Mets reliever Max Kranick had long journey back to majors

HOUSTON — Mets reliever Max Kranick grew up outside Scranton, Pennsylvania, rooting for the team and attending games at Shea Stadium, a fandom inherited from his father, John, who originally is from New Jersey. That he now is a member of the club is a heartwarming tale of elite skill, family lore and coincidence.

Don’t let that distract, though, from the other aspect of Kranick’s comeback. When he next appears on the mound for the Mets, it will be his first game in the major leagues since May 2022.

Three years, two injuries and one role change later, Kranick is a big-leaguer again.

“It’s been a lot. Lots of ups and downs — mostly downs, if I’m being honest,” said Kranick, who also was designated for assignment twice and changed teams once during his major-league interlude. “I’m proud of where I’m at and where I’ve come from. But I feel like truly this is just the beginning of my career. There’s a lot ahead.”

Kranick, 27, had Tommy John surgery in mid-2022, sidelining him through 2023. In January 2024, the Mets claimed him off waivers from the Pirates, considering him initially a piece of rotation depth. But then he pulled his hamstring early in spring training, ending his candidacy.

By early May, shortly after he returned in the minors, the Mets told him what no starting pitcher wants to hear: He should be a reliever.

“I was in denial for a couple of days, maybe a week,” Kranick said. “Then jumped on board with their plans.”

Over the ensuing months, he embraced the new role — and in turn found success. He credited Grayson Crawford, who last year was Triple-A Syracuse’s pitching coach and now is the assistant minor-league pitching coordinator, and Andy Green, the senior vice president of player development, with giving him tough love and helpful instruction.

“They were always very honest with me,” Kranick said. “Maybe at the time I didn’t want to hear I wasn’t good, but looking back, I wasn’t . . . But I’m a man, I can handle that. I can look in the mirror. ‘It’s time to go to work.’ And (Green) was right. And every other time I talked to him, everything he told me was spot on. So I appreciate him, I appreciate this organization for believing in me again. I’m ready to go.

“The pitching department here is fantastic. So many good people. Obviously really smart people, but good people too. They do a good job of bringing in good humans.”

So impressed were the Mets that they re-added Kranick to the 40-man roster in October. For the NL Wild Card Series, he actually was on the active roster, though he didn’t pitch.

“Every month, we were having steady improvements,” he said. “At the end of the year, I was where I needed to be. I feel like we ran out of time in a way. I wish I got into a game. Obviously, the chances were slim in a playoff situation. But I was excited to build off of it in spring training. There’s a lot left in me.”

With an impressive camp — including a 1.46 ERA in eight Grapefruit League appearances — he emerged from a crowded field to earn a spot in the season-opening bullpen.

The Mets view him as a multi-inning reliever capable of throwing as many as 45 pitches, much like Jose Butto. Kranick is a breakout candidate, too, along the lines of what Butto became over the course of last summer.

When manager Carlos Mendoza told Kranick he made the club — that he was back in the majors — it felt like the first time all over, Kranick said.

“I was pretty serious at the beginning, so he didn’t know which way I was going to go,” Mendoza said. “Until I finally said, ‘You’re on the team.’ Then you could see that sense of relief and the smile on his face.

“I told him, the past few years, whether it was Tommy John, last year the hamstring, taken out of the rotation, put in the bullpen — for him to be here on Opening Day, he needs to be proud. We’re all proud of him.”