May 15: The Mets made the moves for Wendle, Vientos, Lucchesi and Ramírez official today. They also optioned right-hander José Buttó and recalled right-hander Grant Hartwig. Buttó’s option may be slightly surprising since he has a 3.08 ERA on the year, but that’s despite a 13.5% walk rate. The Mets have both Tylor Megill and David Peterson on rehab assignments and they could be options to rejoin the rotation soon.
May 14: The Mets are designating veteran infielder Joey Wendle for assignment, as first reported (on X) by Ben Yoel. SNY’s Andy Martino reported earlier this evening (on X) that New York was planning to recall Mark Vientos from Triple-A Syracuse before tomorrow night’s matchup with the Phillies.
That’s not the only forthcoming roster move. Dan Martin and Joel Sherman of the New York Post report that New York will recall left-hander Joey Lucchesi to make tomorrow’s start. Righty reliever Yohan Ramírez will be designated for assignment as the corresponding move, according to the Post.
Wendle had a disappointing tenure in Queens. New York signed the former All-Star to a $2MM free agent deal. It was a buy-low move after he slumped to a .212/.248/.306 line in 112 games for the Marlins a year ago. Wendle wasn’t out to a much better start this season. In 18 contests, he hit .222/.243/.250 with one extra-base hit (a double). He punched out nine times and drew one walk in 37 trips to the plate.
New York signed Wendle largely for his defensive flexibility. He has generally rated as an above-average to plus defender throughout the infield in his career. He struggled on that side of the ball during his very brief stint in Queens, committing three errors in 89 innings. The Mets stuck with Wendle over Zack Short two weeks ago, but they’ll now move forward without a clear backup shortstop behind Francisco Lindor.
Swapping Vientos in for Wendle provides more offensive upside to Carlos Mendoza’s infield. The 24-year-old is out to another nice start in Syracuse, hitting .284/.376/.500 with six homers in 31 games. While Vientos is striking out at a lofty 28.6% clip, he has consistently hit for power in parts of four Triple-A seasons. That has yet to translate to MLB success, but he’s clearly a higher-ceiling bat than Wendle at this point.
Brett Baty has been the primary third baseman in Queens. The former top prospect hasn’t hit well, turning in a .236/.299/.325 line through 135 plate appearances. He’ll stick on the roster but could lose some at-bats to Vientos, particularly against left-handed pitching. Philadelphia will turn to southpaw Ranger Suárez tomorrow, so it seems likely Vientos will get the nod at the hot corner.
Lucchesi will take the ball against Suárez in what’ll be his season debut. The southpaw has started seven games for Syracuse, working to a 2.58 ERA over 38 1/3 innings. He also had a 2.89 mark in nine big league starts last season, though he hasn’t missed many bats at either level. Lucchesi fanned 16.4% of MLB opponents last season and has a 17.8% strikeout rate in Triple-A this year.
It’s possible this proves to be a spot start. Adrian Houser was originally supposed to take the ball on Wednesday, but Sherman and Mike Puma write that plans changed when the righty warmed up for possible relief work in today’s game. While Houser didn’t enter the game, he threw enough in the bullpen to take him out of the running to start tomorrow.
That proved to be an unfortunate sequence of events for Ramírez, who cedes his roster spot to Lucchesi. This will be the third DFA of the season for the 29-year-old, who can’t be optioned to the minor leagues. It’s the second time the Mets have cut him loose. Ramírez started the year in Queens and was DFA within a few weeks. New York traded him to the Orioles and claimed him back last week after Baltimore waived him.
Around the roster shuffling, Ramírez has tossed 14 1/3 innings over 10 appearances. Despite striking out 17 of 65 opponents (a strong 26.2% rate), he has conceded 11 runs. Ramírez has mid-90s velocity and has missed bats at a roughly average level in the majors, but he has walked more than 12% of batters faced over his career.
The Mets will have a week to trade or waive both Wendle and Ramírez once they officially announce the DFAs. Wendle has more than enough service time to decline a minor league assignment while retaining his salary, so he’d very likely become a free agent if no team swings a trade for him. The moves will drop New York’s 40-man roster tally to 38.
Cohen to Wendle: Here, have a dollar. In fact, no brotherman, here, have two.
