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Mets Scouting Frankie Montas, Tyler Mahle

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The Mets have recently had scouts watching Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas and Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports.  With the aggressive Mets clearly focused on a championship this year, it isn’t surprising that the club is already looking ahead to possible trade candidates on struggling teams.

Montas is over 18 months older than Mahle, but the two have quite a bit in common.  The two righties are under control through the 2023 season via a third and final arbitration year, both have already been mentioned in trade speculation for months, and both have already made it through an offseason of payroll cuts by their respective teams.  In fact, the Mets and A’s already combined on a big pitching deal during the offseason when Chris Bassitt was brought to Queens.

Thus far in 2022, Montas has clearly been the better of the two pitchers in terms of bottom-line numbers, with a 3.67 ERA in 49 innings to Mahle’s 5.23 ERA over 43 innings.  The advanced metrics also generally favor Montas, though Mahle’s 4.28 xFIP and 4.15 SIERA paint a bit more of an optimistic view of his 2022 performance, and Mahle appears to be on the upswing with a 2.60 ERA over his last 17 1/3 frames.

It stands to reason that the Mets will probably at least monitor just about every available arm heading into the August 2 deadline, considering that Montas and Mahle figure to get attention from most or all pitching-needy clubs.  Oakland or Cincinnati probably have some idea of what some suitors are already willing to give up for either pitcher, based on offseason talks — the White Sox, Twins, Yankees, Tigers, Mariners, Rays, and Royals all reportedly had interest in Montas over the winter, while the Blue Jays and Rangers were linked to Mahle.

Despite a number of rotation injuries this season, the Mets have gotten quality work from just about every starter who has taken the mound.  However, health remains a concern, as Max Scherzer will miss 6-8 weeks with an oblique strain, Tylor Megill is on the IL with biceps inflammation, and Jacob deGrom has yet to throw a pitch this season due to a stress reaction his throwing shoulder.  Jumping to swing a deal with the Reds or A’s now would cost the Mets a heavier price in prospects, and it could be that New York will wait until closer to the deadline to make a move, as the Mets already have a sizeable cushion of a lead in the NL East race.

Willson Contreras Leaves Game With Right Hamstring Tightness

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Cubs catcher Willson Contreras made an early exit from today’s game due to what the club described as right hamstring tightness.  The injury occurred in the third inning, as after Contreras had singled and then stolen second base, he bolted for third on what ended up being a foul ball from Seiya Suzuki.  The catcher immediately grabbed at his right hamstring and, following a visit from the team trainer, left the game.

Afterwards, manager David Ross told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and other reporters that “there’s definitely something going on,” with Contreras’ hamstring, and that “we’ll find out how extensive” after some tests. 

At the very least, it would seem like Contreras will miss a game or two to monitor his leg problem.  The Cubs’ next off-day is on May 27, so it’s at least possible the team might keep Contreras out of action (but not on the injured list) until then to see if a full 10-day IL stint could be avoided, though that would require Chicago to call another catcher up from the minors.

If an IL trip is required, Contreras and the Cubs can only hope that it’s a relatively short absence.  The veteran backstop is off to a great start, hitting .258/.382/.458 with five home runs over his first 144 plate appearances.  That would make for a career year for Contreras if he keeps hitting at that pace, and it would set him up nicely for a big contract this winter as the 30-year-old is eligible for free agency.

Missing several weeks or even months due to a hamstring injury would hamper Contreras’ ability to score top dollar on the open market, though given his track record, Contreras would still likely land a healthy contract even if his platform year is less than stellar.  However, missing a lot of time prior to the trade deadline would certainly hurt or even erase the Cubs’ chance of a good return for the catcher, as trade rumors have swirled around Contreras for well over a year.  One of the few Cubs veterans remaining after last summer’s deadline fire sale, Contreras recently said he hasn’t heard anything from the team about a possible contract extension.

Angels Notes: Suzuki, Stassi, Canning, Ward

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The Angels have reinstated catcher Kurt Suzuki from the COVID-related injury list.  Austin Romine was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Suzuki on the active roster, while fellow catcher Matt Thaiss will also remain with Triple-A Salt Lake on option after being activated from the minor league version of the IL.

With both Suzuki and Max Stassi sidelined on the COVID list, the Halos found themselves quite shorthanded behind the plate, leading to Romine and Chad Wallach each getting plenty of action over the last 10 days.  Suzuki is returning after a two-week absence, while Stassi hit the IL on May 10 and could himself be close to a return.  Angels athletic trainer Mike Frostad told The Athletic’s Sam Blum (Twitter links), and The Southern California Newsgroup’s J.P. Hoornstra that Stassi will likely play two more minor league rehab games before being activated.

