Nationals, Franklyn Kilome Agree To Minor League Deal
The Nationals recently signed right-hander Franklyn Kilome to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to the team’s Florida complex but will likely head to Triple-A Rochester after spending some time building into game shape.
Kilome is joining his third career organization, all of whom play in the NL East. Signed by the Phillies as an amateur of the Dominican Republic, the 6’6″ hurler developed into one of Philadelphia’s more promising pitching prospects. He drew praise from evaluators for a strong fastball-curveball combination and a projectable frame, but he’s been hampered by control issues throughout his time in pro ball. His stock started to dip as he struggled in Double-A, and Philadelphia sent him to the Mets for veteran infielder Asdrúbal Cabrera at the 2018 trade deadline.
In a seven-start stretch with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate after the trade, Kilome posted the best strikeout and walk marks of his career. Just as it seemed as if he might’ve turned a corner, he underwent Tommy John surgery that October. Kilome spent all of 2019 rehabbing, and he logged the bulk of the 2020 campaign at the alternate training site. He made four MLB appearances with the Mets during the shortened season, allowing 14 runs (including five homers) with 13 strikeouts and nine walks over 11 1/3 innings.
New York designated Kilome for assignment and outrighted him off their 40-man roster last April. He spent the season with Triple-A Syracuse, working to a 3.91 ERA in 46 frames. He started just five of his 21 outings last year, his first season pitching out of the bullpen in the minors. Kilome had a capable run prevention mark in shorter stints, but he only struck out 19.9% of opponents and had an untenable 14.4% walk rate. The Nats are thin in both the rotation and the bullpen, so they could deploy the 26-year-old in either role once he heads to an affiliate.
Mets Activate J.D. Davis From Injured List
The Mets are reinstating third baseman J.D. Davis from the injured list, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to note (Twitter link). Infielder José Peraza was optioned to the team’s alternate training site in a corresponding move. Additionally, right-hander Franklyn Kilome has cleared waivers and been sent outright to the alternate site.
Davis returns from a hand injury after the minimum amount of time on the shelf. The 27-year-old figures to resume his role as New York’s top option at the hot corner. Peraza’s contract was selected from the alternate site to add infield depth when Davis went on the shelf, but he’ll ultimately head back without having gotten into a game. Peraza will keep his spot on the 40-man roster, though.
Kilome lost his 40-man spot to accommodate the Mets’ addition of Peraza last week. A former top prospect in the Phillies’ system, Kilome has seen his stock tumble quite a bit in recent years. He’ll remain in the New York organization and hope to pitch his way back onto the roster.
Mets Place J.D. Davis On 10-Day IL, Select Jose Peraza, Designate Franklyn Kilome
The Mets have placed infielder J.D. Davis on the 10-day injured list due to a left hand contusion, the team announced. Davis’ placement is retroactive to April 7. In corresponding moves, infielder Jose Peraza‘s contract was selected from the alternate training site, and right-hander Franklyn Kilome was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Peraza.
Davis was hit on the hand by a Chase Anderson fastball during Tuesday’s game and hasn’t since been back on the field. X-rays on both Davis’ hand and left wrist were negative, and it doesn’t sound as if Davis will miss much or any time beyond the minimum stay on the injured list, though an IL placement seems necessary if Davis isn’t yet ready to play.
Luis Guillorme and Jonathan Villar have filled in at third base in Davis’ absence, and Peraza might also join this mix. Signed to a minor league deal back in November, Peraza saw pretty close to everyday duty for the Reds as a second baseman, shortstop, and eventually as a super-utility option in 2017-19, but Cincinnati non-tendered the infielder due to a lack of hitting. The problems at the plate continued for Peraza with the Red Sox last season, as he batted just .225/.275/.342 over 120 PA in 2020.
Peraza drew some top-100 prospect attention prior to the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and Kilome also isn’t far moved from his days as a highly-touted minor leaguer in the Phillies’ system — Baseball Prospectus included the righty on their top-100 lists every year from 2016-18. Kilome was acquired by the Mets in the Asdrubal Cabrera trade in July 2018, and Kilome then had to undergo Tommy John surgery just a few months later that wiped out his 2019 campaign.
Kilome did make his MLB debut last season, but he was hit hard in every appearance and posted an 11.12 ERA over 11 1/3 innings. It isn’t out of the question that another team could claim Kilome off the DFA wire, given his past prospect pedigree, but that seems to be a risk the Mets are willing to take on the 25-year-old.
Latest On Marcus Stroman
Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman hasn’t debuted this year because of a tear in his left calf muscle, but the club’s No. 2 starter continues to make progress in his recovery. Stroman got through a four-inning simulated game unscathed on Friday, Tim Healey of Newsday relays.
Manager Luis Rojas said Stroman had “a very productive day,” though it remains unclear when the 29-year-old will be able to rejoin the Mets’ rotation.
