The Mets signed RHP Junior Fernandez to a minor league contract on Tuesday among a handful of roster moves, the team announced.
Fernandez, 28, will report to Triple-A Syracuse. He owns a 5.17 ERA over 51 MLB games, last pitching in the bigs in 2022 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The right-hander most recently was with the Kansas City Royals organization, throwing in 31 games for Triple-A Omaha this season. He went 2-5 with a 4.93 ERA and 1.54 WHIP over 38.1 IP prior to being released on July 1.
What stands out about Fernandez is that he struck out 53 batters with 26 walks this season in Triple-A, resulting in an impressive 12.44 strikeouts per nine innings.
Fernandez started his professional career with the St. Louis Cardinals, signing as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2016. He made his MLB debut with the club in 2019. The righty was DFA'd in 2022 and claimed off waivers by the Pirates, making three appearances with the team. He then played 42 games for the Toronto Blue Jays' Triple-A team in 2022, followed by nine appearances for the Washington Nationals' Triple-A team in 2023.
He signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball ahead of the 2024 season, but had to get surgery on his clavicle and only made two appearances for the farm team before being released in July of 2024.
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