The outlook isn’t as positive for Griffin Canning, as Frostad said the right-hander is considering surgery to address a stress reaction in his lower back.  No decision has been made, as Canning is meeting with a specialist on Monday and will then opt to go with a surgery or a less-invasive treatment.

It’s worrisome news for Canning, as these back problems have kept him from pitching from July 8, 2021 (when Canning last took the mound at Triple-A).  He had worked his way up to the simulated-game stage of his rehab earlier this month, but he continued to feel discomfort after his latest outing.  Depending on the type of procedure or how well Canning responds to rehab, it’s possible the entire 2022 season could now be in jeopardy for the 26-year-old.

A second-round pick in the 2017 draft, Canning has appeared in each of the last three seasons, starting 41 of his 43 MLB games and posting a 4.73 ERA over 209 1/3 innings.  Even without surgery, it’s hard to figure on when Canning might make his 2022 debut, leaving the Angels short an important depth arm for their six-man rotation.  Long a weak spot, the Anaheim rotation has been quite good thus far, but the club also has less margin for error given their need of an extra hurler.  With Canning sidelined and Jose Suarez ineffective, that depth has already been tested, the Halos recently promoted Chase Silseth directly from Double-A to the majors.

The Angels entered today’s action with a strong 24-17 record, despite an ongoing four-game losing streak.  Last night’s 4-2 loss to the Athletics also saw Taylor Ward leave the game in the ninth inning after colliding with the outfield wall following a catch.  Fortunately, Frostad said Ward didn’t suffer a concussion and only had a stinger in his arm after making the play.

Ward isn’t in tonight’s lineup but is only day-to-day, and seems to have avoided any major injury.  It has been a dream start for Ward, who leads the majors in all three slash categories (.370/.481/.713) and has hit nine home runs over his first 131 plate appearances.

Brewers Win Arbitration Hearing Against Adrian Houser

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The Brewers won their arbitration hearing over right-hander Adrian Houser, according to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link).  Hauser will earn $2.425MM in 2022, rather than the $3MM salary he was seeking in his first trip through the arb process.

Houser tossed a career-high 142 1/3 innings in 2021, starting 26 of his 28 games for Milwaukee and posting a 3.22 ERA.  Despite some unimpressive strikeout (17.5%) and walk (10.7%) rates, Houser found plenty of success with a recipe of soft contact and lots of ground balls.  Houser posted a 59% grounder rate and finished in the 89th percentile of all pitchers in barrel rate.

On a Brewers team full of high-strikeout arms, Houser represented a bit of a change of pace for opposing batters, and it earned him a regular spot in the rotation.  The righty moved into starting work in the latter half of the 2019 season after working as a multi-inning reliever, and then had only a 5.30 ERA over 56 innings in the shortened 2020 campaign.  Those struggles in 2020 spoke to the variance that grounder specialists can face, as Houser had a .325 BABIP in 2020, as opposed to a .259 BABIP last season.

Houser’s $2.425MM salary did beat the $2.3MM projection from MLBTR’s Matt Swartz, and Houser is off to a solid enough start in 2022 that he looks in good shape to earn a nice raise next winter.  With Houser’s case now complete, the Brewers can finally close the books on a very busy arbitration class.

Marlins Win Arbitration Hearing Against Pablo Lopez

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The Marlins have won their arbitration hearing against right-hander Pablo Lopez, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports (via Twitter).  Lopez had been seeking a $3MM salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility, but the arbiter ruled in favor of the $2.45MM salary figure submitted by the club.

One of the many intriguing young arms in Miami’s organization, Lopez could be in the midst of a breakout season, with an outstanding 1.57 ERA, 27% strikeout rate, and 6.2% walk rate over his first 46 innings of the 2022 campaign.  Statcast and fielding-independent metrics are also loving his work, though after shoulder problems limited Lopez in both 2019 and 2021, the biggest question down the stretch could be whether or not Lopez can last something close to a full season of work.

It could be that Lopez’s limited track record hampered his arbitration case, as he tossed only 102 2/3 innings last year due to a rotator cuff strain that sidelined him for virtually the entire second half.  Needless to say, he’ll be lined up for a big raise in his second arb year if he stays healthy and effective.  Since there is still some question about how much the Marlins are able or willing to spend on payroll, it’s possible that Lopez’s rising price tag might make him more of a trade chip, yet Miami didn’t have any interest in moving Lopez last winter despite plenty of interest from opposing teams.

With Lopez’s case completed, the Marlins are still slated for a hearing with Jacob Stallings unless they can reach an agreement to avoid arbitration.  You can monitor all of the completed and still-pending arb situations around baseball via MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker.

