2015 Knights MVP signs with Mets

Friday, February 7, Corvallis, Ore. – Former Oregon State infielder Nick Madrigal, the Most Outstanding Player on the 2015 Corvallis Knights, signed a free-agent deal with the New York Mets on Jan. 31.

The contract is worth $1.35 million if he makes the Mets and a lesser amount if he is sent to the minor leagues. New York’s triple-A affiliate is located in Syracuse.

Madrigal earned first-team all-West Coast League honors in 2015, the summer before he enrolled at Oregon State. He lettered three times for the Beavers, leading them to the 2018 NCAA championship, and then was selected by the Chicago White Sox as the No. 4 overall pick in the MLB draft.

He played for the White Sox in 2020-21 and the Chicago Cubs from 2022-24. The Cubs released him after the 2024 season, when he slumped to .221. He was sent to triple-A in June and suffered a season-ending hand injury in his first game.

In other off-season MLB news involving Knights alums:

• Left fielder Steven Kwan (Oregon State, 2016) and the Cleveland Guardians agreed to a one-year, $4.175 million contract to avoid arbitration. Kwan made the AL All-Star team, hit .292 with a .368 on-base percentage and a career-best 14 homers. He also won his third straight Gold Glove Award.
• Left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd (Oregon State, 2010) signed a two-year, $29 million deal with the Chicago Cubs. He can earn an additional $1 million in performance bonuses over the two years. He was 2-2, 2.72 in eight starts with Cleveland after recovering from 2023 arm surgery. He also starred in the playoffs, allowing only one run in 11.2 innings over three starts, with 14 strikeouts.
• Catcher Adley Rutschman (Oregon State, 2016) inked a one-year, $5,500,000 contract with the Baltimore Orioles. He hit .250 with 19 homers and 79 RBIs in 2024, his third season with the club, and was named to the American League All-Star team for the second year in a row.
• Right-handed pitcher Ryan Walker (Washington State, 2015) agreed to a one-year, $800,000 contract with the San Francisco Giants. The former WSU star was 10-4, 1.91 in 76 games for the Giants, with 10 saves, 99 strikeouts and an outstanding 0.850 WHIP in 80 innings. Opposing batters hit just .179 against him.
• Infielder Brooks Lee (Cal Poly, 2019) signed a one-year, $800,000 contract with the Minnesota Twins. Their No. 1 selection in the 2021 draft (8th overall) out of San Luis Obispo made his MLB debut in 2024 and hit .221 in 50 games, with three homers and 27 RBIs while playing second base, shortstop and third base.
• Outfielder Mitch Haniger (Cal Poly, 2010) exercised his $17.5 million player option to remain with the Seattle Mariners for 2025. The ex-Mustang standout and 2012 Big West Conference Player of the Year, hit .208 in 121 games in 2025, with 12 homers and 44 RBIs.
• Pitcher Tyler Anderson (Oregon, 2008) will earn $13 million in the final season of a three-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The ex-Duck lefty, and the first Corvallis Knight to be selected in the first round of the MLB draft (2011), was 10-15, with a 3.81 ERA in 31 starts with the Angels this past season. He had 142 strikeouts in a career-best 179 innings.
• Infielder Matt Duffy (Long Beach State, 2010) was granted free agency by Texas after the 2024 season. He hit .286 in a brief stint with the Rangers last summer after playing most of the year at Round Rock in the triple-A Pacific Coast League. He has not yet signed for the 2025 season.
• Miami acquired right-handed pitcher William Kempner (Gonzaga, 2019) from the San Francisco Giants on Jan. 16 for “future considerations.” Kempner was selected by San Francisco in the third round of the 2022 MLB draft; he missed most of the 2024 season with injuries.

To see all Knights in the Pros, click here: https://corvallisknights.com/tradition/in-the-pros/

The Knights open the 2025 season on May 30th against the WCL’s newest franchise, the Marion Berries, in Salem, Ore. Their WCL home opener is June 11 against Springfield.