ESPN reporter Jeff Passan delivered the perfect comeback after Texas signed reliever Josh Hejka.
When minor league reliever Josh Hejka posted on X about his own trade last season, he tagged well-known reporter Jeff Passan of ESPN with a playful jab. Little did he know that exactly a year later, Passan would deliver the latest news on Hejka signing with the Texas Rangers using a direct callback to the 2025 post.
Hejka’s original message was a reference to the February 5, 2025, swap that sent the right-hander from the New York Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies. Philly did not send a player back in the deal, instead forking over a bit of financial help. The significance of the transaction didn’t rise to the level of a Passan report, which is the thrust of Hejka’s self-depricating response. The reliever signing a minor league deal with Texas is also an unremarkable development, which underscores the cleverness of Passan’s post.
The Rangers are adding Hejka after he was let go by the Jersey Shore BlueClaws in July 2025. He made 27 appearances in Philadelphia’s minor league system last season, pitching 28.2 innings between High-A and Double-A. Hejka scuffled to a 6.28 ERA in his lone year with the Phillies organization.
Hejka has all the makings of an oddball bullpen piece. He comes from an extremely low arm slot, earning the “submariner” designation from Passan. He also rocks the Rec Specs sports goggles of a prior generation. Relievers are typically on the stranger side as it is, but Hejka’s appearance and style make him the perfect target for a comedic response. And of course, he had a meme ready to go following Passan’s post.
The Mets signed Hejka as a minor league free agent back in 2019 after he finished up a strong four-year career at Johns Hopkins University. He put together a solid first season as a professional, tossing 20.1 innings with a 1.33 ERA at the lowest levels of the minors. The 2020 minor league season was scrapped due to the pandemic, but Hejka continued his ascent up the Mets organization in 2021. Consistent production at High-A and Double-A earned him a promotion to Triple-A by the conclusion of the year.
Hejka hit a roadblock in 2022, scuffling to a 4.70 ERA at three minor league levels. He was knocked around for six earned runs in 6.1 innings at Triple-A that season. Hejka then missed all of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery. He returned for 38 minor league games in 2024, but failed to replicate the results he had shown earlier in his career. Hejka’s 19% strikeout rate across three stops was among the lowest he’d posted as a professional.
As Hejka works on his own craft, he’s also looking to assist the next generation. The right-hander has been a research and development analyst at the famed training facility Driveline Baseball since 2022. Driveline is routinely in the news around the league, whether it’s boosting player performance or former employees earning jobs with MLB teams. As we enter MLB Spring Training, the organization is sure to pop up in many preseason stories as players share their improvements from the offseason.
Hejka lists his skills as “throwing strikes” and “rising siders” as his skills on LinkedIn. Maybe Passan will supply an endorsement.
