PRESS RELEASE - METS ANNOUNCE 15 PLAYERS INVITED TO MAJOR LEAGUE CAMP

 

FLUSHING, N.Y., February 2, 2023 - The New York Mets today announced that they have invited the following players to Major League Spring Training.

 

INF Jonathan Araúz was selected by the Mets in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. An Alanje, Panama native, Araúz played in 15 games combined with the Red Sox and Orioles last year. The 6-foot, 195-pounder has appeared in 68 career games over three major league seasons with Boston (2020-2022) and Baltimore (2022). The 25-year-old was originally signed by the Phillies as an international free agent on August 7, 2014.

 

OF Lorenzo Cedrola appeared in 124 games with Triple-A Louisville of the Reds organization last season and finished second among Reds minor leaguers with 127 hits. In six minor league seasons, Cedrola owns a career .291 (720-2472) batting average, a .341 OBP and 121 stolen bases. A native of Caracas, Venezuela, Cedrola was originally signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent on February 7, 2015.

 

RHP Connor Grey went 5-6 with a 6.38 ERA (74 ER/104.1 IP) in 26 games (24 starts) in 2022 with Triple-A Syracuse. Last season, Grey appeared on a major league roster for the first time in his career from August 22 – August 27, but did not appear in a game with the Mets. A native of Frewsburg, NY, Grey owns a career record of 34-28 with a 4.44 ERA (260 ER/527.1 innings) across six minor league seasons with the Diamondbacks and Mets organizations.

 

RHP Grant Hartwig went 6-2 with a 1.75 ERA (11 ER/56.2 IP), 83 strikeouts and led all Mets farmhands with 13 saves in 39 relief appearances combined with Single-A St. Lucie, High-A Brooklyn, Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. Over his final 29 games of the 2022 season, Hartwig pitched to a 0.86 ERA (4 ER/42.0 IP) with 10 saves and held opposing batters to a .472 OPS. The 6-foot-5, 235-pounder signed with the Mets as an undrafted free agent out of Miami (OH) University on July 22, 2021.

 

OF Tim Locastro has appeared in 247 major league games over six seasons with the Dodgers (2017-2018), Diamondbacks (2019-2021) and Yankees (2021-2022). According to Statcast, Locastro has the fastest sprint speed since 2017 at 30.8 feet/seconds (min. 150 opportunities) and has a stolen base success rate of 88.6 percent (39-44). The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder stole 29 consecutive bases to begin his career, the longest stolen base streak to start a career since 1951.

 

LHP T.J. McFarland has a record of 24-15 with a 4.13 ERA (217 ER/472.1 IP) over 351 career games in 10 seasons with the Orioles (2013-2016), Diamondbacks (2017-2019), Athletics (2020) and Cardinals (2021-2022). Since his major league debut in 2013, McFarland ranks eighth among relief pitchers with a ground ball rate of 62.8 percent (min. 200 relief appearances).

 

C Nick Meyer appeared in a career-high 79 games combined with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse last year. Meyer, 25, posted a 14.9 percent walk rate and established career highs in hits (58), home runs (six), RBI (37) and stolen bases (14). A native of Westminster, CO, Meyer was drafted by the Mets in the sixth round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

 

RHP Eric Orze enters his third season in the Mets farm system. In 68 career minor league games, Orze is 8-5 with six saves, a 3.96 ERA (44 ER/100.0 IP), 136 strikeouts and a 1.10 WHIP. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder was drafted by the Mets in the fifth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of New Orleans.

 

C Kevin Parada was drafted by the Mets in the first round (11^th overall) of the 2022 First-Year Player Draft out of Georgia Tech. Parada, 21, appeared in 13 regular season games combined with the Florida Complex League Mets and Single-A St. Lucie in his first career professional season. He batted .400 (6-15) with five RBI during St. Lucie's run to the Florida State League championship last season. Parada enters the 2023 as the 36th-best prospect in the majors overall (No. 3 catcher) according to MLB Pipeline and as the 50th-best prospect according to Baseball America.

 

C Michael Pérez appeared in six games for the Mets in 2022 from August 15-26 after he was acquired from the Pirates on July 23, 2022. The 5-10, 195-pounder has appeared in 199 career games across five major league seasons with the Rays (2018-2020), Pirates (2021-2022) and Mets (2022). The Bayamon, Puerto Rico native was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Colegio Vocacional Para Adultos in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

OF Alex Ramírez led all Mets farmhands with 140 hits last season in 121 games combined between Single-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn. Ramírez, 20, enters the 2023 season as the 96th-best prospect in the majors overall according to MLB Pipeline and as the 92nd-best prospect according to Baseball America. In his two-year minor league career, Ramírez owns a career .273 (218-800) batting average with 16 home runs and 106 RBI.

 

C Hayden Senger batted .240 (69-288) with a career-high-tying five home runs and 31 RBI over 83 combined games last season with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. A native of Hamilton, OH, Senger was drafted by the Mets in the 24^th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Miami (OH).  

 

OF DJ Stewart spent parts of five major league seasons with the Orioles (2018-2022) and had 26 home runs and 73 RBI over 195 career big league games. Stewart appeared in a career-high 100 major league games in 2021 and belted 12 home runs with 33 RBI. Stewart, 29, was drafted by the Baltimore in the first round (25^th overall) of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida State.

 

LHP Josh Walker made 13 relief appearances at three levels of the Mets system in 2022, going 3-2 with 38 strikeouts in 22.0 innings. The 6-6, 225-pounder set career highs in games (21), starts (20), wins (nine), innings (115.2) and strikeouts (98) with three teams during the 2021 season. A native of Otisville, NY, Walker was drafted by the Mets in the 37^th round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of New Haven (CT).

 

RHP William Woods made his major league debut with the Braves last season, tossing 2.0 scoreless innings with two strikeouts in two appearances. Woods, 24, has posted a 4.60 ERA (55 ER/107.2 IP) in 59 games (18 starts) over four minor league seasons in the Braves organization. A native of Trenton, TN, Woods was drafted by the Braves in the 23^rd round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Dyersburg State Community College (TN). 

 

The following players were previously announced as signing minor league contracts and have been invited to Major League Spring Training: OF Abraham Almonte, RHP Tommy Hunter, LHP Zach Muckenhirn, INF José Peraza, RHP Denyi Reyes and RHP Jimmy Yacabonis.