The Mets on Tuesday re-signed former Stony Brook University star Travis Jankowski to a minor-league contract and assigned the outfielder to Triple-A Syracuse.

Jankowski, 33, was a fan and clubhouse favorite with the Mets when he appeared in 43 games in 2022. Even though Jankowski hit just .167, he endeared himself to fans and teammates as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.

Brandon Nimmo, who was unaware the Mets had re-signed Jankowski, said: “Oh, did we? Oh, nice. That’s awesome. Unbelievable teammate. Great person. Great teammate. Great player. Really fast. Good contact skills. Brings a lot to the team. And just an unbelievable, unbelievable person. Very glad to hear that we got him back.”

Jankowski was most recently with Tampa Bay after starting the season with the Chicago White Sox. The Rays released him on June 4. A former first-round pick of the Padres in 2012, Jankowski has played for eight big-league teams. He made his mark in his first go-round with the Mets.

On May 15 of that year, every Mets player wore No. 16 Jankowski “shirseys” during batting practice.

A few weeks earlier, after he started both games of a doubleheader sweep against Atlanta, Jankowski had said: “A guy in my role, it can kind of get overlooked . . . No one’s going to be buying my jersey.”

On Aug. 1, Jankowski was waived by the Mets and claimed by Seattle.

In 2012, Jankowski was the Big East Player of the Year as Stony Brook earned a berth in the College World Series. He was inducted into the Stony Brook Hall of Fame in 2017.

“College is where my career really took off,” Jankowski told Newsday after he was claimed by Seattle. “I have nothing but great memories at Stony Brook, so to be able to go back to New York, where it all happened  .  .  . I heard a ton of Stony Brook cheers and Seawolf cheers from the outfield and from the on-deck circle there. It was definitely appreciated from my perspective from the fans.”

Catcher Francisco Alvarez was placed on the paternity list. Hayden Senger was recalled from Syracuse.

Reliever Justin Garza, who the Mets acquired from San Francisco for cash on Saturday, was added to the roster. Brandon Waddell was optioned to Syracuse.

Garza, 31, appeared in a combined 38 games for Cleveland (2021) and Boston (2023) and is 2-3 with a 5.74 ERA. This season, at Triple-A, the hard-throwing righthander was 1-2 with a 6.11 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 17 2⁄3 innings.

“Good arm,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Throws strikes. Mid-90s fastball. He’s got a cutter. Competes. So interested in watching him pitch.”

Mendoza’s lineup against Washington lefthander MacKenzie Gore included hot-hitting lefty Jeff McNeil at second base instead of righthanded-hitting Luisangel Acuna.

McNeil went into Tuesday with three home runs in his previous two games, including a two-homer outing Sunday versus Colorado. In his previous 17 games, McNeil had a .970 OPS with four home runs, four doubles, a triple, 10 RBIs and nine walks.

Also, McNeil went into the night with seven hits and two walks in 12 plate appearances against Gore. He hit an RBI single in his first at-bat Tuesday.

Acuna only had six at-bats (with one hit) on the recent seven-game road trip. The NL’s rookie of the month for March/April, Acuna’s at-bats have been hard to find with McNeil’s emergence, the recent strong play of Brett Baty and the return to the majors of Ronny Mauricio, who started at third on Tuesday.

“That’s the balance that we’re dealing with here,” Mendoza said. “It’s a good problem to have.”

Sean Manaea (oblique), in his second rehab start, threw 2  2⁄3 scoreless innings for the Brooklyn Cyclones. Manaea allowed two hits, walked one and struck out four. He threw 46 pitches.