Mets claim LHP Philip Abner off waivers from the Giants

The New York Mets have claimed left-hander Philip Abner off waivers from the San Francisco Giants, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, as reported by Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors. Abner was designated for assignment by San Francisco earlier this week, and New York's interest, per the report, has less to do with his big-league résumé than with what he has done below it.

What happened

Per the report, the Mets claimed Abner after the Giants designated him for assignment. The move adds a left-handed arm to a New York organization that, per the report, has very little set in stone for next year's bullpen — a situation that developed after the club traded away a number of veteran relievers at this year's deadline.

There is one immediate housekeeping item: the Mets currently carry a full 40-man roster, meaning a spot must open before Abner can be formally added. Per the report, that could be as straightforward as transferring a player already on the injured list to the 60-day IL — a move that, under general league rules, removes a player from the 40-man count without releasing him. The specific transaction has not been announced.

Why it matters

The Mets are 73-85 on the season, eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race, and sitting fifth in the NL East. The calendar has turned to organizational inventory, and a waiver claim in late September is less about October than about the roster construction conversation that begins the moment the regular season ends.

Per the report, Abner has a couple of options remaining — meaning the Mets could shuttle him between the majors and Triple-A without exposing him to waivers again. That flexibility matters for a club rebuilding its bullpen depth. The report describes him as a potential up-and-down arm for next year, contingent on him holding his roster spot through the offseason. That is a conditional framing, not a guarantee, and the report presents it as such.

The broader organizational backdrop adds texture. The Mets are in the middle of a front-office and managerial reset: Andy Green was named manager on a three-year contract, and the club is reportedly close to adding former Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey to a significant front-office role. Roster decisions made in the final days of a lost season will land on a new decision-making structure. Abner is a small piece of that puzzle, but he is a piece being placed deliberately.

The pitching depth picture has also shifted recently. Christian Scott's season ended with knee inflammation, placing him on the injured list — a development reported earlier this week that illustrates why the organization would be adding left-handed arms rather than subtracting them at this stage of the calendar.

The numbers

Abner's big-league track record, split between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Giants, covers 22 2/3 innings. The numbers there are not encouraging: a 6.75 ERA, a 14.4% strikeout rate, and a 13.5% walk rate, all of which the report characterizes as worse than league average. A four-seamer that has averaged 90.5 miles per hour in his career is not a weapon that overpowers hitters, and the report acknowledges that plainly.

The minor-league picture is more interesting. Since the start of 2024, Abner has accumulated 130 1/3 innings in the minors, posting a 3.18 ERA alongside a 28.2% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate. Those are meaningfully better ratios than what he has shown at the big-league level, and they are the numbers the report suggests the Mets are more interested in.

This year's Triple-A line requires some translation. Abner posted a 4.54 ERA at that level, but the report notes that he was pitching in the Pacific Coast League, which is known as a hitter-friendly environment. His 26.1% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate at Triple-A this year are described as solid. A .330 batting average on balls in play and a 58.5% strand rate pushed additional runs across the plate beyond what his underlying performance would suggest. His 3.16 FIP, per the report, paints a more optimistic portrait than the ERA does.

The arsenal is diverse if not electric: a four-seamer, sinker, slider, curveball, and changeup. Five pitches from a left-handed arm with functional minor-league strikeout and walk rates is a profile worth a waiver claim, even if the big-league results have not yet caught up.

Where the club stands

The Mets enter Thursday at 73-85 (.462), fifth in the NL East and 20 games back in the division. They are on a two-game winning streak and head to Globe Life Field to face the Texas Rangers, with Zac Thornton projected to start opposite Kumar Rocker. The following weekend takes them to Nationals Park for a two-game series against Washington, with Andrew Alvarez and Jake Irvin listed as the probable starters for the Nationals on Friday and Saturday respectively; New York's starters for those games are listed as TBD.

The final stretch of a 73-85 season is, among other things, an extended audition. The Mets have roster spots to fill, innings to distribute, and a new front office arriving to evaluate what they have. Abner's September, if he appears, will be watched with that lens.

What we don't know yet

The 40-man roster move required to add Abner has not been announced. The report identifies a 60-day IL transfer as a likely mechanism, but no specific player or transaction has been named. Until that move is made, Abner's formal addition to the roster remains pending.

It is also unclear whether Abner will appear in any of the Mets' remaining games this season. The report frames him primarily as a piece for next year, not as an immediate contributor to the current roster. Whether the club uses the final days of the season to get him big-league innings is an open question.

What to watch

The 40-man roster move is the immediate item to track — whoever gets transferred to the 60-day IL will tell you something about the club's current injury picture. Beyond that, watch whether Abner appears in any of the remaining games against Texas and Washington. A late-September appearance would give the new front office and coaching staff a live look at a pitcher they just went out of their way to claim, which is generally the point of September baseball when the standings have already been settled.

The longer arc is the bullpen rebuild. Per the report, the Mets traded away a number of veteran relievers at the deadline, leaving the relief corps largely unsettled heading into the offseason. Abner is one data point in what figures to be a busy winter of roster construction under a new front-office structure. He is not the answer to the bullpen question, but he may be part of the conversation — and with options remaining and a minor-league ERA of 3.18 since the start of 2024, he is at least a conversation worth having.