Mets sign pitcher two days after his release from NL East rivals

Cionel Pérez wasn’t a free agent for long.

The left-handed reliever reportedly signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets on May 6, two days after he was released by the Washington Nationals.

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Francys Romero reported the transaction on X on May 6.

Pérez, 30, was 2-3 with a 6.19 ERA in 16 games out of the Nats’ bullpen this season before he was outrighted on May 2. He elected free agency two days later.

In 273 career games with the Nationals, Baltimore Orioles (2022-25), Cincinnati Reds (2021) and Houston Astros (2018-20), Pérez is 17-9 with a 4.34 ERA.

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Mets relievers have a respectable 3.61 ERA through May 5, but their workload has been large. Only six teams have gotten more innings of relief from their bullpen than New York (142).

Only three left-handers have thrown an inning of relief for the Mets this season. Two, Sean Manaea and David Peterson, are converted starters.

Their workloads — 22 innings for Manaea, 11 for Peterson — are high but not necessarily cause for concern. Manaea, however, has a 6.55 ERA.

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