Mets Avoid Arbitration With Chris Bassitt

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The Mets and right-hander Chris Bassitt have avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year, $8.65MM contract for the 2022 season, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  There is also a mutual option attached to the deal, as if both sides trigger the option, Bassitt will receive $19MM in 2023 (or a $150K buyout if either side declines).

The two sides has been scheduled for an arbitration hearing on May 23.  Bassitt was looking for a $9MM salary and the Mets countered with an $8.3MM offer, so the $8.65MM agreement is directly between the two submitted figures, though Bassitt will get a bit closer to his desired salary in the form of the $150K buyout.

As usual with mutual options, it is pretty unlikely that both parties will agree to exercise the 2023 agreement.  Bassitt will be a free agent for the first time this winter, and will be lined up for a lucrative multi-year agreement if he keeps pitching as well as he has to date over his first eight starts.  Since Bassitt will be 34 on Opening Day, he’ll surely like the opportunity to score the first (and maybe last) big multi-year payday of his career, rather than take just the one year and $19MM from the Mets.

This doesn’t mean that Bassitt isn’t necessarily a long-term fit in Queens, though he’ll be one of several potential free agent pitching decisions facing the Mets this winter.  Taijuan Walker (player option), Jacob deGrom (opt-out clause), and Carlos Carrasco (club option) could also be joining Bassitt on the open market, so New York’s rotation could look quite different in 2023.  Of course, the Mets have the financial resources to re-sign any of these players, depending on which arms they want to specifically target.

The $8.65MM salary is a nice bump from Bassitt’s $4.9MM salary with the A’s in 2021, and he also earned $2.25MM in his first arb-eligible year in 2020 (in both those previous seasons, Bassitt reached a deal with Oakland to avoid hearings).  It’s a pretty nice outcome for a pitcher who didn’t debut in the majors until age 25, missed all over 2017 due to Tommy John surgery, and didn’t really establish himself as a rotation regular until 2019.

Since the start of that 2019 campaign, Bassitt has a 3.20 ERA over 413 innings, and he has earned top-ten Cy Young Award finishes in each of the previous two seasons.  With the Athletics looking to cut payroll this past offseason, Bassitt was seen as a prime trade target heading into his final year of team control, and the A’s indeed moved Bassitt as part of a three-player deal with the Mets soon after the lockout ended.

Orioles, John Means Agree To Two-Year Contract

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The Orioles and left-hander John Means have avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a two-year, $5.925MM contract, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).  Means will earn $2.95MM in 2022, and $2.975MM in 2023, as per Baltimore Baseball’s Rich Dubroff (via Twitter).  Means is represented by the Wasserman Agency.

Means had been looking for a $3.1MM salary in 2022, while the Orioles submitted a $2.7MM figure.  However, it’s probably safe to assume that Means’ Tommy John surgery played a big role in this extension coming together, even if an arbiter would have only been gauging Means’ numbers from prior to 2022 in determining his salary.  As per the usual timeline for TJ recovery, Means will be out of action until at least midway through the 2023 season.  The extension reflects that situation, giving Means only a minor raise for next season considering that he’ll be missing so much action.

Talking to The Baltimore Sun’s Andy Kostka and other reporters, Means said the two sides finalized the extension yesterday after negotiating for the last week.  “It’s nice to not have to go to court and fight [in arbitration]. Especially in a sling. Probably not the best way to go about it,” Means joked.

The new contract locks in some financial security for Means during a difficult time in his career.  While there’s never a good time for a Tommy John surgery, 2022 was the first of Means’ three arb-eligible seasons, and thus his rehab will severely impact his earning potential over his next two years.  Considering that he’ll miss so much of the 2023 campaign, Means likely won’t earn too much beyond his $2.975MM salary in 2024, assuming he returns healthy and pitches well whenever he does return to the mound next season.

Means somewhat surprisingly emerged as the de facto ace of the Orioles rotation in 2019-21, bursting onto the scene with a second-place AL Rookie Of The Year finish in 2019.  Over his first three seasons, Means posted a 3.73 ERA, relying on excellent control and fastball spin (if not velocity) to retire batters, despite allowing a lot of hard contact and not racking up many strikeouts.  Means’ Baltimore tenure was highlighted by a no-hitter against the Mariners on May 5, 2021.

Cubs Activate David Robertson From Injured List

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The Cubs announced that right-hander David Robertson has been activated from the injured list.  In corresponding moves, righty Mark Leiter Jr. was optioned to Triple-A Iowa to open a spot for Robertson on the active roster, and a 40-man spot was created when outfielder Michael Hermosillo was moved from the 10-day injured list to the COVID-related injury list, as no designation was given for Hermosillo’s new assignment.

