A.J. Minter grateful, ready to help Mets after return from injury: 'Felt like I debuted all over again'
· Yahoo Sports
It's been more than a year since A.J. Minter took the ball in a major league game, but on Tuesday night, the veteran left-hander completed his long road back.
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Although the Mets' offense continued to struggle in their 7-2 loss to the Reds, the biggest silver lining from the game was Minter's first action since April 2025.
Minter allowed one hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning.
"Felt like I debuted all over again," Minter told reporters after the game. "Some butterflies...The first one is always the hardest."
"It was great to have him back," catcher Luis Torrens said through the team interpreter. "He’s obviously an important part of the team and it’s great to have him back in the fold."
It was a good outing for Minter, who had season-ending lat surgery that erased most of 2025 and the start of the 2026 season. The 32-year-old spoke about the range of emotions he was feeling from his rehab to getting on the mound, and was effusive about the Mets' organization for helping him get back out there.
"A lot of emotions. Makes you not take this game for granted. Never know when it will be your last one," Minter said. "A lot of people got me back here. I can’t speak any more highly of this organization."
Minter only made 13 appearances for the Mets in 2025 before his injury. With the loss of Minter, many believed the Mets' bullpen was never the same as it was taxed following the starting rotation's struggles, which resulted in the team missing out on the postseason last year.
Now that he's back, Minter wants to bolster a Mets bullpen that has pitched very well -- seventh in the National League with a 3.35 ERA -- and try to save the team's season.
" Last year, I feel like I let the team down. Took me a little bit longer to get back here," Minter added. "Got this first one, but now it’s time to help this team get back in the right direction."
"It was good to see him after a long recovery, long year for him," manager Carlos Mendoza said of Minter's outing. "Couldn’t wait to get back on a big league mound, he looked good. He looked sharp…it’s not easy to go through what he went through."
Including Tuesday night, Minter has pitched to a 3.22 ERA over his 10-year career, with 36 saves and 121 holds. And to be that successful over that period of time, Minter understands he needs to pitch to his strengths and be able to adapt.
He said that he's pitched long enough to be a pitcher and not just a "thrower," and that he hopes to pitch for seven more years, and to do that, he needs to stay healthy, be durable and throw strikes. And while he tries to do that, he wants to learn from his first big league start in nearly 400 days and keep improving.
"Felt like I still need to improve on a few things, and can still get better," Minter said of his outing. "I’ll take that first one. Feel like the weight is off my shoulders and now I feel like I can get back to doing what I know I can do."