The Mets and their fans had a scare earlier today when both Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes departed from a game early, but the team gave fairly positive updates on that pair and on Zack Wheeler tonight (links to Twitter via David Lennon of Newsday). There’s no structural damage in Syndergaard’s elbow. He’s free to resume his normal routine and will begin taking some anti-inflammatory medication to help with the discomfort he’s experienced twice this season. Cespedes received a cortisone shot for a sprained left wrist but is day to day and isn’t headed to the disabled list at this time. Wheeler, too, received a cortisone shot for a nerve issue in his elbow but has no structural damage.
As Mets fans breathe a sigh of relief, here are a few other notes from around the Senior Circuit…
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that the Dodgers spent more on international amateurs (players that fall within international signing guidelines) than six organizations spent on their Major League payroll to open the season. Los Angeles spent about $96MM this period ($48MM on players plus about $48MM in luxury taxes), and that figure doesn’t even factor in the six-year, $30MM deal signed by right-hander Yaisel Sierra. Rosenthal spoke to commissioner Rob Manfred about the Dodgers’ spending, and Manfred said that there will be a strong focus on changes to the international system in the upcoming wave of CBA negotiations. “…when you see that kind of disparity in any part of the system, it generally suggests to us that the system is not functioning in a way that promotes competitive balance,” said the commissioner. “Rest assured, we’re going to be making proposals to address that.”
- The Padres remain “active” in trade talks, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com (via Twitter), but one name that hasn’t seen much chatter is Wil Myers. It seems that San Diego is not terribly interested in discussing the outfielder/first baseman. The 25-year-old will hit arbitration eligibility after the season, and will be in line for a nice payday if he can keep hitting at anything like his current .290/.336/.529 pace. Myers has already knocked a career-high 16 long balls in 301 plate appearances, and finally seems to be coming into his own after inconsistency and injury issues in recent years. San Diego paid a high price to get Myers before the 2015 season, with talented young players Joe Ross and Trea Turner moving to D.C. in a notable three-team swap, and it appears for now as if the club would like to see its investment pay off on the field rather than cashing him in for prospects.
- The Rockies pulled Jon Gray from today’s start with what the team is terming “arm fatigue,” and he’ll be reevaluated tomorrow, writes Nick Groke of the Denver Post. Gray threw just 40 of his 80 pitches for strikes and admitted that he’s felt some fatigue in his arm for his past couple of outings, but “it’s just now getting to a serious point.” Manager Walt Weiss said that Gray’s arm felt “heavy” today, and the right-hander himself said he had more trouble with his control than he ever has. “I’ve never had great control, but this, I didn’t know where this was going,” he said. “I wanted to leave it all out there and grind through it, but it wasn’t working.”
- Brayan Pena is nearing the end of his 20-day rehab window with the Cardinals, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which could mean that the team will part ways with veteran backup Eric Fryer. The 30-year-old Fryer has been great in a very limited role with St. Louis, hitting .406/.457/.469 in just 35 plate appearances (despite appearing in 22 games). However, Pena is on a two-year contract signed with the Cardinals last offseason, so even though he’s struggled through 11 rehab games as he recovers from knee surgery, he figures to be in the team’s plans.
The Rays trading Turner and Ross for Souza was a huge mistake. Post-Friedman FO has not looked good so far.
The Padres trading those two for Myers looks pretty darn bad too.
They didn’t, they traded Myers for Souza and a prospect I think. Turner and Ross went from the Padres to Washington
He might be saying it was a mistake to bring in the Nationals as a 3rd team at all, they essentially did trade Turner + Ross too because they wanted Souza should have just directly made deal with Padres.
It was a three-team trade with the Padres acquiring Myers for Ross and Turner. The other guys involved, like Souza, were just padding for TB and the Nats. The Padres don’t get Myers without giving up those two assets.
Again, this is fodder for a good article on international amateurs and Cuban signings. No good analysis has been published on this yet.