Designated for assignment? Similar vibe as wife takes a ladies trip to a nudist colony in Jamaica. I don’t know why baseball candy coats things they should say this player was demoted/sent to AAA.
Because he can’t be. The Mets have a week to trade, or release him. He’s off the roster. If they release him, which is likely, the Mets are responsible for most of his remaining contract.
Well done.
Wendell got unfairly blamed for a game loss that Diaz game up on a home run when Wendell went for a double play instead of coming home. Mets fans and media blamed him and not Diaz. I think there is a culture issue with the Mets
I think there is a performance issue with Wendle. He has made mental mistakes in the field all year, like not throwing home for a definite out and trying for a very questionable double play which the Mets could not turn.
His bat has been cold all year, so if he can’t field his spot in the field, he has little value.
@ Benjamin Sorry to be harsh. But you’re way, way off base here. Wendle is not not being dumped just because of one game or one error. He’s been poor all year, both in the field and at the plate.
And its not even this year alone. His woefully poor offense is an extension of what he did last year. He didn’t warrant a major league contract this season. And if he had not been on one, he wouldn’t have made the team at all, or would have been cut before now.
Amazing! You say the Mets gave a contract to a guy who did not deserve one? They evidently thought he did. Yet they cut bait after 37 ABs. Meanwhile, Baty has 135 worthless ABs, but stays. Yeah. Seems like the right move.
First, I agree Baty should be optioned and I don’t think he’ll be here much longer.
That said, apples and oranges; one has nothing to do with the other. Wendle is a washed up veteran brought here as a stop gap, while Baty is a young player whom they are trying to develop. Wendle was supposed to be a defensive specialist and cannot even deliver on that meager expectation, while Baty has improved his defense to a level that is at least passable if not respectable.
@Benjamin101677 Aren’t you Joey Wendle’s brother?
Guy sucks; never should have been on the team in the firts place
@Benjamin101677: Turk WENDELL was a pitcher, long retired.
This piece refers to infielder Joey WENDLE.
If you’re unsure of a player’s name spelling, Baseball Reference is your friend.
And don’t get me started about the late Turk Farrell.
Gotta echo the others, Benjamin. Wendle hasn’t justified his roster spot. He’s made a few defensive mental gaffes and hasn’t even been able to move runners over. Plus his OPS+ is a ghastly 54 (and it was 49 last year) despite a BABIP of .320. Only 1 walk and 1 XBH in 35 PAs. Not sure why he was signed in the first place.
Turk Wendell hasn’t played in MLB for ages.
I’m happy to see that the Phillies broke the Mets. The last few years, it’s typically been the other way around.
Whatever floats your boat.
But you shouldn’t be surprised. The Phillies are a great team this year.
Viva buoyancy!
Designated back to West Chester.
A surprise in that Vientos is a corner infielder, but if they need a shortstop, Jose Iglesias is doing well in Syracuse.
I think Luis Acuna isnt ready yet, though he is already on the 40 man.
Unless they are going outside he organization, since Lucchesi is already on the 40 man, and this would open up a 40 man spot.
You are correct on all counts. Acuna is nowhere near ready. It seems that there may be other moves coming. Iglesias is still a wizard in the field. Rylan Bannon has played some short and has been varying degrees of hot these past three or four weeks in Syracuse.
If they need a SS, Syracuse is close. If they are on a road trip, one extra day away. Lindor plays almost every single game, every year.
That’s true but…what do they do if Lindor does get injured in the middle of a game?? McNeil played SS in college, and then again for a month or so in high-A 8 or 10 years ago when Amed Rosario was injured. Not sure if he’s played any SS since then.
I’ve got to think these moves are temporary and will be tweaked soon. Also wouldn’t mind (or be surprised) if Baty got demoted soon.
I’m sure they would put someone, likely McNeil, at SS for the rest of the game, and he’d be passable for the few innings. Not as dire as described.
Great day. Like the moves.
And they won’t make one iota of difference as far as the Mets’ record.
Great day? Yall gut shut out.
This entire organization needs to be DFA’d.
Boy is that ever accurate !!
That’s very accurate
The other Joey deserves a shot; Lucchesi.
Quintana has to go
Send Quintana back to St Louis.
