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Mets Sign Zack Godley To Minors Deal

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The Mets have signed right-hander Zack Godley to a minor league contract, according to Michael Mayer of the Metsmerized website (Twitter link).  Godley had been pitching in the Indians organization on a minor league deal but was released by the team earlier this week after he enacted an opt-out clause in the contract.

The signing represents something of a full circle moment for Godley, who was initially a 50th-round draft pick for the Mets in 2009 but he decided against signing and instead attended the University of Tennessee (and was a 10th-round pick for the Cubs in 2013).  Best known for his time as a workhorse in the Diamondbacks rotation in 2017-18, Godley ran into some injury problems and has since become a journeyman, beginning with a move to Toronto after the Blue Jays claimed him off the D’Backs roster in August 2019.

Since then, Godley has pitched for the Tigers, Red Sox, Brewers, and Indians organizations, tossing 28 2/3 MLB innings with Boston in 2020 and then only 3 1/3 innings for Milwaukee this year — over those 32 frames, Godley has a 9.00 ERA and a whopping 11 homers allowed.  At the Triple-A level this season, Godley has a more respectable 4.00 ERA over 54 combined innings with the Brewers’ and Indians’ top affiliates, but he has still surrendered nine home runs.

Godley is likely little more than a depth option for the Mets, though another call to the big leagues might not be out of the question considering how New York is still dealing with some major injury absences to its regular starting rotation.  The return of Carlos Carrasco and the acquisition of Rich Hill have stabilized things to some extent, but the Mets are still awaiting Noah Syndergaard’s return from Tommy John rehab and ace Jacob deGrom’s return date is still up in the air.

Nick Tropeano Elects Free Agency

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Nick Tropeano has elected free agency after being passed through outright waivers by the Mets, according to the MLB.com transactions tracker. New York designated the 30-year-old for assignment last Friday to clear roster space to accommodate their deadline day acquisitions.

As a player who had previously been outrighted in his career, Tropeano had the right to elect free agency while retaining the remainder of his $1.1MM salary for this season. He’s now free to explore opportunities around the league.

Tropeano saw a bit of big league time with the Giants and Mets this season, tossing eight innings of three-run ball. He only struck out two batters in that tiny sample of work, but the right-hander showed far better bat-missing ability in some time with the Pirates last year. Over 15 2/3 frames with Pittsburgh, Tropeano pitched to a 1.15 ERA with a strong 28.8% strikeout rate and 14.9% swinging strike rate.

Given his decent performance over the past couple seasons, Tropeano should have little trouble finding another opportunity on the open market. While he broke in as a starting pitcher with the Astros and Angels, Tropeano has worked exclusively in relief over the past two years, managing a cumulative 1.52 ERA/3.52 FIP over 23 2/3 innings.

NL East Injury Notes: deGrom, d’Arnaud, Anderson

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Mets ace Jacob deGrom spoke with reporters today, including Tim Healey of Newsday Sports, about his mounting injury woes. He said that his recent elbow inflammation is a separate issue to the forearm tightness that initially landed him on the IL. That forearm tightness caused deGrom to be sidelined on July 18th. A week later, it was reported that he threw off a mound without issues. But a report a few days later revealed the unfortunate development that his rehab would have to be halted for two weeks.

At this point, deGrom seems to think he can come back but doesn’t seem to be overflowing with confidence. When asked if he could miss the remainder of the season, “I would say no, not right now,” he said. “It depends on hopefully the next image of the inflammation.” Before getting injured, deGrom was pitching even better than his own absurdly-high standards, with a microscopic ERA of 1.08 over 92 innings, coupled with outstanding strikeout and walk rates of 45.1% and 3.4%, respectively. The health of deGrom figures to be an extremely important detail in the NL East stretch run, as the Mets are now just 1 1/2 games ahead of the Phillies and 2 1/2 ahead of Atlanta.

