Max Kranick’s 2025 was cut short

We love a bold prediction here at Amazin’ Avenue, and back in March our Lukas Vlahos wrote a gushing review of Max Kranick’s first five innings of spring training baseball. And for the first two and a half months of the season, Lukas looked like a soothsayer, as Kranick was a reliable bullpen arm who was flashing brilliance more often than resembling the bullpen chaff that he had looked like before the season began.

Having been claimed off of waivers before the 2024 season, Kranick’s repertoire was rebuilt by the Mets across the minors that season. He broke camp with the Mets in 2025, and did not allow an earned run through his first six appearances. A bad appearance at Target Field broke is perfect ERA season, but he still looked like quite a revelation.

Of particular notice was Kranick’s sweeper, which saw batters slugging just .125 off of the pitch. While he only threw the pitch 7.8% of the time, and only to right-handers, it was an extraordinarily useful pitch for him. The other big change in Kranick’s game was the virtual elimination of walks; in 2021 when he started nine games for the Pirates, he was walking 4.4 per nine innings; in 2025, it was just 1.2 BB/9. His strikeout rate and home run rates remained about the same, but by limiting free passes, his results looked quite different.

May and June were rougher for Kranick, whose strikeout and walk rates stayed almost the same, but saw his ERA more closely approach his FIP. Kranick was being used a lot, both for multiple innings and for shorter spurts, but his 37 innings pitched in 24 appearances as of June 15 showed some some serious usage.

It shouldn’t be implied that his usage led to the elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery in July. To quote Toby Hyde, “pitchers break; it’s what they do.” Break he did, and he will likely miss all of 2026 before setting foot on a big league mound again.

When he does do that, it seems unlikely that it will be as a Met, as they non-tendered him earlier this month. While he may return on a minor league contract with less guaranteed money, that’s not happened yet and may never come to pass.

If nothing else, Kranick is a great example of what the Mets’ pitching lab and player development department can do for a pitcher. Kranick was obviously a talented guy with some big league experience, but the Mets took their time with him, maximized what worked for him and eliminated what didn’t. It didn’t lead to a Cy Young season, but it took a borderline player and gave him a role he could thrive in. Whether or not Kranick ever throws another pitch for the Mets – and I’m rooting for him to do so – he’s a great object lesson in what the Mets are capable of doing for players on the fringe.