Forgotten Mets: Ji Hwan Bae

One thing I love about spring training is that you have Major League players on teams that may very well not make the opening day roster – leading them to come up in conversation starters of “hey did you know (INSERT NAME) was a New York Yankee/Met?” It’s something I have highlighted numerous times for my ‘Forgotten Player’ column, and today we can add another spring training legend to the list: Ji Hwan Bae and the New York Mets.

At the making of this article, Ji Hwan Bae is still active in Major League Baseball with limited playing time. So far in 2026 at the Major League level, Ji Hwan Bae has appeared in 4 games with the Brewers and has recorded two at-bats, one of which he recorded a hit. Most famous for being a Pittsburg Pirate, Ji Hwan Bae appeared in 163 games for the NL yellow-and-black team, slashing .223/.294/.293 with 37 stolen bases during his time there.

Less than a year ago on November 6th, 2025, Bae was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets and was sent outright to Triple-AAA in January of 2026. There were very limited storylines throughout spring training. Overall in 11 spring training games, Ji Hwan Bae went 5-for-17 and carried a slash line of .294/.400/.471 with 3 walks, 4 strikeouts and 2 RBIs. 7 of the 11 games Bae appeared in saw him go hitless.

Bae would miss out on the Mets’ opening day roster and would later spend the season with AAA Syracuse. Bae would hit .257 with 32 RBIs and 36 bases swiped in 91 games before being released on August 4th, leading to his eventual pick-up by the Brewers.

Ji Hwan Bae's 2026 Topps Series 2 card showcasing his time with the New York Mets

Although Ji Hwan Bae was a member of the New York Mets organization not even a month ago at the making of this article (August 26th), I do believe he fits into the ‘Forgotten Player’ category perfectly, as there was little-to-no coverage or mention of him as a Met. Bae is also one of only a very thin handful of active players to be featured in this category, as technically there still is a chance he can end up as a member of the New York Mets for a second stint later on in the future.

Despite never playing a Major League regular season game for the New York Mets, Ji Hwan Bae did have a Topps card made of his time as a Met, with the image used captured from a spring training game. Bae’s 2026 Topps Series 2 base card numbered 563 is available on eBay for roughly $3.

More than likely Ji Hwan Bae will continue to bounce around the league as his speed ranks him in the 97th percentile of players, along with him being able to field inside the diamond and in the outfield as well.

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