The New York Mets have dipped into the international market to add pitching depth. They’ve reportedly reached an agreement with right-hander Mike Baumann.
After a year in Japan working to reboot his career, Baumann now becomes a classic low-risk, upside play for a Mets organization still searching for reliable arms to round out its staff.
Mets Add Power Righty Mike Baumann to Pitching Mix
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Mets have agreed to sign Mike Baumann, a 30-year-old right-hander. He spent 2025 with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in Nippon Professional Baseball.
The specific contract terms haven’t been reported yet. With the Mets’ 40-man roster full, all signs point to a minor league deal rather than a guaranteed major league contract.
This setup lets the club see what Baumann’s got in spring training and early in the season. There’s no immediate pressure to make a 40-man decision.
How Baumann Fits the Mets’ Roster Strategy
This move matches what a lot of teams are doing—stockpiling hard-throwing depth arms on non-guaranteed deals, hoping one or two break out. The Mets have churned through plenty of pitchers lately.
Baumann brings real velocity and some big-league experience. He’s another lottery ticket, honestly.
Baumann’s NPB Stint: A Mixed Bag in Japan
Baumann’s 2025 campaign in Japan was up and down. Pitching for the Yakult Swallows, he flashed the power stuff that once made him a notable bullpen-depth/”>Orioles prospect.
But the inconsistency that’s followed him in MLB showed up too. At the top level of NPB, Baumann logged:
He also worked 11 innings in the Swallows’ minor league system, posting a 4.09 ERA. The sample sizes are small, but the profile feels familiar: lots of bat-missing stuff, but control lapses that drive up pitch counts and create traffic on the bases.
What the Mets Can Take from His Time Overseas
NPB often helps pitchers refine their command and sequencing. Baumann didn’t dominate, but he stayed healthy and kept his velocity up.
He kept striking hitters out. For a team like the Mets, that’s enough raw material to take a shot.
Scouting Report: Big Velocity, Developing Command
Baumann’s appeal centers on a power arsenal. He’s got a starter’s mix with a reliever’s velocity, which keeps teams interested even when the results are uneven.
His repertoire includes:
Over parts of four MLB seasons from 2021–2024, Baumann logged:
He’s shown enough stuff to survive in the majors, but hasn’t found the command consistency needed to stick on a contending roster.
From Orioles Prospect to Journeyman Arm
The Baltimore Orioles drafted Baumann in 2017. He worked his way up as a starter, then moved more into relief roles.
By 2023, he’d used up his final minor league option. That really cut down his roster flexibility.
Without the ability to be freely sent to Triple-A, Baumann became a casualty of roster crunches. In 2024, he bounced between five teams:
That carousel says a lot. Front offices see value, but he’s expendable when they need a roster spot.
Path to Queens: Opportunities and Obstacles
Coming back from Japan, Baumann now faces a familiar challenge. He needs to pitch well enough in camp and the early season to force his way into the Mets’ plans.
With a likely minor league deal, he’ll have to outshine other depth arms to earn a look in the Flushing bullpen. The big issue is his lack of minor league options.
If Baumann makes the Mets’ major league roster, they can’t just send him back to Triple-A without exposing him to waivers. That raises the bar for sticking around, but it’s also why he’s starting from a non-roster spot.
What Success Would Look Like for Baumann and the Mets
The Mets want something simple: Baumann finds enough control to let his power pitches shine in a middle-relief spot. That would give them another hard-throwing arm who can chew up a few innings when needed.
For Baumann, this is a shot to turn all that raw ability into something steady. He’s spent years bouncing around teams and even continents, so maybe this is where things finally settle down for him.
If he can cut down on walks but keep the strikeouts he showed in NPB, this pickup could go from a December footnote to a real bullpen piece by midsummer in Queens.
Here is the source article for this story: Mets To Sign Mike Baumann
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