Mets manager Carlos Mendoza: Dedniel Nuñez will make Opening Day roster if healthy

Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News on Feb 22, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — If Dedniel Nuñez is healthy to start the season, he will be on the New York Mets’ Opening Day roster. Manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed that Saturday before the Mets opened their Grapefruit League slate at Clover Park.

“If he’s healthy, he’s on the team,” Mendoza said.

However, after pronator and flexor injuries in his right elbow last season, the Mets can only write his name in with pencil, not pen.

Nuñez seemingly came out of nowhere last season as a 28-year-old rookie, going 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA over 25 appearances, and throwing multiple innings in various situations before the injuries ended his season in August. He had been in the Mets system since 2016 when he signed as a 19-year-old free agent out of the Dominican Republic. The Mets briefly lost him to the San Francisco Giants in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, but he was returned a year later.

By that point, Nuñez hadn’t pitched in a game in two years. The pandemic wiped out the 2020 minor league season and a sprained elbow kept him on the 60-day injured list throughout 2021. He pitched well once he was back in the Mets organization in 2022, but by then he was 26 and had never pitched above Double-A.

Last year, he posted a 1.29 ERA in Triple-A. The Mets took a chance when they needed an arm and while his first stint in the big leagues only lasted one game, he didn’t have to wait too much longer for his next change. He took it and ran with it, becoming an invaluable member of a bullpen that was crumbling.

The injuries were concerning, but they were especially disappointing since they meant sitting out of the postseason.

“It was difficult, but I understand that it was out of my control,” Nuñez said through a translator. “I would have loved to participate and help my teammates, but I didn’t want to further injure myself.”

While he says his elbow feels great now, the Mets are being cautious with him. His fastball is around 94-95 right now, and while he was able to touch 98-99 last season, he’s not worried since he can throw it in the zone. The focus this spring is on his health and his changeup. Nuñez didn’t throw it a ton last year, so he’s hoping to utilize it more to be able to better mix speeds and keep hitters off balance.

If the Mets put Nuñez on the Opening Day roster, it could take away a spot for someone like Sean Reid-Foley, who does not have any minor league options. The Mets have discussed using depth starters Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning out of the bullpen during the first few weeks of the season when there are three off days, and moving to a six-man rotation later in April.

Left-hander Danny Young is in the mix for that last spot with right-handers Reid-Foley, Huascar Brazobán, Tyler Zuber and Austin Warren. Former Astros reliever Chris Devenski is also in camp battling for a spot, as is Genesis Cabrera, Warren and a few others.

Sherlock Holmes

Clay Holmes started his transition from starter to reliever with three perfect innings in the Mets’ Grapefruit League opener on Saturday. Needing to deepen his arsenal to make it three times through the order, the Mets are having Holmes add his changeup back into his pitch mix. He threw about seven of them, generating a few whiffs.

“It’s going to be a weapon to lefties, but I think it’s just really going to help protect my sinker,” Holmes said. “There’ll be a more of a speed gap between my sinker and changeup there going and away from a lefty. And it’s going to maybe open up more room for the cutter or four-seam. Really, it’s just to expand the arsenal and just have a few different looks where they’ve got the same speed and same movement.”

Guest instructors

Former Mets left-hander Johan Santana is the first guest instructor to come through Port St. Lucie this season. He was in the bullpen with some of the Triple-A pitchers Saturday morning, and left-hander Sean Manaea joined them. Manaea threw to hitters two days ago so he didn’t throw with Santana, but Santana was one of his favorite pitchers growing up, so he joined him to see how he gripped certain pitches.

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