More news from around the NL East…

  • Travis d’Arnaud is apparently back to full health and rehabbing, according to Mark Bowman of MLB.com. d’Arnaud has been out of action for more than three months now, after tearing a ligament in his thumb back in early May. Bowman says that his thumb is now fine and that the catcher’s rehab is “just a matter of getting conditioned to play.” A healthy and productive d’Arnaud is potentially a game-changing addition for Atlanta in the upcoming pennant race. Although he had a slow start to this season before getting hurt, his 2020 was superb, slashing .321/.386/.533, for a wRC+ of 144 and 1.6 fWAR in just 44 games. Currently, Atlanta is giving time behind the dish to Stephen Vogt and Kevan Smith, neither of whom are providing much value.
  • Bowman also relays that Ian Anderson will begin a rehab assignment on Thursday. Anderson went on the IL a few weeks ago with shoulder inflammation. Before getting hurt, he was putting together a solid season. Over 96 innings, he had an era of 3.56, producing 1.9 fWAR, which is second only to Charlie Morton among Atlanta pitchers.

Mets To Claim Jake Reed Off Waivers From Rays

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The Mets are claiming reliever Jake Reed off waivers from the Rays, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (Twitter link). Tampa Bay designated the right-hander for assignment over the weekend.

Reed’s time with the Rays was extremely brief, consisting of just a single appearance with Triple-A Durham. Prior to that, he’d spent some time with the Dodgers organization, signing a minor league deal and being selected to the big league roster in early July. Reed made six appearances with Los Angeles, working 5 1/3 innings of three-run ball before being designated for assignment. Tampa Bay plucked him off waivers but will lose him themselves just a week later.

This season, Reed has worked 22 1/3 innings of 5.24 ERA ball across three Triple-A affiliates. He was bombed in eight appearances with the Angels’ top affiliate in Salt Lake but pitched far better after signing with the Dodgers. Reed has punched out a solid 28.3% of batters faced at the level this season, while walking just 7.1% of opponents. He also still has all three minor league options years remaining, so the Mets can shuttle Reed back and forth between Queens and Triple-A Syracuse if he can stick on the 40-man roster.

Pirates Claim Anthony Banda From Mets

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The Pirates announced they’ve claimed left-hander Anthony Banda off waivers from the Mets. Pittsburgh already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster. New York designated Banda for assignment over the weekend.

Banda’s tenure with the Mets proved a fairly short one. New York acquired the 27-year-old in a minor league trade with the Giants in early July. He was selected to the roster a couple weeks later but let go after making five relief appearances totaling 7 1/3 innings. Banda was tagged for eight runs (six earned) on fourteen hits in that time, although he did strike out seven while issuing a single walk.

This marks the fifth consecutive season in which Banda has gotten big league work, although he’s not picked up more than 25 2/3 frames in any single year. A one-time top 100 prospect while coming up in the Diamondbacks system, Banda has been set back by injuries and struggles at the highest levels in recent years. He carries a 4.99 ERA in parts of five Triple-A seasons but was quite good up through Double-A. Banda is out of minor league options, so he needs to stick in the big leagues or wind up back on waivers moving forward.

Injury Updates: Guillorme, Rendon, Trout, Walsh, Ohtani, Schwarber, Lamet

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The Mets placed Luis Guillorme on the IL today with a left hamstring strain, according to Mike Puma of The New York Post. RHP Geoff Hartlieb was added to the roster in a corresponding move. Guillorme has been a solid contributor on a Mets team that has dealt with its fair share of injuries this year. Across 57 games, Guillorme has racked up a wRC+ of 116 while filling in at second base, third base and shortstop. The timing isn’t so bad for the Mets, as they just strengthened their infield by adding Javier Baez in a deadline deal with the Cubs. As for Hartlieb, he’s produced solid results at Triple-A this year. Despite a walk rate of 10.5%, he has an ERA of 1.86, thanks to a hefty strikeout rate of 34.2%. His numbers at the major league level aren’t as good, but in a very small sample size of six innings.

