Mets to designate Xzavion Curry for assignment, per MLB.com transaction log

What happened

The New York Mets are expected to designate right-hander Xzavion Curry for assignment, per MLB.com's transaction log — though, as Steve Adams noted at MLB Trade Rumors, the club had not yet issued a formal announcement as of the report. Also listed on that same transaction log, but similarly unannounced, is the Mets' reported claim of left-handed reliever Philip Abner off waivers from the Giants. Per MLB Trade Rumors, a formal announcement covering both moves is expected to be forthcoming, with Curry's designation serving as the corresponding roster move for Abner's addition.

Why it matters

Curry arrived in New York on a minor league deal in May after opening the 2026 season with los Tigres de Quintana Roo in the Mexican League. He worked his way onto the active roster and appeared in nine games for the Mets this season, covering 21 1/3 innings. The results at the major league level were not kind: per MLB Trade Rumors, he allowed 13 runs on 22 hits — seven of them home runs — and nine walks against 15 strikeouts, producing a 5.48 ERA in that stretch.

The home run problem is not new, and it is not incidental. MLB Trade Rumors notes that Curry carries a career 1.47 homers per nine innings in the majors, a figure that traces directly to his fly-ball tendencies. His 50.3% fly-ball rate and 28.7% ground-ball rate in the majors represent a profile that plays poorly in most big league parks, and his 2026 work with the Mets did nothing to change that arithmetic. The Mets, sitting at 73-85 and eliminated from both the division race and the Wild Card race, are in the portion of the calendar where September depth auditions give way to decisions about who is actually on the 40-man roster heading into the offseason. Curry, it appears, did not make that cut.

The numbers

Across 171 1/3 career major league innings, Curry has posted a 4.52 ERA, per MLB Trade Rumors. His strikeout rate over that span sits at 15.6% — a figure the report characterizes as tiny — while his walk rate of 7.5% has been a relative strength. The fly-ball rate of 50.3% and ground-ball rate of 28.7% define the core tension in his profile: the command is functional, but the ball-in-air tendencies leave him perpetually exposed to the long ball.

His best MLB season came with Cleveland in 2023, when he sat 92.5 mph on his four-seamer. Per the report, that figure has dropped to 90.8 mph in 2026. He has added a splitter and a sinker this year — pitches he had not previously used — though MLB Trade Rumors notes the results in the majors have not been favorable.

The Triple-A numbers offer a more flattering view: a 3.36 ERA across 72 1/3 innings at the minor league level this season. But even there, the report flags the same structural concerns — a 13.7% strikeout rate, a 6% walk rate, a 29% ground-ball rate, and a 42.9% fly-ball rate. The surface ERA is tidy; the underlying shape is familiar.

Prior to 2026, Curry had pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, primarily with Cleveland but also briefly with Miami. His most substantial run came with the Guardians in 2023-24, when he logged a combined 137 2/3 innings across 14 starts and 43 relief appearances with a 4.25 ERA — a workable swingman profile that kept him employed, if not entirely comfortable against fly-ball-friendly conditions.

Where the club stands

The Mets enter Thursday at 73-85 (.462), sitting fifth in the NL East, 20 games back in the division, and eliminated from both the division and Wild Card races. They hold a 10th-ranked Wild Card position, 14.0 relative to the cut line. New York has won their last two games heading into Thursday's contest at Globe Life Field against the Texas Rangers, where Zac Thornton is the probable starter opposite Kumar Rocker. The club then travels to Washington for back-to-back games at Nationals Park on Friday and Saturday, with Andrew Alvarez the probable for the Nationals on Friday and Jake Irvin slated for Saturday against Jonah Tong.

The roster maneuvering happening around this designation reflects the organizational moment. Andy Green was officially named Mets manager on a 3-year contract earlier this week, providing a defined leadership structure heading into the offseason. Separately, the Mets are reportedly close to adding former Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey to the front office, per reports from earlier this week. The Curry designation, then, lands in the middle of a club that is simultaneously playing out a lost season and beginning to shape what comes next.

What we don't know yet

The formal announcement covering both the Curry designation and the Abner claim had not been issued as of the MLB Trade Rumors report. The transaction log entries are the basis for the expected moves, not a club statement, so the precise timing and any additional details remain unconfirmed.

Beyond the paperwork, Curry's path forward carries its own open questions. Per MLB Trade Rumors, because he has been outrighted in the past, Curry would have the right to reject a minor league assignment if he clears waivers — meaning he would not be obligated to accept a return to the minors. The report characterizes it as very likely that he will be a minor league free agent this offseason, at which point he would seek a depth role with the Mets or another club.

What to watch

The 40-man roster implications of the Abner addition are the immediate mechanical question. Under general league rules, a player claimed off waivers must be added to the claiming team's 40-man roster, which is precisely why a corresponding move — in this case, Curry's designation — is required. Once Curry is formally designated, the clock on his seven-day window begins, during which the Mets must trade him, release him, or place him on outright waivers.

If Curry clears waivers, the choice of whether to accept a minor league assignment rests with him, per MLB Trade Rumors. His Triple-A ERA this season is the kind of number that tends to generate minor league interest in the offseason, even if the underlying profile gives evaluators reason to look carefully before committing a roster spot. Whether the Mets are among those interested parties — or whether Curry opts to test the open market — is a question the offseason will answer.

For now, the Mets are finishing a season that did not go as planned, making the kinds of late-September decisions that are less about winning games and more about knowing who you want in the building next spring.