Unreal that Jose Iglesias continues to rot in AAA while this club struggles to put together a good infield.
Iglesias is underrated he has good contact
“Unreal that Jose Iglesias continues to rot”…Because everyone knows that having Jose Iglesias on the club is the key to winning games. All those batting and rbi titles alone should have given him the nod, right?
So any player without an rbi or batting title is worthless, you say? Guess that makes for 98%+ of every teams roster. Lower your bar, man!
Just to be clear, Iglesias, a major league veteran of multiple years had a .759 OPS in a minor league where .754 is average. His 2-for-2 today brings it up to .790. Thats OK, not unreal, and hardly makes for “rotting”.
Good to see Lucchesi get the call. He’s earned it.
All Mets fans must be rejoicing right now
Lol Mets,
Expensive payroll with a roster that’s in shambles with underperformers that play poorly. No offense and shoddy defense. There is no cavalry coming from the minors either. Another washout season without fans coming to the Citi Morgue.
I certainly no longer care and refuse to invest in this circus.
“I certainly no longer care and refuse to invest in this circus.”
You literally post on every single Mets article. You ain’t going nowhere.
Rct,
The Mets by recalling Vientos and DFA Wendle tells you this:
They prefer ridding themselves of Wendle who they signed to a ML contract in the offseason to actually having a backup MI. Very interesting.
By not sending Baty down to AAA they will platoon Vientos ( who is a very poor fielder ) vs. LHP because Baty cannot hit LHP at all and can’t hit RHP much either.
Mets are now essentially carrying 3 DHs JD Martinez, DJ Stewart and Vientos.
Lol Mets
The elephant in the room for the Mets isn’t being addressed by this shuffling of the deck chairs on the sinking ship however.
Lindor is batting .204 as the # 3 hitter, They have a black hole at C since Alvarez went down and can’t control the running game.
They cited during yesterday’s game that the Team has more POs than CS. Ouch
McNeil 2B looks finished as does Marte in RF ( no surprise ).
The pitching leads the ML in walks.
They are a very expensive disaster.
Bobrick
Try to consider the context for once. They’re 3 games under 500 after 41 games played under a POBO/GM who took over 6 months ago.
Did you expect them to be contenders this year?
Nothing says, “I certainly no longer care and refuse to invest in this circus” like writing eight paragraphs and two back-to-back posts. You are a troll who isn’t going anywhere.
Lindor practically plays every inning of every game, so it’s only an issue if he gets hurt during a game. Vientos actually started in the minors as a SS but I doubt he gets anywhere near the position, other than taking a lead off of second. My guess is that Lucchesi gets sent back to Syracuse after tomorrow’s start and that they add Iglesias to the 40 man since they have two openings there and call him up on Thursday. He’s going to field better than Wendle and he can’t hit worse than him.
There’s got to be another move coming too because Drew Smith is ready to come off the IL so another pitcher is going to get sent down or cut. My guess would be Butto since he still has options.
@ Attystephenadams Don’t think Butto’s going down just yet. They DFA’d Ramirez to make room for Lucchesi. They can then option Lucchesi to make room for Smith. So no need to option Butto. If they want to make room for Iglesias, the corresponding move would be to option Baty. Not only is he not hitting, but much like last year, he’s just not showing any improvement. Let hi work on whatever he needs to work out at AAA where he won’t be so overmatched. They’d already have Vientos at that point, so Baty becomes superfluous.
they also don’t have a backup second baseman either. Iglesias will have to come up in a day or two
The issue is more there is nobody to backup McNeil at 2B and he looks lost right now.
It’s reasonably likely that playing every game for a 30 year old who is struggling badly, is not the way to go.
.204/.272/.383 ….in a quarter of a season? In 41 or 41 games and with a 0.0 dWAR?
Try something else.
JackStrawb,
Great seeing you long time hope all is well.
The Mets are unable to develop positional prospects. Amed Rosario and Dom Smith were hyped up and can’t crack positions. Andres Gimenez impressed me but they packaged him for Lindor.
Now add Brett Baty and Vientos who are flawed players.
Alvarez could be the real deal but he wasn’t doing well before he injured himself and he wasn’t throwing out base stealers either.
