The Mets released veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman from his minor league deal today, per Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman adds that Tauchman was actually granted his release after triggering an opt-out clause in his contract. He’s now a free agent.
The 35-year-old Tauchman has been a fairly steady source of OBP and solid production against righties across the past three seasons. From 2023-25, he totaled 1136 plate appearances between the Cubs and White Sox, slashing .255/.359/.381 in the process. Tauchman doesn’t have big power but walked at a huge 13% clip in that time and struck out at a 21.3% clip that’s about one point shy of the major league average.
Despite that solid three-year run between the two Chicago clubs, Tauchman was non-tendered by the White Sox and had to settle on a minor league deal in free agency. He looked like a good candidate to break camp with the Mets after he batted .241/.371/.448 in 13 spring games, but he suffered a meniscus tear in his left knee during the final week of camp. That sent him to the operating table. What was originally billed as a six-week recovery timetable instead wound up spanning just over three months; Tauchman was sidelined into early July.
So far with the Mets’ Triple-A club, Tauchman has taken 73 plate appearances. His plate discipline is strong as ever, but he hasn’t hit for average or done much damage when making contact, as evidenced by a tepid .213/.342/.262 batting line.
Tauchman has experience at all three outfield spots and has generally graded out as an above-average defender. Given that he’s 35 and coming off a three-month absence due to a meniscus tear, it seems unlikely that a team would plug him back into center field, where he hasn’t logged a major league inning since 2024. But any team looking for a left-handed corner bat off the bench could take a low-cost flier on Tauchman rediscovering his 2023-25 form and providing some support down the stretch. If he spends under 28 days on a major league roster, he’d technically be controllable into 2027 via arbitration.