The Mets have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran left-hander Tom Gorzelanny, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (Twitter links). Gorzelanny, who will be invited to Major League Spring Training, would earn $1MM upon making the roster and has another $1.8MM available via incentives, Heyman adds. The ISE client also has a March 24 opt-out date in his contract.
Gorzelanny, 34, split the 2016 season between the Orioles and Indians organizations, pitching to a combined 3.65 ERA in 24 2/3 Triple-A innings. Gorzelanny appeared in seven games with the big league club in Cleveland as well, though he was hit hard and ultimately allowed seven runs in just three innings of work.
Gorzelanny has struggled in two straight seasons, but from 2012-14 was a quality bullpen piece. In 178 1/3 innings between the Nationals and Brewers in that time, Gorzelanny logged a 3.13 ERA with 8.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and a 43.5 percent ground-ball rate. Though he’s not an overpowering arm against left-handed hitters, Gorzelanny has nonetheless held same-handed opponents to a .229/.302/.356 batting line in parts of 12 seasons at the Major League level.
The Mets have been seeking left-handed relief help for much of the offseason, and while they’re rumored to have interest in a reunion with Jerry Blevins, there could be financial constraints preventing that from happening. Josh Edgin, Josh Smoker and Sean Gilmartin represent left-handed options that are already on the 40-man roster, while Adam Wilk has also inked a minor league contract and will be in Major League camp as a non-roster invite.
Good piece. For sure will crack the big league roster instantly if Blevins doesn’t resign.
He will look terrific in Las Vegas with a 24.99 ERA
Hehehe.
Sloth like Vegas
Major league experience agree with IU888
Question: can the agents for players with opt-outs talk with other teams to gauge interest, or is that tampering? In other words, can they do market research to inform their decision, or do they have to make their best guess based only on their sense of teams’ needs? I’m talking about what the rules say, of course, not what agents/teams ACTUALLY do. Thanks.