Rylan Bannon needs a call too. He’s more of a utility guy than Wendle…though I can’t argue with what Vientos brings at the plate. Lucchesi belongs on the 26-man until he proves otherwise. He’s been solid.
Whether Lucchesi belongs or not remains to be seen. He showed up to camp not in pitching shape. They waited almost three weeks before giving him a spring training appearance, and his fastball velo was still 4 MPH lower than last year. As of a two weeks ago, he was still sitting at 90, or 2-3MPH slower than his norm. He’s a 31-year old veteran. He knows how to get minor leaguers out. That doesn’t mean the AAA numbers will translate to the major league level. The onus is on him to perform. Let’s see what he does before making assertions.
Yes, Bannon is hot. And while he has plaued some short, he didn’t look like he rally had the range when he played it in ST. And he’s nowhere near the fielder that Iglesias is. And Iglesias may still have opt-outs that we don’t know about. He deserves the next look. Then Bannon.
Once Joey Wendle left Tampa, the clock struck midnight and he turned back into a pumpkin. It happens all the time with Tampa players and that’s yet another reason you don’t want to trade with Tampa Bay.
@ mlb fan Yes, but they didn’t trade. They signed Wendle as a free agent. Couldn’t fathom why they gave him a big league deal after what he’s one the last two years. Now they’re stuck paying him that $2 mil, plus another $2.2 mil in CBT taxes. If they’re lucky and someone gives him a major league deal, they’ll reduce that bill to $3.5 mil total.
How’s the Tyler Glasnow trade working out for the Dodgers?
“Tyler Glasnow trade”..I still think Tampa won that trade by a wide margin. They traded an Uber expensive, injury prone Glasnow for a dirt cheap Ryan Pepiot(6 yrs of below mkt control)that’s been their best starting pitcher. Ask me again in 6 weeks, when Tyler Glasnow is out for the year(again)with his latest arm injury.
100 bucks says yohan is picked up by mets again within a week
WILL the METS TRADE US ANY Hitting!!!!!!!!! We have a minor league lineup and are wasting stud sp
Welp, I did tell you. Garrett Hampson, who went for the same salary and years about two weeks after Wendle to the Mets for c. $2m, was the better bet.
Five years younger, coming off a significantly better year, and could have played the OF in addition to the IF for a Mets team that had numerous fragile, questionable OFers—was probably the way to go.
The Mets had one starting OFer, really–Nimmo, then four completely unreliable, unpredictable character actors in Taylor, Bader, Marte, and Wendigo, I mean Stewart. Having a superutility player on hand who can handle not just the IF but CF?
C’mon, Stearns.
Extremely puzzling to option Butto. The walks are an issue, sure, but he’s pitched well enough to justify keeping him in the rotation. He’s certainly pitched better than Quintana. Hopefully, this is just a roster crunch issue and he’s back in a week.
But also, they could just DFA Houser. No one would claim him.
@ rct Right, but its not that simple.
1) He’s got 5 years service time and a $5+ million contract (costing the Mets almost $10.6 mil with CBT taxes). So he can refuse the outright and become a free agent with the Mets still responsible for almost all of that.
2) The Mets need long men in the bullpen right now. Houser can provide that and does OK in that role.
3) Butto is not gone forever. He can be back in ten days so would miss two starts – while Megill will be available to pitch in two days time. Butto’s a quad-A player working himself up to a BOTR who has accessible option remaining. This is standard procedural stuff that is just part of the business of baseball.
The option may not have been expected, and his performance doesn’t quite warrant it. But its not all that puzzling.
$2 mill for a lowsy player. How much is Rosario a former met making?
Buy low designate low.
Butto didn’t deserve the o be sent down.
Sorry to sound harsh but, “Oh, boo-hoo”. While his performance did not warrant a send-down, his place in the hierarchy of things allowed for it.. He’s a BOTR type who had an accessible option. Getting sent up and down is par for the course for players in this position. This is just where he is in his career right now, and its just part of the process of baseball. This wasn’t a punishment, and he hasn’t been exiled for the season.
Look at it this way: this time down will take him past 20 days in the minors an make this final option year official and he’ll be out of options next year. Next year his roster spot will be determined by performance. If they had kept him up all year long, he would not have reached the requisite 20 days and he would have been optionable again next year. Now thats off the table.
Calm down. It’s not that serious.