The Rays are reinstating catcher Francisco Mejía from the 10-day injured list, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times was among those to pass along (Twitter link). Fellow backstop Kevan Smith was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Mejía went on the IL last week with left intercostal discomfort. It proved to be a minimal stay, as he returns ten days later to again pair with Mike Zunino behind the plate. Acquired from the Padres over the winter as part of the Blake Snell return, Mejía has gotten off to a fine start with his new team. Over his first 67 plate appearances, the switch-hitter has slashed .300/.348/.450 with a home run. That’s a rather significant improvement over the .225/.282/.386 mark he carried as a big leaguer entering 2021.
Obviously, Mejía will need more than a month of strong performance to cement himself as a foundational piece for the Rays, but he certainly carries the pedigree to do so. Mejía was once regarded among the top prospects in baseball as a potentially impactful bat-first catcher. He’s still just 25 years old and making contact at a career-best clip so far, although he hasn’t tamped down the overaggressive approach that contributed to his prior big league struggles.
With Mejía and Zunino healthy, the Rays determined there wasn’t place on the active roster for Smith, who is out of minor league option years. The 32-year-old was selected to the roster when Mejía went on the IL and only picked up five plate appearances over the past week-plus. The Rays now have a week to trade or waive Smith, who has been in the Tampa Bay organization over the past two seasons. Having previously been outrighted in his career, Smith would have the right to elect free agency in lieu of a minor league assignment if he clears waivers.
I remember I was saying that syndergaard and carrasco coming back would make a difference and everyone told me told me it wouldn’t bc our team era is low. Luchechii has now blown 3 games where we had a nice lead of 3-4 runs where we would have easily won with any of the other two pitchers. Watch out when we throw a under 4 era pitcher everyday in a month. We pull away with the east.
I read the article. Am I missing something?
Are you lost? This has nothing to do with the Mets.
If you are from NY or a fan of any if their teams, then nothing else matters. NY this, NY that. Part of the country lies west of New York? Nah.
They are the center of the universe. Just ask them.
Sideline that’s not true for me. Metsfan22 is a very poor representation of Mets fan imo.
No not rlly. Most Mets fans are like that. It’s annoying but I’ve seen worse then MetsFan22. He used to be way worse but he has calmed down a little bit which I respect.
I’d say it’s not true about Mets fans when it comes to baseball, but it is true about New Yorkers in general when it comes to everything else.
*sees Mets players’ averages*
I will take the amazin seriously when they have a hitter qualified for the batting title, hitting over .260. Never seen so much boasting of a team who is the B team In nyc.
I think Mejia is a good long term play by the Rays. With his bat speed, I assume eventually he will figure out how to hit. The knock has always been his defense. He blocks well enough and has a good pop time and arm, the problem is his framing is terrible. But if and when robo umps become a thing, Mejia might become a very valuable catcher. Assuming he can stay healthy- the Indians org famously didn’t think he would given his smaller frame.
Mejia has been under the microscope for a long time due to his (former) status as a high-level prospect, first for the Indians and then for the Padres as a replacement for Austin Hedges.
Many talented players in these circumstances never amount to much in the bigs due to the enormous pressure. Mejia is getting a chance to just play in TB without all of the lofty expectations and he’s starting to perform.
Hopefully Mejia puts it together, wouldn’t be surprised because it seems like Tampa always knows something the rest of the league doesn’t. I love a good hitting catcher, does anyone know how much longer Mejia is under team control?
He’s under team control through 2024.
Which will be when they realize he’s not the answer behind the plate and put him somewhere else.
2025
Smith would be upgrade for seattle