The Mets announced Wednesday that they’ve released veteran catcher Omar Narvaez and right-hander Jorge Lopez . Both were recently designated for assignment, and both are now free agents. New York also selected the contract of catcher Joe Hudson from Triple-A Syracuse, moving righty Shintaro Fujinami to the 60-day injured list to open a roster spot.
Hudson is a candidate to serve as an extra player for the Mets’ London Series against the Phillies, where each team will be granted a 27th player. The 32-year-old Narvaez is playing out the second season of a two-year, $15M contract he signed in the 2022-23 offseason. He had the right to opt out of said contract following the 2023 season, but after a .
211/.283/.297 showing in his first year with the club, he unsurprisingly passed on that opportunity.
He’s struggled even more in 2024, hitting just .154/.191/.
185 in 69 trips to the plate. Though his run with the Mets was dismal, Narvaez was a quality regular for several years leading up to that deal. From 2018-22, he slashed .
254/.337/.397 between the White Sox, Mariners and Brewers — even landing an All-Star nod with the ’21 Brewers.
Milwaukee also worked with Narvaez to dramatically improve his glovework — specifically his framing skills — improving upon the below-average grades he drew during his time with Seattle and Chicago. Any team in need of some catching help could take a flier on Narvaez and would owe him only the prorated league minimum for any time spent on .