PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Luke Weaver has barely been a Met for two months. But he managed to start a fire across the Subway Series divide before even throwing a single pitch in blue and orange.
The former New York Yankees reliever arrived at the Mets’ spring training complex on Monday carrying his gear in a bag emblazoned with the Yankees logo. The image spread across social media within minutes. And it did not sit well with one prominent voice in the Bronx.
Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay had plenty to say about it. His reaction was sharp. His message to Weaver was direct. And it captured the tension that has been simmering between these two MLB franchises all winter.
A quiet offseason departure that still stings
Weaver spent two productive seasons with the Yankees after arriving on a waiver claim from the Seattle Mariners in September 2023. He reinvented himself as a reliever in the Bronx and turned into a high-leverage weapon.
In 2024, Weaver posted a 2.89 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 84 innings across 62 relief appearances. He became the Yankees’ closer down the stretch and was outstanding during the postseason run to the World Series, saving all three wins in the ALDS against the Royals.
His 2025 season was more uneven. A hamstring strain in June knocked him off track. He finished with a 3.62 ERA and eight saves in a career-high 64 appearances. There were also reports that pitch-tipping issues hurt his effectiveness late in the year.
When free agency arrived, the Yankees never made Weaver an offer. He signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets in December. On the Foul Territory podcast earlier this winter, Weaver confirmed the Yankees’ silence but expressed no bitterness.
“They didn’t have an official offer or anything like that,” Weaver said. “I really loved and valued every single person in that clubhouse. I would’ve loved to continue and for things to roll, but we know there’s always a chapter that ends and somewhere else you have to pick up. I got all love for those guys.”
Kay fires back at Weaver: ‘Show a little respect’
Whatever good will existed between Weaver and the Yankees universe took a hit on Monday. When video surfaced of him walking into the Mets’ Port St. Lucie facility carrying a Yankees equipment bag, Kay did not hold back.
“Show a little respect,” Kay said. “I mean, the Mets deserve better than that. They paid you a lot of money. All you had to do was call up the Mets at some point during the offseason and say, ‘Listen, can you send me an equipment bag so that when I come to Port St. Lucie, I’m carrying a Met equipment bag with blue and orange rather than the Yankees midnight blue and white.'”
Kay acknowledged the moment was not the end of the world. But he was clear about the principle behind it.
“But he didn’t do that,” Kay continued. “It’s like players don’t think the right thing to do. It’s not right. You owe it to the Met organization, you’re a Met now.”
Kay added that Weaver should “have some consideration for the team that just paid you a lot of money.” The Yankees broadcaster has been one of the more vocal critics of the Mets’ recent strategy of signing former Bronx relievers. Along with Weaver, the Mets also signed Devin Williams on a three-year, $51 million contract this offseason. Clay Holmes joined the Mets last winter.
Was the bag a joke or just an oversight?
There is a real possibility that Weaver did not intend to make any kind of statement. He simply showed up with the bag he already had. Players switch teams every offseason across MLB, and not all of them immediately replace every piece of old gear on day one.
But this is not just any team switch. This is the Yankees and the Mets. In the same city. In the same division race. After an offseason in which Juan Soto left the Bronx for Queens. Everything between these two clubs carries extra weight right now.
Yanks Go Yard speculated that Weaver, known as a clubhouse jokester, might have done it on purpose as a gag. The site noted that he “had to know this was a strange way to encounter a new fanbase he’ll be looking to win over.” But if it was a joke, the punchline landed differently depending on which side of town you root for.
The bigger picture for both bullpens in 2026
Bag drama aside, Weaver’s presence in Port St. Lucie underscores a real shift in the MLB landscape between these two New York teams. The Mets now employ three of the Yankees’ top high-leverage arms from the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
Williams is expected to close. Weaver figures to set up. Holmes has moved into the rotation. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns praised Weaver’s addition in December.
“Over the past few seasons Luke has emerged as one of the most reliable leverage relievers in baseball and we’re excited to add him to our pen,” Stearns said. “Luke’s stuff, combined with his experience in high pressure situations in New York, sets him up well for success going forward.”
The Yankees, meanwhile, are retooling their bullpen around David Bednar, Camilo Doval and a wave of young arms. They chose not to match the Mets’ offer for Weaver or Williams.
For now, the first image of Luke Weaver as a Met will not be a pitch or a strikeout. It will be a Yankees bag slung over his shoulder as he walked through the wrong door. Whether it was careless, funny or something in between, it gave Michael Kay and the rest of the baseball world something to talk about as the 2026 MLB season inches closer.
What do you think?
