Mets Option Reliever Austin Warren to Triple-A Syracuse in Spring Cuts

Austin Warren arrived at spring training carrying a 0.96 ERA from five major league appearances in 2025, good enough to make him a legitimate dark horse for a bullpen spot. The Mets made their move following a Grapefruit League game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, optioning Warren to Triple-A Syracuse while also reassigning righties Kevin Herget and Robert Stock to minor league camp.

Warren, 30, was claimed off waivers before last season and appeared in five games with the Mets, allowing one run on five hits over 9.1 innings with nine strikeouts and four walks. He remains on the 40-man roster, meaning a recall path to New York stays open whenever the big league club needs a fresh arm.

Warren is coming off a year where he went 1-0 with a 0.96 ERA in those five games for the Mets. Prior to New York, he had spent time with the Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco Giants over five total seasons.

Herget, 34, made six appearances with the Mets last season, allowing five runs, four earned, in 12 innings, and re-signed on a minor-league deal in December. Herget is out of options, so if the Mets call him up, he will really have to prove his worth to avoid another DFA shuffle.

Stock, 36, pitched in 19 games, including 15 starts, last year for Triple-A Worcester in the Red Sox organization and carried a 3.92 ERA over 85 innings. Like Herget, he is in his second stint with the Mets and signed a minor league deal late last year.

With those three moves, the Mets dropped to 39 players at big league camp. That leaves 15 healthy pitchers in camp, with 14 having been assured jobs and Bryan Hudson, Richard Lovelady, and Craig Kimbrel still in contention for the one remaining bullpen spot. New York had three games remaining in spring training at the time of the moves, including a split-squad game on Saturday.

Warren's Syracuse assignment puts him in familiar territory. He shuttled between the Mets' big league roster and their Triple-A affiliate multiple times in 2025, and his 40-man status ensures he will be among the first calls made should the bullpen need reinforcement once the regular season opens.