NY Mets and Yankees players who switched sides in the 2024 Subway Series

June 24, 2024

At this point in the 2024 Major League Baseball season, every series is important for the Mets. The same could be said about the Yankees.

The Mets are arguably the best team in the league, having won 13 of their last 17 games. They have either won or tied their last seven series, but they are still one game away from a spot in the National League wild card standings.

After one of the best starts in MLB, the Yankees have cooled off over the past two weeks. They have lost four of their last five series. Despite the recent dip, the Yankees’ good start has allowed them to post a 52-28 record. Still, the Orioles are 1½ games behind the Yankees in the American League East.

These two worlds will collide starting Tuesday at Citi Field for the first of two editions of the Subway Series this summer.

The Mets-Yankees clash has additional significance for the teams’ standings in their respective leagues, but will also feature some interesting reunion games. Here are the players from both sides of the rivalry who will face their former teams:

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Luis Severino

When Luis Severino joined the Mets in the offseason on a one-year, $13 million contract after eight seasons with the Yankees, he spoke of his appreciation for pitching under the pressure of New York. In his final five seasons in the Bronx, Severino battled a long list of injuries, including Tommy John surgery, two latissimus strains and an oblique strain, to name a few.

In Flushing, Severino has taken a new approach to finding his form. He prepared earlier in the offseason, improved his sleep schedule and refined his repertoire. Severino relies more on his sinker, is no longer afraid to pitch straight and has added a sweeper to provoke a few more mishits.

After six scoreless innings, 10 strikeouts and a win on Sunday over the Cubs, Severino is 5-2 with a 3.29 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 71 strikeouts in 15 starts.

Harrison Bader

With his family cheering for both the Yankees and Mets, Bader, a native of Bronxville, New York, called it a “dream come true” to play for both sides of the Subway Series.

The 30-year-old outfielder has had some ups and downs in parts of two seasons with the Yankees. After being acquired in a trade with the Cardinals that gave up Jordan Montgomery, Bader was one of the Yankees’ most productive players in their ALCS run, hitting five home runs in nine games. However, he underperformed in his second season, battling oblique, hamstring and groin injuries before being released and signed by the Reds in 2023.

Bader, along with former University of Florida teammate Pete Alonso, has found favor with the Mets, bringing energy and defensive strength to the heart of the team’s outfield.

Carlos Mendoza

Mendoza, 44, knows the Yankees organization as well as virtually anyone in the game.

After being signed by the Giants as a teenager from Venezuela, Mendoza joined the Yankees’ High-A affiliate in 2006 and played in every level of their minor league system except Single-A, where he served as manager of the Single-A Charleston River Dogs in 2011. He eventually became the Yankees’ infield coach in 2017 and spent the last four seasons under Aaron Boone as the Yankees’ bench coach.

Through 76 games, Mendoza has done slightly better than the Mets’ last two debut managers. Mickey Callaway went 36-40 during that span, while Luis Rojas finished the COVID-shortened 2020 season with a 26-34 record.

In his first year, Mendoza was not afraid to make necessary changes when needed, leaving Jeff McNeil on the bench at times and allowing other strong players like Mark Vientos, Jose Iglesias and Luis Torrens to play.

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Michael Tonkin

After a turbulent spring in which Tonkin spent spring training with the Mets but was designated for assignment three times – twice by the Mets and once by the Twins – the 34-year-old right-hander has carved out a role for himself in the Yankees’ bullpen.

After allowing six earned runs in nine innings in his first two appearances, the multi-inning option has allowed three earned runs in 25⅓ innings as a member of the Yankees. In the process, Tonkin has reduced his ERA from 6.00 when he left the Mets to 2.36 in 25 appearances. His WHIP is 1.14.

JD Davis

The Yankees needed help on the right side of their lineup after Giancarlo Stanton strained his left thigh on Saturday and Anthony Rizzo suffered a fractured right arm earlier in the week.

To that end, the Yankees signed former Mets player JD Davis in a trade with the A’s on Sunday afternoon for infield prospect Jordan Groshans. This season, Davis has a batting average of .236/.304/.366 with four home runs, five RBIs and 12 runs in 39 games. He will have the opportunity to play first base, third base and designated hitter.

Davis is now on his third team since being traded by the Mets to the Giants in exchange for Darin Ruf at the 2022 trade deadline. Davis spent parts of four seasons with the Mets, including a 22-home run, 57-RBI season in 2019 in which he posted a .307 batting average.

Luis Rojas

After taking over as the Mets’ manager during the tumultuous, COVID-shortened 2020 season, Rojas finished his time in Flushing with a record of 103-119 (.464). Ultimately, the Mets declined Rojas’ option for a third season as Mets owner Steve Cohen made his first managerial hire, Buck Showalter.

It didn’t take long for Rojas to find a new job. Less than two months later, he switched districts and landed the job as third-base coach for the Yankees, where he is now playing his third season.