New York Mets release Kyle Farnsworth

Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

In late-March, pitcher Kyle Farnsworth re-signed with the New York Mets after opting out of his deal near the end of spring training. He was quickly added to the big league roster short after. Near the end of April, Farnsworth was named the closer for the Mets.

Less than a month later, not only isn’t he the closer for the Mets, he isn’t even with the team anymore. The New York Mets have released Kyle Farnsworth. Actually, he was outrighted to Triple-A, but he will not accept that assignment. He wants to pursue another major league opportunity and play against the Mets again.

Farnsworth recorded his third save of the year after being named the closer in April in the Mets victory in the Subway Series against the Yankees. The next day, however, he was told he would no longer be the closer.

The release is very surprising in that Kyle Farnsworth was a low-risk option out of the bullpen. He had improved from his drastic spring training. Even though the Mets had a weak bullpen, Farnsworth had been one of the better pitchers out of the bullpen. However, the team is going in a younger direction, as they recalled pitchers Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom to pitch in the starting rotation. These moves shifted Jenrry Mejia to the bullpen, kicking out Farnsworth.

The forty-five day waiver period is up on Thursday, which is related to advance-consent forms, which also allow teams to demote and promote players as much as they want. The Mets ended up saving some money by releasing Farnsworth, as he was supposed to make $1 million this season.

This season with the Mets, Kyle Farnsworth had a 0-3 record in nineteen appearances, compiling a 3.18 ERA over seventeen innings of work out of the pen. He also recorded a 5.3 K/9, which was his lowest of his career since his rookie season in 1999. In his long sixteen-year career, Farnsworth has a 43-66 record over 977 innings in 877 games, which compiling a career 4.24 ERA.