2:51pm: The Mets have now confirmed that Gee has been designated, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.
2:30pm: The Mets will designate right-hander Dillon Gee for assignment today, reports ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin (via Twitter).
Gee’s name has been bandied about in trade rumors for the better part of the past nine months, as the Mets possess a number of promising young arms that are projected to have higher ceilings. Nonetheless, he’s been a very serviceable back-of-the-rotation starter for the Mets over the past few seasons, so it’s possible that the team was a ways down the road in trade negotiations pertaining to Gee already and simply opted to designate him for assignment now in order to free up a 40-man roster spot. Gee started yesterday, so his spot on the roster wasn’t going to yield any innings in the next few days anyhow.
For a team in need of a stabilizing force at the back of the rotation, rolling the dice on a rebound for Gee would certainly make some sense. From 2010-14, Gee notched a 3.91 ERA with 6.5 K/9 and 2.9 BB/9 in 639 2/3 innings, and he’s typically posted a ground-ball rate near or above the league average (career 46 percent). Of his $5.3MM salary, about $3.24MM is left on the hook. I’d imagine that a team would prefer the Mets to take on some, if not most of that in a trade.
Track record aside, Gee has struggled to a 5.90 ERA in 39 2/3 innings for the Mets this season, though much of the damage came in an eight-run bludgeoning at the hands of the Braves yesterday. Gee has also missed time this year with a groin strain and spent nearly two months on the DL in 2014 with a strained lat muscle. His 2015 struggles, along with the injuries and his salary have presumably diminished his trade value since Opening Day.
If the team is unable to trade Gee, he could be sent outright to Triple-A upon clearing waivers. There’s a chance that some team would claim him, though the remaining $3.24MM on his deal lessens the chance of that outcome. Were he to clear waivers, he’d head to Triple-A Las Vegas..
good move. He should be traded within the time they need to or else they’ll have a guy making $5.3 mil in AAA. Get a little something in return, get some money space, and bring up Matz. Good day.
Every Mets fan everywhere just did a flip and high fived each other.
Does this mean Steven Matz is getting the call?
Mets are still going with that spot starter 6 man “lite” rotation, whatever you wanna call it. However, they are skipping a spot starter this turn around the rotation. I would imagine Matz being called up next time around the rotation, when they do use the spot starter.
I think more should do a 5.5 man rotation.
Sometime in the next two weeks, it sounds like, based on Alderson’s comments to the NY media following the DFA.
Nice, I picked him up in my fantasy league 2 weeks ago so here’s hoping to catching lightning in a bottle lol
FINALLY!!!!
Let the Era of Matz start in 3…2..1…
I heard Matz needs to wait until after June 20 to avoid “super two” status. With the tight posckets of the Wilpons, I’m sure they will wait.
This is almost certainly not true. FanGraphs did a piece on it called, “Steven Matz, The Mets, and Super Two Rule” that suggests that he could be called up right now and there would be less than a 1 in 1000 chance that he would qualify for Super 2.
Gee > Greene. Tigers should get him, if they can.
Greene is currently not in the rotation. Who would you have him replace? I’d rather see Kyle Ryan get the starts for the moment.
Rockies should pick him up and get rid of Kyle Kendrick.
Harvey, Thor, Matz is gonna be fun to watch for the rest of the year. And in a Cubs fan, but it reminds me of 2003 with Wood, Prior, Clement, Zambrano etc.
Can’t forget about Degrom and then Wheeler next year. Thats a scary rotation.
Those Nats/Mets match ups are gonna be really fun.
I might be wrong but I believe Gee still has options so they can send him to AAA without clearing waivers.
You are correct, but why would they have a guy being paid $5.3 mil in AAA? If they can’t make a trade I’d rather them release him.
Either way, they have to pay him. Better to store him for depth in case of injury at AAA, than pay to have him pitch for someone else.
They will try to trade him first. If they can’t, he’s going to Vegas.
They aren’t optioning him, they’ve already placed him on waivers by removing him from the 40 man roster.
Yeah can’t believe I forgot DeGrom there, not to mention Wheeler hopefully next year. Lol amazing
What would it take to get him? If not much and there able to get the mets to eat his salary, the Jays should try and get him and move Estrada to the pen where he’s likely more effective
Very, very little.
Trade him for Trout!
I still think the Brewers and Mets should make a trade. They need either Braun or Gomez.
Braun and Broxton (bullpen help that it seems the Mets need) for Niese, Montero and Nimmo and maybe another mid prospect or 2?
Platoon Grandy and Cuddyer then..
Niese, Montero, and Nimmo would be unrealistic for either Braun or Gómez. You’d need at the very least one of Thor/Matz/deGrom/Harvey included, and that’s not happening.
Also, the Mets do not need any bullpen help. They have the 5th best bullpen ERA in baseball without Blevins, Mejía, Carlyle, Goeddel, and Montero all due back over the next several weeks.
Also, Broxton would immediately be the worst reliever on the Mets; there’s no logic in them trying to acquire him. Will Smith would make sense.
As a Brewers fan, I don’t think it’s unrealistic. The Brewers wouldn’t mind getting the money off the books
Niese, Montero, and Nimmo for Braun or Gómez would be highway robbery in favor of the Mets. As a Mets fan, I would drive Niese, Montero, and Nimmo to Milwaukee myself to complete the trade. Also, we don’t need Broxton, a guy who is well past his use-by date. From the Brewer perspective, I think they could do better than that.