President of baseball operations David Stearns made clear on Tuesday that the Mets are prioritizing improvements to their starting rotation.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to look for external options to fill the bullpen.
To that end, the Mets have checked in on lefty A.J. Minter, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported Wednesday night.
The Athletic reported earlier in the day that the Mets have also had interest in lefties Alex Vesia and Tim Hill, who are both free agents.
Minter spent 2025 and part of 2026 with the Amazin’s, but the former season was truncated due to season-ending lat surgery. And this past year, Minter was effective upon his return with a 2.35 ERA in 23 outings before he was sent to the Twins as part of the Mets’ trade deadline sell-off.
The southpaw held a 2.78 ERA in 25 games after the trade to Minnesota.
As part of the deadline fire sale, the Mets also sent away relievers Luke Weaver, Huascar Brazobán and Brooks Raley. Kodai Senga was then shifted into a high-leverage bullpen role, though Stearns said Tuesday that the expectation is that Senga will work toward being a starter in spring training — whenever that begins after the expected MLB labor fight.
Vesia, 30, has spent all but one season with the Dodgers and has been an effective late-inning lefty with a career 2.87 ERA with 443 strikeouts across 332 1/3 innings.
The 36-year-old Hill has pitched the last two and a half seasons in New York with the Yankees. While righties feasted (.909 OPS) off the veteran in 2026, Hill kept lefty hitters consistently in check (.611 OPS).
The Mets already brought back right-hander Robert Stock, who served as depth in the rotation and bullpen, on a one-year MLB deal.
