Okay, so remember when Daniel Duarte stepped onto that World Baseball Classic mound for Team Mexico back in 2026? He walked Bobby Witt Jr., sure, but then he stared down Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge, and Kyle Schwarber and retired them all in order. That was more than a cool WBC moment, folks. That shutdown inning was the kickoff for a total career turnaround nobody saw coming.
From the WBC Mound to Queens
Seriously, things looked bleak for Duarte before 2026. He fought his way onto the Minnesota Twins roster in 2024, only for an elbow injury to wipe out the rest of ’24 and all of 2025. Talk about a tough break. But the New York Mets saw something, signing him to a minor league deal in the winter before 2026. After that WBC performance against Team USA, where he proved he could handle the game’s biggest sluggers, the right-hander didn’t waste any time proving it wasn’t a fluke. He started his 2026 season with Triple-A Syracuse, posting 12 solid appearances, which was more than enough to earn him the call to the big leagues.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Once Duarte got to New York, he kept dealing. He rattled off seven consecutive scoreless appearances right out of the gate, setting a serious tone. Later in the summer, he put together another insane streak: nine straight scoreless outings. He was effective for most of the season, showing everyone that his WBC heroics were the opening act of his new normal. The stats back it up, big time. He threw up career highs in strikeout rate at a wicked 26.8% and kept the hard-hit rate way down at just 24.3%. His xERA, a telling stat, was a stellar 2.88. Considering he wasn’t even a big part of the Mets’ plans heading into the year, those numbers are absolutely wild.
Yeah, the year for the Mets eventually went down the drain, and Duarte even ended up on the IL in September with a hamstring injury, but his comeback story was a massive bright spot in an otherwise disastrous season for them. He completely flipped the script. Thanks to his 2026 campaign, Daniel Duarte is now almost certainly going to be a key piece in that Mets bullpen for 2027. What a ride, right? It just shows you what can happen when a guy gets a second chance and absolutely owns it.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Amazin’ Avenue.
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