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Hunter Strickland

Rays Select Hunter Strickland, Place Pete Fairbanks On IL

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10:02 am: Fairbanks expects to miss around a month, he tells reporters. Cash says the righty will be shut down from throwing for two to three weeks. (Topkin links).

9:07 am: The Rays are selecting the contract of reliever Hunter Strickland, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (Twitter link) and Adam Berry of MLB.com (via Twitter). Catcher Joseph Odom has been designated for assignment to open 40-man roster space. Additionally, outfielder Brett Phillips has been activated from the injured list, while right-hander Pete Fairbanks is headed to the 10-day IL with a right rotator cuff strain.

Strickland had a productive run with the Giants from 2015-18 but has fallen on hard times over the past couple seasons. He managed just a 5.55 ERA/5.01 SIERA between the Mariners and Nationals in 2019, then tallied just 3.1 innings of four-run ball with the Mets last year before being sent to the alternate training site. The hard-throwing righty signed a minors contract with Tampa Bay in February and is now in line to make his team debut.

Fairbanks’ loss is another blow to a Rays’ bullpen already without Nick Anderson and Chaz Roe for extended periods of time. It isn’t clear how long Fairbanks will be on the shelf, but a lengthy absence would deprive Tampa Bay of one of their best relievers. The 27-year-old tossed 26.2 innings of 2.70 ERA/3.48 SIERA ball in the regular season in 2020, earning manager Kevin Cash’s trust in the late innings for the postseason.

Phillips returns after opening the year on the IL due to a hamstring strain. He could see some playing time as the fourth outfielder while Kevin Kiermaier is on the shelf with a quad strain. Odom was selected to the Rays’ roster last week and went hitless in a pair of plate appearances.

Rays Sign Hunter Strickland To Minor League Contract

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The Rays recently signed right-handed reliever Hunter Strickland to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training, per Danny Russell of DRaysBay (h/t: Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

Strickland has already appeared in the majors with four teams – the Giants, Mariners, Nationals and Mets – since his 2014 debut. He was a tremendous part of the Giants’ bullpen from 2014-17, during which he combined for 180 2/3 innings of 2.64 ERA/3.58 SIERA pitching, posted a 23.7 percent strikeout rate against a 7.9 percent walk rate, and averaged 96.5 mph on his fastball.

While Strickland looked like a high-end reliever earlier in his career, he was not nearly as effective in the previous three seasons. His fastball velocity has largely remained intact, but offenses tattooed him in 2019, when he put together career worsts in ERA (5.55) and strikeout percentage (17.1) over 24 1/3 innings between the Mariners and Nationals. The 32-year-old inked a minors deal with the Mets before last season, but he threw just 3 1/3 frames and couldn’t consistently stay on their roster during the campaign.

Minor MLB Transactions: 9/5/20

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Wrapping up some minor moves from around the game…

  • The Mets outrighted Hunter Strickland to their alternate training site, the team announced.  Strickland was designated for assignment earlier this week and cleared waivers, then accepted the outright assignment.  This is the second time the veteran hurler has been outrighted this season.  After signing a minors contract with the Mets in June, Strickland has an 8.10 ERA over 3 1/3 innings with the team.
  • In another Mets move, the Amazins released right-hander Pedro Payano, as per the MLB.com transactions page.  Payano made his Major League debut in 2019, posting a 5.73 ERA over 22 innings for the Rangers before signing a minor league deal with the Mets over the offseason.  The New York-born Payano, however, didn’t see any big league action for his hometown team in 2020.  Payano is a veteran of eight seasons in the Rangers organization, posting a 3.68 ERA, 2.46 K/BB rate, and 8.2 K/9 over 686 1/3 minor league innings (starting 125 of 142 games).
  • The Yankees released righty Adonis Rosa, the team announced.  Rosa had been pitching at the Yankees’ alternate training site.  Signing with the Yankees as a 19-year-old in 2013, Rosa has a 3.35 ERA, 3.79 K/BB rate, and 7.8 K/9 over 515 1/3 career minor league innings, starting 74 of his 114 career games in New York’s farm system.  Rosa’s MLB resume consists of a single game, a two-inning appearance on August 13, 2019.

Mets Designate Hunter Strickland

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The Mets have designated reliever Hunter Strickland and transferred infielder Eduardo Nunez to the 45-day injured list, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to report. Those moves help make room for righty Ariel Jurado, whom the team recalled.

This is the second time this year the Mets have designated Strickland, whom they brought back to their roster Monday four weeks after his previous DFA. Strickland wound up throwing a scoreless inning with two strikeouts and a walk last night, but it wasn’t enough to keep him in the fray. The 31-year-old has now tossed 3 1/3 innings this season and yielded four runs (three earned) on five hits and four strikeouts against one walk.

