The New York Mets designated outfielder Cristian Pache for assignment on Thursday as part of a corresponding roster move to claim versatile infielder/outfielder Kyren Paris off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels, via the MLB transaction log.
Pache, who turns 28 in November, spent the bulk of the 2026 season at Triple-A Syracuse after signing a minor-league contract with the Mets the previous winter.
He was called up in early August following the trade of Tyrone Taylor and spent the final two months of the season as a bench option.
In 15 major-league games, he went 1-for-8 with four strikeouts and two runs scored, starting just once. At Syracuse he hit .235 with five home runs, 41 RBI, and 16 stolen bases across 93 games.
Once regarded as one of baseball’s premier defensive prospects in the Atlanta Braves system, Pache has struggled to establish himself as a consistent major-league hitter.
He was a key piece in the 2022 trade that sent Matt Olson to Atlanta, then bounced through the Athletics, Phillies, Orioles, Marlins, and Diamondbacks organizations before landing with the Mets.
Across 618 career plate appearances he owns a .181/.242/.273 slash line.
Teams have continued to value his speed and plus defense in center field, but the bat has never developed enough to make him more than a depth piece. He is out of minor-league options.
The Mets made the move as they begin shaping their 40-man roster for the offseason.
They will need to clear three additional spots by Monday to activate Tylor Megill, Jorge Polanco, and Reed Garrett from the 60-day injured list.
Paris, a former Angels top prospect who showed solid power and on-base skills in the upper minors in 2025 and 2026, is also out of options, so the club faces its own decisions on whether to carry him into next season or attempt to pass him through waivers later in the winter.
Pache is expected to clear waivers and elect minor-league free agency, where he will look for another non-roster invitation to spring training.
For a player whose career has been defined by elite defense and persistent offensive inconsistency, the designation marks another stop in a journeyman path rather than a definitive end.
We’ll see what else the Mets do in a pivotal offseason for the club.
