A.J. Minter.

A.J. Minter. Credit: Getty Images

The Mets agreed to terms on Friday with lefthanded reliever A.J. Minter on a two-year, $22 million contract, a baseball source confirmed.

The deal with the former Atlanta pitcher includes an opt-out after the first season. It is pending a physical.

The Mets have not announced the agreement with Minter, but they did confirm that Thursday’s agreement with designated hitter/outfielder Jesse Winker for one year and $7.5 million plus $1.5 million in bonuses is official.

Minter, 31, had injury issues in 2024. He was on the injured list twice with left hip inflammation and had season-ending surgery in August.

It was no routine surgery. According to MLB.com, Minter had a labrum tear, a hip impingement and a lesion on his femur.

“I could still pitch,” Minter told MLB.com in September. “It wasn’t excruciating pain. But it was something I knew I needed to get fixed because I wasn’t helping the team.”

When healthy, Minter is a quality lefty, which the Mets had lacked in their projected 2025 bullpen (only Danny Young is on the roster at the moment).

In 39 games last season, Minter went 5-4 with a 2.62 ERA and one save. Since debuting with Atlanta in 2017, he is 24-29 with a 3.28 ERA and 36 saves.

The Winker and Minter agreements could be a sign that the Mets are moving on from franchise icon Pete Alonso, who remains a free agent.

Or it could be what the Mets were going to do anyway even if they eventually re-sign Alonso.

Until the Mets sign or trade for a huge-money player to wall off the possibility of Alonso returning, or until Alonso signs elsewhere, there’s always a chance the sides can come together on a deal to bring the fan favorite back to Flushing.

Nor does Minter’s deal preclude the Mets from continuing to chase premium lefthander Tanner Scott, who remains the top free-agent reliever on the market and could give the Mets a supercharged back of the bullpen with Minter and Edwin Diaz.

The Mets also have shown interest in former lefthander Tim Hill, who pitched well for the Yankees in 2024.

The Mets’ bullpen candidates at the moment also include Reed Garrett, Jose Butto, Paul Blackburn, Griffin Canning, Dedniel Nunez and Sean-Reid Foley. All are righthanders. Butto, Blackburn and Canning also provide rotation depth behind the top five of Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, David Peterson, Frankie Montas and converted reliever Clay Holmes.

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