year, the Mets have cycled through transactions faster than George Costanza scrambling to outsell his childhood rival Lloyd Braun in his dad’s garage computer business, frantic, relentless, and with no shortage of desperate moves.

By dawn on July 4th, before Joey Chestnut even takes his first bite of a Nathan’s hot dog, the Mets had already executed 161 separate maneuvers, touching every corner of the org chart. That tally included 59 different trips on and off the injured list, the IL carousel spun so often it could have charged admission, plus 42 option/recall rides between Citi Field and Syracuse, a shuttle program so generous the Syracuse bus driver ought to be in the Cy Young conversation.Add 15 contracts selected, 11 poor souls DFA’ed, and enough rehab assignments to fill a medical‑school syllabus, and you start to understand why roster tracking in Queens now qualifies as an extreme sport. Even the executive suite couldn’t dodge the dance; on May 30, Lewis Sherr found his way on the transaction log as he took over as President of Baseball Operations.

January set the dizzying tone with a flurry of signings outfielder Jesse Winker, fireman Ryne Stanek and a slew of depth pieces tucked away on minor‑league deals. They plucked right‑hander Austin Warren off waivers mid‑month and sprinkled in enough fringe prospects to populate a small city.

February kept the turnstiles spinning. Pete Alonso secured a two‑year pact, Nick Madrigal landed on the 60‑day IL before his first official stretch, and Dylan Covey (you remember him, right ?) opted out of an outright assignment.

By Opening Day, March had spiced things up further. Seven Mets—including Francisco Alvarez, Jeff McNeil, and Ronny Mauricio—took up early residence on the IL, and bullpen roulette began in earnest. Names like Kevin Herget, Justin Hagenman, and Tyler Zuber became recurring characters in this transactional Ground Hogs Day.

April witnessed the triumphant returns of McNeil and Alvarez, rehab odysseys aplenty, and the first of many shuttles for journeymen such as Jose Azocar, Colin Poche, and Brandon Waddell. Roster management resembled musical chairs, only the music never stopped and sometimes three guys tried to sit on the same bullpen seat.

May turned the bullpen into a blender set on purée. Genesis Cabrera, Dedniel  Núñez, Ty Adcock, and Blade Tidwell bounced between Syracuse and Queens like Spalding’s or the cheaper Pennsy Pinkies.(look it up) Jesse Winker found himself back on the shelf, while Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas embarked on rehab tours still waiting to hop on the merry‑go‑round.

June offered no let up. Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill hit the IL as others staggered off it, and Tidwell plus Warren racked up enough frequent‑flier miles between Syracuse and Citi Field to claim lounge access. Donovan Walton was shipped to Philadelphia for cash, and the minor‑league contract conveyor belt rolled on for Travis Jankowski, Julio Gonzalez, Richard Lovelady, and half the phone book.

And that, dear reader, is how you cram six months of roster chaos into one breath, though if history is any guide, the Mets will make another move before you’ve finished this sentence. It’s enough to dare Billy Joel to fit all this madness into a sequel to We Didn’t Start the Fire — because if anyone can keep up with the Mets’ nonstop hustle, it’s him.

All of which leads to the latest addition: Zach Pop.

Zach Pop, is a 28‑year‑old Canadian sinker‑slinger whose passport has more stamps than a 1950s Long Island housewife’s S&H Green Stamp booklet. (again look it up) Designated for assignment by Seattle last week, the Mets inked him to a big‑league deal—marking roster move No. 161 .

His route to Queens? Let’s just say Pop’s GPS definitely said ‘recalculating’ more than a few times.

Born in Brampton, Ontario, he traded slapshots for sliders and turned down the hometown Blue Jays after being drafted in the 23rd round in 2014, opting instead for a scholarship at the University of Kentucky. That bet paid off: the Dodgers took him in the 7th round in 2017 and sent him to the Orioles a year later in the Manny Machado blockbuster. He dominated in Double-A until Tommy John surgery cut short his rise in 2019.

The comeback trail led to the Rule 5 draft, where Arizona picked him—then quickly flipped him to the Marlins. Pop made his MLB debut on Opening Day 2021 and threw 54⅔ innings that year, leaning heavily on a bowling-ball sinker that induced a 63% groundball rate. He landed in Toronto via trade in 2022, where he yo-yo’d between the Blue Jays and Triple-A Buffalo, showing flashes of effectiveness with a heavy 95‑mph sinker and a slider that swept more than a curling stone.

Fast-forward to 2024: a brief, rocky stint with Seattle (5⅓ IP, 13.50 ERA—yes, that decimal’s in the right place) earned him a DFA ticket. But the Mets see upside in his arm, his metrics, and the fact that his innings total this year wouldn’t tire out a Little Leaguer. In Triple-A Tacoma, he posted a solid 2.79 ERA in 11 appearances, keeping the ball on the ground and flashing enough velocity to earn another shot.

At his best, Pop is a double-play machine: a two-pitch guy with a turbo sinker and a sweeping mid-80s slider. He owns a career 60% ground-ball rate and has reverse splits—lefties are batting just .236 with one lonely homer off him in the bigs. He's not a strikeout artist, but he thrives when hitters beat the ball into the turf.

And most importantly for the Mets, he’s fresh. After just 9⅔ minor league innings and 5⅓ big league frames this year, Pop’s arm is essentially off the showroom floor, a valuable commodity in a bullpen held together with bubble gum, duct tape, and the faint hope that someone’s elbow doesn’t bark mid-warmup.

He’s not a savior. He might not even be here next week. But in a season where the bullpen has been a game of musical chairs played at 1.5x speed, Zach Pop is the latest player to get a seat. And maybe, just maybe he sticks.