Cionel Perez Joins Mets After Triple-A Syracuse Call-Up
Cionel Perez is back in the majors after the Mets selected the left-hander from Triple-A Syracuse and cleared room by moving two other pitchers. New York optioned Tobias Myers to Triple-A and designated Anderson Severino for assignment to open spots on the 26-man and 40-man rosters.
Perez Returns To New York
The move gives Perez another chance after a turbulent 2025 run split between Washington and the Mets’ system. He signed a minor league deal with the Nationals last offseason, made Washington’s Opening Day roster, and carried a $1.9 million salary for the 2026 season once he secured that spot.
His stay with Washington went sideways quickly. Perez posted a 6.19 ERA over 16 games before the Nationals outrighted him off the 40-man roster at the start of May, and he rejected the assignment to choose free agency. The Mets signed him to another minor league contract a couple of days later.
Mets Bullpen Left-Handed Depth
New York is not bringing in a blank slate. Perez has nine MLB seasons of experience, including a 3.12 ERA and four home runs allowed over 164 2/3 innings for the Orioles from 2022 to 2024, but he has also posted a 7.41 ERA over 37 2/3 big league innings since Opening Day 2025. He has 29 walks and 30 strikeouts in that span, and he has given up five home runs in his last two seasons of work.
That resume drops him into a bullpen that already includes Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter and David Peterson as left-handed options. Perez will have to carve out innings around that group, and his first task is simply staying on the active roster long enough to matter.
Severino And Myers Move Out
Severino is the arm pushed off the roster to create the opening. His big league record is six games and 7 1/3 innings with the White Sox in 2022, when he had a 6.14 ERA, and he spent the next three seasons outside affiliated baseball before the Mets signed him to a minor league deal in November.
The Mets added Severino to the 40-man roster 11 days ago, then sent him to Triple-A. He had earned the promotion with a 1.31 ERA over 20 2/3 innings for Syracuse, plus a 51.1% grounder rate, a.229 BABIP, a 13.8% walk rate and a 25% strikeout rate.
Myers also gets sent down after covering important innings in New York’s relief mix. He has a 4.05 ERA over 33 1/3 innings this season, worked in 18 games, handled two pseudo-starts as an opener and allowed at least one earned run in four of his last five outings. He gave up two runs in an inning of work yesterday, and the Mets followed that by beating the Marlins 9-7 in 10 innings.
For Perez, the immediate path is clear: earn a foothold in a bullpen with multiple left-handed choices and make the most of the prorated major league minimum while Washington still owes the rest of his 2026 salary.