Without Stroman, who’s facing a key year as a high-profile pending free agent, the Mets have turned to left-hander David Peterson to fill the void in their starting staff. That has gone well so far, as Peterson turned in 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball in a win over the Red Sox on Tuesday. As for the rest of New York’s rotation, back-to-back NL Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom has been his usual self thus far, and Steven Matz and Michael Wacha have prevented runs with aplomb through a combined three starts. However, Rick Porcello took a beating at the hands of the Braves in his first Mets start last Sunday. Porcello’s back on the mound in Atlanta on Friday.
Elsewhere on the Mets’ roster, the club has placed catcher Rene Rivera on the 10-day injured list with a hyperextended left (non-throwing) elbow and recalled righty Franklyn Kilome, per Healey. Rivera has joined Tomas Nido in starting one game behind the plate for the Mets this season, but the lion’s share of work has unsurprisingly gone to Wilson Ramos.
Rivera’s injury means the 25-year-old Kilome may get a chance to make his major league debut after working back from October 2018 Tommy John surgery. Kilome, whom the Mets acquired from the Phillies for infielder Asdrubal Cabrera just a few months before he underwent surgery, logged a 4.03 ERA/3.17 FIP with 9.95 K/9 against 2.37 BB/9 over 38 innings in his first action with the New York organization two years ago.
Mets Add Seven To 60-Man Player Pool
The Mets announced Monday that they’ve added seven players to their 60-man player pool: right-handers Matt Blackham, Jordan Humphreys and Franklyn Kilome; left-handers Stephen Gonsalves and Thomas Szapucki; infielder Jake Hager; and catcher David Rodriguez. They’ve filled 58 of the 60 spots in their pool. MetsMerized’s Michael Mayer first reported that Blackham, Humphreys and Gonsalves would be added (Twitter links).
Of the new adds today, Szapucki is the most highly regarded of the team’s prospects, ranking seventh at both FanGraphs and MLB.com. A fifth-round pick in 2015, Szapucki returned from Tommy John surgery to log 61 2/3 innings of 2.63 ERA ball with 10.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 across three minor league levels in 2019. The 24-year-old topped out with four innings in Double-A, and while he wasn’t viewed as a candidate to log much time in the Majors this season, he’ll at the very least get in some developmental reps in the absence of a conventional minor league season.
Kilome, also 24, came over from the Phillies in the trade that sent Asdrubal Cabrera to Philadelphia back in 2017. He lands ninth on FanGraphs’ list and 12th at MLB.com on the heels of a 2019 season that he lost to his own Tommy John surgery. That procedure came back in October 2018, so Kilome should be largely back up to speed and ready to pick up after tossing 140 innings at Double-A that year. Kilome logged a 4.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. Kilome improved considerably upon being flipped to the Mets; in 38 innings with his new club his K/9 jumped from 7.3 to 10.0, and his BB/9 dropped from 4.5 to 2.4.
Among the other additions, the 26-year-old Gonsalves might be the most recognizable name. The former fourth-round pick was long a top prospect in the Twins organization and cracked multiple Top 100 lists as he rose through the minors, regularly drawing praise as a high-probability back-end starter. He never got much of a look in Minnesota, though (24 2/3 innings), and he’s been limited by arm troubles in recent years.
Humphreys, 24, is another arm on the mend from Tommy John surgery. He had a big 2017 season before surgery and will aim to work his way back into the team’s bullpen mix after pitching just 13 2/3 frames last year. Blackham posted sharp numbers last year, but he turned 27 in January and has only has 15 2/3 frames above Double-A to his credit. Hager and Rodriguez were minor league pickups this winter with limited offensive track records in the minors. Hager is a former first-round pick (Rays, 2011) who can play all over the infield, while Rodriguez brings some additional catching depth and a lifetime 39 percent caught-stealing rate to the table.
Mets’ Franklyn Kilome Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
Mets pitching prospect Franklyn Kilome will miss the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The right-hander was acquired in a straight-up swap that sent Asdrubal Cabrera to the division-rival Phillies back in July, and he ranked fifth among Mets prospects on MLB.com’s latest rankings.
Kilome, 23, dramatically improved his K/BB numbers upon being traded from Philadelphia to New York, pitching to a 4.03 ERA with 9.9 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 0.71 HR/9 with a 39.8 percent grounder rate in 38 frames with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate. He’s previously been ranked among the game’s Top 100 prospects by Baseball Prospectus and garnered praise from MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo for his upper 90s heater, a potentially plus curveball and his general makeup and intelligence on the mound.
Given Kilome’s 140 innings at the Double-A level in 2018, it’s not a reach to think he could’ve been a factor on the Mets’ staff at some point in mid-to-late 2019 had he remained healthy. Instead, the Mets won’t get a look at him until at least the 2020 season, though at the very least, he’ll be nearly 18 months removed from Tommy John surgery when Spring Training ’20 rolls around. That’s minimal consolation for a Mets club that’ll lose a full season of development for one of its most promising and most MLB-ready arms, though.