Report: Mets Sign Chris Devenski to Minor League Deal

The New York Mets have agreed to a minor league deal with right-hander Chris Devenski, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported Monday.

Devenski, now 33 years old, was a key bullpen piece for the 2017 Houston Astros, who won the World Series. After getting drafted in the 25th round by the Chicago White Sox in 2011, he was traded a year later. He made his MLB debut with Houston in 2016, and posted a 2.38 ERA over his first two seasons (110 games) in the majors.

Devenski has yet to recreate that kind of success in the following years, though, hence why the Mets got him on a minor league contract. After a pair of okay years with the Astros, he had an injury-riddled 2020 campaign and elected free agency at the end of the season.

Devenski signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2021. He ended up only pitching in eight games that year, and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He returned in 2022, and got released by the Diamondbacks after posting a 7.59 ERA in 10 games.

After a brief stop with the Philadelphia Phillies at the end of that season, he pitched in 29 games for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, working to the tune of a 5.08 ERA. The Angels released him in late August, and the Tampa Bay Rays swooped him up.

His first taste with the Rays was encouraging, with only two earned runs allowed in 8 2/3 innings. But he posted a 6.75 ERA this past season in 19 games for Tampa Bay. He surrendered nine home runs in just 26 2/3 innings. The Rays released him on June 30.

Devenski’s most recent stop came with the Seattle Mariners. He spent the remainder of the 2024 season pitching for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers, and had a 2.35 ERA in 23 appearances. He never got a call to the big league club.

Devenski’s career ERA is 3.98, with a 9.3 K/9 and a 2.5 BB/9. More than a quarter of his career MLB innings, though, came during the 2016 season, when he finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting.

Devenski hasn’t lived up to the promise of his first two years, but the Mets will try to see if he has anything left. The deal comes with very little risk considering that it’s a minor league signing.

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