A longtime Cub has officially left the organization.

Adbert Alzolay, the right-handed pitcher who signed as a teenager in 2013 and developed into the team’s closer, signed a two-year, minor-league contract with the New York Mets, Will Sammon of the Athletic reported Friday night.

The 29-year-old missed most of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and is expected to be out most of the 2025 campaign. He was designated for assignment in November by the Cubs, when they cleared roster spots for prospects Owen Caissie and Ben Cowles, who they needed to protect from the Rule 5 Draft.

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The righty, who signed as a teenager with the Cubs, shared a heartfelt message on X (formerly Twitter) to fans:

Alzolay was a success story for the Cubs pitching infrastructure at a time when it was questioned.

He had risen through the minor-league ladder, becoming the Cubs’ top pitching prospect ahead of his major-league debut in 2019. It was an up-and-down start to his major-league career, posting a 4.58 ERA in 39 games (27 starts) across his first three major league seasons.

An injury in 2022 meant he started the year on the injured list and didn’t debut until September, posting a 3.38 ERA in 13.1 innings across 6 appearances.

In 2023, Alzolay was moved full-time to the bullpen. He quickly emerged as the team’s closer, following struggles by righty Michael Fulmer. Alzolay picked up 22 saves in 58 appearances and his post-save celebration — a powerful fist pump — was quickly branded “the People’s Fist” by fans.

But the year ended on a sour note for him. He suffered a right forearm strain in mid-September and landed on the IL at a pivotal time. The Cubs saw their playoff chances plummet from 92% early in the month to missing the playoffs by a game. Alzolay returned and pitched in one game — the opener of the final series of the year against Milwaukee.

He opened last season as the team’s closer but struggled from the onset.

On Opening Day, Alzolay allowed a leadoff, game-tying home run to Travis Jankowski. He blew 5 of his first 8 save opportunities and was relegated from the closer role for veteran Héctor Neris. In May he was placed on the 15-day IL with a right forearm strain. In August, he underwent Tommy John surgery by Dr. Keith Meister.  

Alzolay’s emergence came at a time when the Cubs’ ability to produce homegrown pitching was greatly questioned. During their championship and playoff window from 2015 to 2020, the Cubs relied greatly on outside pitching help — they signed free agents like Jon Lester, John Lackey and Yu Darvish and traded for others like Kyle Hendricks, Jake Arrieta and Cole Hamels.

He was the first real homegrown arm to contribute to the big-league team, a trend that was followed by Justin Steele, Javier Assad and Porter Hodge.