When Luke Weaver signed with the Mets this offseason, he joined an organization with a familiar support network.
Having spent parts of the last three years with the crosstown rival Yankees, Weaver already had relationships with several current Mets stars — and it didn’t take long for him to feel welcomed.
“Juan [Soto] is a dear friend of mine, sent me a nice text when I signed, we’ve stayed in touch off and on the last year or so,” Weaver said Monday during an appearance on “Foul Territory.”
“Clay Holmes is another one; we’ve been in a lot of communication since the time we spent in New York on the Yankees side.”
Weeks before Weaver signed, the Mets also inked another former Yankees closer, Devin Williams, to a three-year deal.
The club has also been linked to free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger, who spent 2025 anchoring the Yankees’ outfield.
“Great player, even better dude,” Weaver said of Bellinger. “He’s consistent, he’s the same guy, he’s a guy you want in your clubhouse and a player you certainly want on your team.”
While the Yankees are pursuing a Bellinger reunion, Weaver confirmed noti.group’s report that a return to the Bronx was never an option for him.
“Yeah, they didn’t have an official offer or anything like that,” Weaver said.
The 32-year-old signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Amazin’s in mid-December, ending a Yankees stint in which he finally harnessed the potential that made him a first-round pick in 2014.
Weaver joined the Yankees as a waiver claim at the end of 2023, a tumultuous season in which he was designated for assignment twice and pitched for three teams.
After pitching well in three late-season outings, the Yankees re-signed Weaver to a one-year, $2.5 million deal for 2024 — a move that proved to be one of the steals of the offseason.
Weaver blossomed into the team’s most reliable reliever, posting a 2.68 ERA in 62 games while striking out 103 batters over 84 innings.
He supplanted Holmes as the closer and helped guide the Yankees to a World Series appearance.
An emotional Weaver reflected on that 2024 season, admitting his career felt in doubt at the time.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t cry on this show…” Weaver said. “I do know for a fact that during the 2024 season, I had nothing to lose. I didn’t know if I was going to play again. I was at that mental battle of like, injuries and ‘Is this what I want to do?’
“Then you get that spark of ‘I’m not a quitter.’ I’ll go until they tell me not. There were several times during that year where success continued to build. The positions changed out of the ‘pen and got to cooler moments and higher leverage [situations]. Where I was, where I went to and where I am now, it’s very overwhelming.”
Weaver posted a respectable 3.62 ERA across 64 appearances in 2025, but a hamstring strain in June led to uneven results after his return — and a brutal postseason in which he recorded a 135.00 ERA over three outings.
Despite the way his Yankees tenure ended, Weaver remains deeply appreciative of the organization.
“I am forever ingrained into that organization, “Weaver said. “These last two years resurrecting my career, game, momentum and just being able to play on a platform that’s just really high. To be able to do some cool things and for my own personal gain, gain that confidence and love for baseball once again and see where it takes me to the finish. I really, really loved and valued every single person in that clubhouse and on the team in general.
“[I] would have loved to been able to continue [with the Yankees] and things to roll but we know there’s always a chapter that ends and somewhere else you gotta pick up. I got all the love for those guys. I hope they do extremely well and achieve all they want.”
Weaver also expressed excitement about staying in New York, calling the market “unbeatable” and praising the Mets for having “a big thing going.”
As he prepares to become a key piece of the Mets’ bullpen, Weaver said there are no hard feelings — at least until the Subway Series arrives.
“There’s no bad blood on my end, I don’t believe there is [on the Yankees’ end],” Weaver said with a laugh. “I got a lot of great texts and support from them and wishing me the best.
“Obviously, they’re not gonna root for me when the time comes near and we’re in a Subway Series. At the end of the day, just a really cool time there and everybody there was so impactful on my life.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
