The Mets claimed Andy Ibáñez off waivers from the Athletics on Tuesday, adding a veteran utility player to a roster that has been stretched thin around the infield. Ibáñez, 33, will have to join the active roster when he reports because he is out of options.
The move came after the Mets opened a 40-man roster spot earlier in the day by designating Carl Edwards Jr. for assignment. That gave them the room to take a look at Ibáñez, who has played all four infield spots and both corner outfield positions over his career and brings the kind of flexibility teams have kept chasing from him for years.
Ibáñez’s path to Queens has moved quickly. The Dodgers signed him in January to a one-year, $1.2MM deal, then designated him for assignment a couple of weeks later. The Athletics claimed him in February, but they let him go again a few days before the Mets stepped in.
His bat has been the question all along. Ibáñez hit.118/.167/.118 in 18 plate appearances for the Athletics and finished with a.240/.297/.355 line and an 85 wRC+ across the 2024 and 2025 seasons with the Tigers. Detroit chose not to retain him through arbitration after that stretch, even though he had turned in a stronger 2023 season, when he hit.264/.312/.433 for a 103 wRC+.
That uneven production has not stopped clubs from continuing to circle. Ibáñez has more than 1,000 innings at second base and almost 800 at third, with additional experience at the other two infield spots and in the corners of the outfield. For a Mets club that has recently cycled through Francisco Lindor, Marcus Semien, Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Mark Vientos, Jared Young, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Luis Robert Jr. and Eric Wagaman in or around the infield and bench mix, that kind of coverage still matters.
The timing also fits where the Mets have been lately. They have had narrow infield flexibility for much of the season and recently lost multiple players to the injured list. Eric Wagaman was brought up when Luis Robert Jr. went on the injured list, and Wagaman has options, so he could be sent back out once Ibáñez arrives.
For now, the Mets are betting that a player with just over three years of service time and a track record of moving around the diamond can help cover the gaps while they wait for healthier days. The bigger question is whether Ibáñez’s defense earns him more than a short stay if his bat does not quickly outgrow the profile that has followed him from Detroit to Los Angeles, then Oakland and now New York.
