Luke Weaver isn’t missing his ex.
The former Yankees closer and new Mets reliever had some folks buzzing after arriving to Port St. Lucie with a Bronx Bombers bag, but he explained that’s nothing more than offseason logistics.
“I thought it was a bit silly, personally,” Weaver said on “The Show” podcast with noti.group’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. “I understand why people are — I wouldn’t say an uproar, but why they’re talking about it. I get it. To your point, it’s very common to bring your old bad to your new team. They don’t first-class airmail a new bag, so I didn’t get a new bag from the Mets, like a duffle bag.
“I just personally didn’t have like, besides grocery bags or something, I just didn’t really have anything to put my stuff in. Part of me is like, yeah, I don’t necessarily want to take the Yankees bag because I’m not a Yankee, but I know this is just a normal process.”
There probably would not have been any chatter had Weaver showed face at say, Reds camp or White Sox camp, with a Yankees bag, but the cross-town rivalry will do that.
Some found it odd that Weaver did not ditch his Yankees gear, but he would not be the first player to report to work with his new team with gear from his last employer.
Just last year, ex-Met Max Scherzer walked into Blue Jays camp with a bag from his former team, the Rangers.
You can be sure that Weaver now has plenty of Mets gear that can replace any Yankees apparrell.
“I just need people to take a deep breath, know that I love the Mets now. I’m a Met. I love where I’m at,” Weaver said. “I love the teammates so far, I hope to win as many trophies as possible here, and I hope to do that with the fans behind us and rooting for me and doing so.
“So, the bag meant nothing.”
Weaver, 32, exited the Yankees after two-plus seasons to sign a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets.
After posting a 2.89 ERA in 2024 in a breakout season after struggling as a starter earlier in his career, he regressed in 2025 and had a horrendous showing in the postseason.
He starts the 2026 season in the same spot as last year where he will serve as part of the bridge to closer Devin Williams, who also exited The Bronx for Flushing.
He confirmed that the Yankees did not show much interest in re-signing him before he chose the Mets.
“It was basically a perfect situation to come to the Mets,” Weaver said. “Obviously, we see what the rest of the offseason built for them and there’s a lot of high hopes and strong vibes going on early in camp.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