Other injury updates from around the league…

  • Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register provides some updates from manager Joe Maddon on various injured Angels. Anthony Rendon “still isn’t doing any baseball activity,” since going on the IL almost a month ago. “I spoke with him yesterday and he wasn’t highly optimistic about things,” Maddon is quoted as saying. This seems to be yet another in a series of disappointments for Rendon this year. He’s been injured multiple times and, even when healthy, played well below his usual level from recent years. There’s also a murky update on Mike Trout and his injured calf. Doctors have told him he’s “free to do more work when he no longer feels discomfort,” which seems to imply that the discomfort remains. The update on Jared Walsh, out with a right intercostal strain, is slightly better. The first baseman “has been able to hit and throw.” As for Shohei Ohtani, who was recently hit on his thumb by a foul ball while in the dugout, Maddon says they expect him to start again on Thursday or Friday.
  • The Red Sox swung a trade before the deadline to add Kyle Schwarber, even though he was on the IL at the time with a hamstring injury. But it doesn’t seem like he’s too far removed from making his Boston debut. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe spoke to Alex Cora, who said that Schwarber is “close” to a rehab assignment. The plan is for Schwarber to get work at first base, since the Red Sox already have their outfield and DH slots filled by Alex Verdugo, Jarren Duran, Hunter Renfroe and J.D. Martinez. The first base playing time has largely been going to Bobby Dalbec and his wRC+ of 74. Before going on the IL, Schwarber’s wRC+ was sitting at 137. Assuming he can play passable defense, that would be a tremendous upgrade for the team. But he’s played only one major league game at first, which was back in 2017.
  • Dinelson Lamet is going to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. The plan seems to be to prepare Lamet for a bullpen role, since there’s not much time remaining in the season to build him back up for a full workload, and because he’s struggled to stay healthy this year. The righty was utterly dominant in 2020’s shortened season, throwing 69 innings with an ERA of 2.09 and a superb strikeout rate of 34.8%. This year, in between stints on the IL, his numbers have faded to an ERA of 3.67 and 25.5% strikeout rate. The club will be hoping that a smaller workload will help Lamet bridge some of that gap.

Draft Deadline Notes: Rocker, Ulloa, Zavala

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The 4PM CT deadline for teams to sign their draft picks has now passed. The biggest storyline is that the Mets and first-round pick Kumar Rocker could not come to an agreement. Reports indicate that there was a dispute between the team and Rocker’s camp about a health issue, though the exact nature of any supposed injury is not known for sure.

Mike Puma of The New York Post says the Mets didn’t make Rocker an offer. Speculatively speaking, that would indicate that the difference of opinion about the alleged medical issue was wide enough that they were nowhere near finding common ground.

Draft notes from elsewhere…

  • Ian Browne of MLB.com passes on some words from Chaim Bloom about team’s inability to sign second-round pick Jud Fabian. “We knew that if we were unable to sign him, we would be able to get the pick again next year. That made it worth the risk in our minds.” The Red Sox will receive the 41st draft pick in next year’s draft as compensation.

Earlier Updates

  • The Astros failed to sign fourth-round selection Alex Ulloa, according to a team announcement. Since the Astros were not allowed to make a selection in the first or second round as punishment for 2017’s sign stealing scandal, this is perhaps even more of a disappointment than it would appear on its surface. Ulloa is an 18-year-old shortstop out of Florida’s Calvary Christian Academy.
  • The Rangers agreed to terms with second-round selection Aaron Zavala, according to Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. In a later tweet, Callis provided further context. The outfielder signed for $830K, less than half of the $1.95MM slot value for his pick. Callis adds that, similar to the Rocker situation, there was a post-draft medical issue. But unlike with Rocker, the two parties were able to put pen to paper in this instance.

 

Mets, Kumar Rocker Do Not Reach Agreement Before Draft Signing Deadline

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4:06PM: As earlier reporting indicated, Rocker and the Mets have not come to an agreement, according to the team. They will now received an extra pick in the first round of next year’s draft at #11 overall. Rocker’s agent, Scott Boras, released a statement to various reporters, including ESPN’s Jeff Passan. In it, he declares that “Rocker is healthy according to independent medical review by multiple prominent baseball orthopedic surgeons.”

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com quotes general manager Zack Scott as saying “This is clearly not the outcome we had hoped for and wish Kumar nothing but success moving forward.”

Jon Heyman of MLB Network says that it’s expected that Rocker won’t return to college but will “work out on his own” and re-enter next year’s draft.

AUG 1, 11:26AM: Rocker and the Mets aren’t expected to reach an agreement before today’s 4pm CT signing deadline, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel.  While not all hope has been abandoned that the two sides might still work something out, it would take “a drastic change” for a late agreement.

