The New York Mets have released left-handed pitcher Joe Jacques from their Triple-A Syracuse affiliate, according to minor-league transaction records.
The move, made during the club’s series with the Miami Marlins, ends a brief chapter for the 31-year-old sidearmer who signed a minor-league deal with New York last October. Right-hander Zach Peek was also released.
Jacques, born March 11, 1995, in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, is a local product who played college baseball at Manhattan University. The Pirates drafted him in the 33rd round in 2018.
He reached the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 2023 and later appeared with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Across 25 big-league games and 29 2/3 innings, he posted a 5.46 ERA, 22 strikeouts, and a 2-1 record. Most of that work came as a rookie in Boston. He did not pitch in the majors in 2025.
The Mets signed him in mid-October 2025 to a minor-league contract that included a spring-training invite and an $800,000 salary if he made the active roster.
The deal was framed as low-risk depth: Jacques is a ground-ball specialist with an unusual sidearm slot, and he had posted strong ground-ball rates in a small major-league sample.
After bouncing through the Dodgers and Mariners organizations in 2025 — a 6.02 ERA in 52 1/3 Triple-A innings — the Mets hoped a change of scenery and their pitching lab might help.
It did not lead to a major-league call-up. In 2026 he spent time on the injured list, made rehab appearances with High-A Brooklyn, and pitched for Syracuse.
Reports put his 2026 minor-league ERA in the mid-4.00s to 5.10 range over a limited innings total. With September roster decisions and organizational depth needs, Syracuse cut ties.
The release is typical of how clubs manage the margins of a pitching staff. Jacques has now been with six organizations since the draft.
At 31, with less than a tenth of a year of major-league service time, he can elect free agency and try again elsewhere — another club looking for a lefty with a different look and a history of inducing ground balls.
For the Mets, the transaction is a quiet housekeeping move in a season that has already featured heavy roster turnover. Jacques never appeared in a Mets uniform at the major-league level.
His departure leaves Syracuse with one fewer veteran arm as the affiliate’s season winds down and New York continues to shuffle pitching depth at every level.
