Nate

Lavender

Lavender was the Rays’ Rule 5 draft pick and missed 2025 while recovering from an internal brace procedure. He’ll provide some depth — assuming good health — for the Mets’ minor-league staff to open 2026.

There simply isn’t any room for Misner and Seymour with Tampa Bay’s crowded positional mix moving forward, but they should generate some interest on waivers in the coming days. Misner offers some appeal as a righty-mashing platoon specialist while Seymour makes sense as a bench bat.

Lavender underwent an internal brace procedure back in May while a member of the Mets, and the eighth pick of the 2024 Rule 5 draft will be stashed on the injured list for at least the first two months of the 2025 campaign.

Lavender will likely be able to be stashed on the 60-day injured list, as he underwent an internal brace procedure back in May. Once healthy, the 24-year-old has a shot at helping the Rays’ bullpen, and he could even develop into a starter.

The surgical procedure is basically a less-invasive elbow surgery that carries a faster return timetable than Tommy John ligament replacement. Lavender will miss the remainder of the 2024 campaign, but figures to be ready to return at some point early next year. The 24-year-old righty has posted excellent numbers in the minors and is regarded as one of the top relief prospects in New York’s system.