JULY 27: The Mets and Kumar Rocker had an agreement seemingly in place just hours after the Vanderbilt right-hander was selected with the 10th overall pick of the draft, but it now isn’t clear if the deal will be finalized.  Metsmerized’s Jack Ramsey reported earlier this week that an issue had emerged from Rocker’s physical with the team, and now according to Ken Davidoff of The New York Post, the Mets are concerned about Rocker’s right elbow.

The exact nature of this elbow issue isn’t known, or even if there is an elbow issue, as Davidoff writes that “Rocker’s camp disagrees with [the Mets’] concerns.”  Rocker did not voluntarily submit an MRI before the draft, though his advisor Scott Boras has been known to preemptively alert teams about physical problems involving prospects before the players are selected.  Davidoff notes that Boras provided such an early heads-up to the Mets for Matthew Allan before New York picked the right-hander in 2019, and Allan later underwent Tommy John surgery.

Rocker somewhat surprisingly fell to the Mets after being one of the more hyped prospects of the 2021 class, though his initial deal reportedly contained an overslot bonus — the righty was set to receive a $6MM bonus, well above the $4,739,900 assigned slot price for the 10th overall pick.  It stands to reason that the Mets are looking to reduce that $6MM figure, though it isn’t yet known whether the dispute between the two sides could result in Rocket not being signed whatsoever.

Teams have until 4pm CT on Sunday to sign all 2021 draft picks, so there is still plenty of time for an agreement to be reached.  If a deal wasn’t worked out, Rocker still has two years of college eligibility remaining and he could re-enter the draft next year.  The Mets would receive a compensatory first-round pick that would fall 11th overall in the 2022 draft order, though the draft’s rules could potentially change in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and the players (the current CBA expires in December).

Mets Designate Anthony Banda, Outright Akeem Bostick

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The Mets announced that left-hander Anthony Banda has been designated for assignment, while right-hander Akeem Bostick has been outrighted to Triple-A.  (Bostick was DFA’ed yesterday as part of the Mets’ roster shuffles on deadline day.)  The moves open up some 40-man roster space for the two particulars of yesterday’s big trade with the Cubs — Javier Baez joins New York’s active roster, while righty Trevor Williams was optioned to Triple-A.

The Giants dealt Banda to the Mets at the start of July, and Banda could potentially last only a month in his latest organization.  Banda’s contract was selected by New York on July 19, and he posted a 7.36 ERA over five appearances and 7 1/3 innings with the team.

A Tommy John surgery and other injuries have hampered the career of Banda, who drew notice as a prospect during his time in the Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Rays farm system.  That potential led Banda to be included as part of a pair of notable trades — exactly seven years ago today, the Brewers sent Banda and Mitch Haniger to the D’Backs for Gerardo Parra, and then he was moved to the Rays as part of a big three-team trade in February 2018.  At the big league level, Banda has tossed only 58 2/3 innings since the start of the 2017 season, posting a 6.14 ERA.

Deadline Notes: Rockies, Story, Mets, Bryant, Gibson, Nationals, Dodgers

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The Rockies reportedly received offers for All-Star shortstop Trevor Story from the Yankees, Brewers, White Sox, and Rays prior to Friday’s trade deadline, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The Rockies have been criticized for their failure to move Story, given that they are all but assured to lose him as a free agent after the season. They will get a draft pick when he departs, and their front office did not deem any of the offers received as appreciably better than that draft pick will be.

  • Despite all the talk, the Mets never came particularly close to acquiring Kris Bryant from the Cubs, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). The two clubs were obviously in steady communication — and eventually consummated a deal for Javier Baez — but the Cubs kept the conversation away from Bryant. Given how long Bryant had been “on the block,” the Cubs certainly had a sense of what was available.
  • The Mets did, however, explore the cost for Kyle Gibson of the Rangers, notes Puma, but the Rangers informed them that they had a better offer on the table from the Phillies.
  • The Nationals had the pieces in place for a deal that would have sent Max Scherzer to the Padres on Thursday night, but they also had a deal in place with an American League East team, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and Red Sox were all said to have interest in Scherzer at one point or another.
  • As for the Dodgers’ side of that deal eventual deal, they were intent on holding onto Ryan Pepiot, Bobby Miller, and Landon Knack, despite wide-ranging interest in that trio of arms.
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