Mets Sign Former D-backs Hurler To Deal

The New York Mets are bringing in a former MLB Pipeline Pitcher of the Year on a minor-league deal as reported by MLB.com. Jon Duplantier will get an invitation to minor-league camp as a result of the deal. The Mets have not formally announced the deal and he still appears as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization on his MiLB.com page. The Phillies released him after last season when pitched just three games with their High-A team in Jersey Shore. He went 0-1 with an 8.38 ERA. The Phillies released him in June.

Duplantier was the Arizona Diamondbacks’ third round pick in 2016 out of Rice. The right-hander was the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year before he was drafted. He broke through in 2017 with an exceptional season in the lower runs of the Diamondbacks’ system, as he went 12-3 with a 1.39 ERA in 25 games with Kane County and Visalia. He also pitched in the All-Star Futures game and was later named MLB Pipeline’s Pitcher of the Year. He earned his Major League call-up with Arizona in 2019 and pitched in 15 games, finishing with a 1-1 record and a 4.42 ERA. He struck out 8.3 hitters every nine innings but walked 4.4.

After not playing in 2020 due to the shutdown of minor-league baseball, he received a short call-up with the Diamondbacks in 2021, as he struck out 12 hitters in 13 innings but had a 13.15 ERA before he was demoted. His season ended with a lat injury that put him on the injured list. Arizona released him on outright waivers, re-signed him and then he elected free agency. From there, the San Francisco Giants signed him in December of 2021 but the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in the Rule 5 Draft, he pitched with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City before he became a free agent after the season and signed with Philadelphia.