While the Cubs have a long list of injured players in general, Hermosillo joins Jason Heyward and Marcus Stroman as players sidelined without a specific reason, thus indicating an issue related to COVID-19.  Robertson was also the non-designated list, and he’ll return to action after being sidelined on May 9.

After signing a one-year, $3MM deal with Chicago in March, Robertson has looked terrific in the early going, posting a 1.50 ERA over 12 innings for the Wrigleyville nine.  The 37-year-old pitched only 18 2/3 MLB innings total in 2019-21 (largely due to Tommy John surgery rehab), but Robertson has thus far showed some flashes of his old dominance as a reliable shutdown arm with the Yankees and White Sox.

Hermosillo had been on the 10-day IL with a left quad strain, with a retroactive May 8 placement.  The outfielder has seen some starting duty in center field (spelling Heyward when a lefty is on the mound) and has otherwise been used as a backup at all three outfield positions.  While Hermosillo hasn’t hit much over parts of five MLB seasons, he has particularly struggled at the plate thus far in 2022, with only two hits and a .364 OPS to show for 35 plate appearances.

Pitching Notes: Kershaw, Wacha, Hernandez, Mayza

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There had been some indication that Clayton Kershaw could be cleared to throw a bullpen session today, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya) that such a session won’t take place.  Some right SI joint inflammation sent Kershaw to the 15-day injured list on May 13, and while the star left-hander has started playing catch, it appears he is still some time off from a formal bullpen.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Kershaw will miss an overt amount of time, but as Ardaya notes, it does rule out any chance that Kershaw will miss only a 15-day minimum.  While he isn’t dealing with an arm injury this time, Kershaw has dealt with enough health issues in recent years that any sort of IL stint is a concern, though the former three-time NL Cy Young Award winner has continued to pitch very well when he has been able to take the mound.

Here’s the latest on some other pitching-related injury situations from around the league…

  • Michael Wacha is slated to return from the 15-day injured list and start Friday’s game, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other reporters.  Friday is the first eligible day for Wacha’s activation, after being retroactively placed on the 15-day IL on May 5 due to left intercostal irritation.  After a few rough seasons, Wacha looked to be on pace for a bounce-back performance in his first five starts with Boston, with an excellent 1.38 ERA over 26 innings.
  • At the minor league level, Cora said left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez will be “down for a while” after suffering an MCL sprain in his right knee.  Hernandez has a 5.95 ERA over 19 2/3 innings with Triple-A Worcester, continuing his career-long pattern of recording plenty of strikeouts but also far too many walks.  Over 78 2/3 career big league frames with the Red Sox, Hernandez has a 3.66 ERA and 33.6% strikeout rate, but also a whopping 17.6% walk rate.
  • The Blue Jays placed Tim Mayza on the 15-day IL Monday due to left forearm inflammation, and GM Ross Atkins told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters today that the initial indication is that Mayza’s issue is localized within his forearm and not his elbow.  Mayza is seeing another doctor today just to be doubly safe, as the reliever underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2019 and also missed 10 days last season due to elbow inflammation.  Since returning from that TJ procedure, Mayza has a 3.14 ERA over 66 innings out of Toronto’s bullpen in 2021-22.

Latest On Bryce Harper

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Bryce Harper will miss his third straight game for the Phillies tonight, as the outfielder continues to recover from a PRP injection over the weekend.  The small tear in Harper’s UCL has left the NL MVP battling elbow discomfort for almost the entire season, and he hasn’t played in the outfield since April 16.

Unfortunately for Harper and the Phillies, it will be even longer until we see Harper back on the grass, as manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia) that Harper has now been shut down from throwing for six weeks.  Doctors initially gave Harper a four-week shutdown, but with this added time, it will now be until late July or early August before Harper is able to play the outfield, between the shutdown period and then a ramp-up period.

The good news is that Harper has been able to stay in the lineup as the designated hitter, and his production hasn’t been slowed whatsoever by his elbow problem.  Harper is batting .305/.361/.634 over 147 plate appearances, leading the NL in slugging percentage and tied for the NL lead with nine home runs.  (He also entered today’s action tied for the Major League lead with 14 doubles.)

Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos have been locked into everyday corner outfield roles with Harper filling the DH spot, making for a less-than-ideal defensive alignment for the Phillies.  Since Castellanos and Schwarber are both hitting well, the Phils can only hope that the offensive production outweighs any defensive shortcomings until Harper is able to return to regular right field duty.

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