Former Penn State right-hander Justin Hagenman is set to make history. Hagenman, who signed a one-year contract with the New York Mets in November, was called up ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. He would become the first player who finished his college career with the Nittany Lions to appear in a MLB game in two decades.
Nate Bump was the last former Penn State player to reach the big leagues. He last pitched on July 16, 2005. The Nittany Lions’ last major-leaguer, to some degree, was David Aardsma, who pitched for the Nittany Lions for one season in 2001 before transferring to Rice. Aardsma last pitched for the Atlanta Braves in 2015 and announced his retirement from baseball in 2018.
Through three games and two starts with New York’s Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse Mets, Hagenman has accumulated a 6.97 ERA and struck out 12 batters.
The 28-year-old Hagenman spent three seasons at Penn State before he was selected in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2023, Hagenman was traded to the Boston Red Sox in a deal that sent Kike Hernandez to the Dodgers. Over six seasons in professional baseball, Hagenman has never cracked a major-league roster.
Hagenman’s promotion comes after Griffin Canning was scratched from Wednesday’s start due to illness. In synchrony with Hagenman’s call to the majors, the Mets optioned reliever Max Kranick to Triple-A.
