New York Mets DVOA, Stats, & MLB Rankings

Relief pitcher Brooks Raley threw a bullpen session with at least a "dozen" teams in attendance, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. Raley logged just seven innings of work with the New York Mets before undergoing Tommy John surgery. However, it appears the southpaw is making significant progress in his recovery and could find himself on a major league team in the coming weeks. Given the timing of his surgery, he will likely not be cleared for the major leagues until after the All-Star break. In 2023, the 36-year-old logged 54 2/3 innings to the tune of a strong 2.80 ERA with a 1.26 WHIP. He tallied 61 punchouts. Fantasy managers should monitor Raley's status as he will likely have a high-leverage role when he finds a suitor and will hold value in leagues that reward holds.

New York Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz picked up his fourth save of the season on Thursday in a 4-1 win over the Cardinals. He struck out two and walked one in a scoreless ninth inning. It was his second straight scoreless outing since he gave up five combined runs in appearances on April 9 and April 11. His ERA still sits at an ugly 5.87 from those two outings and his six walks in 7 innings is less than ideal, but he remains one of the best closers for fantasy. He pitches on one of the best teams in baseball and remains elite at striking guys out, having 11 strikeouts so far in 2025.

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (hand), who is recovering from hamate-bone surgery, could return from the 10-day injured list during the team's current homestand, which begins on Thursday against the St. Louis Cardinals and runs through Wednesday, April 23. Alvarez is scheduled to catch back-to-back nine-inning games at Double-A Binghamton on Friday and Saturday. If those games go well, manager Carlos Mendoza said the team will have "a conversation." In five minor-league games to this point, the 23-year-old backstop has one 4-for-17 with a homer and three RBI. It will be interesting to see how Alvarez fares from a power standpoint after having surgery on his left hand. He showed in 2023 that he has the ability to be one of the better power-hitting catchers by clubbing 25 round-trippers, but he came back to Earth in 2024 due to injuries and hit 11 homers in just 100 games.

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor announced on his Instagram on Wednesday that he will be the captain for Team Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Lindor will once again play for his home country in next year's WBC after also playing for Team Puerto Rico in 2023, when they ended up being eliminated in the quarterfinals against Mexico. The 31-year-old All-Star is one of the top fantasy shortstops in the game, although he hasn't really gotten off to an outstanding start to the 2025 campaign. The former first-rounder (eighth overall) by the Cleveland Guardians in 2011 entered Wednesday's action with just one home run and a .234/.288/.344 slash line with a .631 OPS in 16 games played. The switch-hitter should be just fine, though, and he extended his modest hitting streak to five games with one hit in Wednesday's loss to the Minnesota Twins.

New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (wrist) is "fine" after being hit by a pitch during Tuesday's rehab outing. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza noted that the young backstop will continue his rehab assignment with Double-A on Wednesday evening and is slated to be behind the dish. This is an excellent sign as the 23-year-old was removed from Tuesday's contest after the HBP. Fantasy managers should continue monitoring his progress as he could be in the mix to return to the majors sometime next week, if he continues progressing well in his rehab outing. Last summer, Alvarez held a .237/.307/.403 slash line across 100 contests. However, during the 2023 season, Alvarez posted a promising .437 SLG with 25 long balls across 123 contests. When he is cleared to return, he should be viewed as a low-end No. 1 catcher.