Nunez, 33, has been even less of a factor for the Mets than Strickland. He totaled two at-bats on the opening weekend of the season, but Nunez has been dealing with left knee problems since then. It’s unclear whether he’ll return this year.

Mets Select Hunter Strickland; Juan Lagares Elects Free Agency

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The Mets have selected right-hander Hunter Strickland and optioned fellow righty Drew Smith, Tim Healey of Newsday was among those to report. Meanwhile, outfielder Juan Lagares has rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency.

The hard-throwing, 31-year-old Strickland is returning to the Mets exactly four weeks after they outrighted him off their roster Aug. 3. The move came after Strickland posted 2 1/3 disastrous innings across three appearances, during which he yielded four runs (three earned) on five hits. But Smith hasn’t been any better of late, as he has surrendered six runs (five earned) on six hits over 4 1/3 frames this month. Smith suffered a loss against the Yankees on Sunday when Gary Sanchez hit an eighth-inning grand slam off him.

Lagares was in his second stint with the Mets, but the club designated him for assignment Aug. 28 after he made two appearances and didn’t record an at-bat. The light-hitting, well-regarded defender, 31, will now return to the open market.

Mets Outright Hunter Strickland

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Right-hander Hunter Strickland went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been assigned to the team’s alternate training site in Brooklyn, tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Strickland is no longer on the 40-man roster, but because he was outrighted to the alternate training site, he remains in the Mets’ 60-man player pool and could be selected back to the big league roster at some point.

The 31-year-old Strickland appeared in three games for the Mets but struggled, serving up four runs (three earned) on six hits with two strikeouts in 2 1/3 frames. He still averaged 96 mph on his heater, and it’s worth noting that he didn’t give up much in the way of hard contact in his tiny sample of work (80.7 mph average exit velocity). That said, the fact that he went unclaimed underscores the manner in which he’s tailed off since his strong run with the Giants earlier in his career.

From 2014-17, Strickland pitched to a 2.64 ERA with 8.7 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 and 0.6 HR/9 in 180 2/3 innings of relief in San Francisco. He’s since made headlines for the wrong reasons — breaking his hand when punching a door after a blown save, inciting a bench-clearing brawl by throwing at Bryce Harper — and his production on the mound has deteriorated as well. In his last 72 big league innings, Strickland carries a 4.75 ERA and and an FIP to match. He’s posted a lackluster 57-to-29 K/BB ratio in that time and served up 11 home runs as well.

Mets Select Brian Dozier, Designate Hunter Strickland For Assignment

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, placing Eduardo Nunez on the 10-day injured list with a left knee contusion and selecting the contract of veteran second baseman Brian Dozier in his place. In order to open a spot on the roster for Dozier, New York designated right-hander Hunter Strickland for assignment. Lefty Daniel Zamora is up from the team’s alternate training site to take Strickland’s spot on the 30-man roster.

Dozier, 33, inked a minor league deal with the Mets midway through Summer Camp after being let go by the Padres. He’s already in tonight’s lineup and will give the club some thump against lefty starter Martin Perez. Dozier, a former All-Star with the Twins, is a lifetime .270/.354/.500 hitter against southpaws. For a brief stretch from 2014-17, he was among the league’s best second basemen, hitting a combined .254/.338/.476 with 127 home runs in that four-year stretch. That included a monstrous 42-homer effort in 2016, which he followed up with a 34-dinger season in 2017.

A knee injury hobbled Dozier for much of the 2018 season, which surely contributed to a dismal .215/.305/.391 showing. He bounced back a bit with the World Series-winning Nationals in 2019, slashing .238/.340/.430 in 482 plate appearances. However, Dozier’s role shrunk late in the regular season and in the postseason. This winter, with an abundance of supply and considerably less demand on the second base market, Dozier settled for a minor league deal — but he’s quickly worked his way back to the bigs.

As for Strickland, he’ll depart after surrendering four runs (three earned) on six hits in just 2 1/3 frames as a Met. The 31-year-old posted terrific numbers with the Giants from 2014-17 before slipping a bit in 2018 and completely cratering in 2019. Strickland still has a 3.24 ERA in 252 2/3 Major League innings, but his recent track record is concerning, and he’s had some issues off the mound. The righty broke his hand when he punched a door after blowing a save back in 2018, and he’s previously incited a benches-clearing brawl by throwing at Bryce Harper (widely believed to be in response to Harper homering off him twice in the postseason three years prior).

Mets Promote Andres Gimenez, Designate Stephen Gonsalves

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In a surprise move, the Mets have decided to promote top infield prospect Andres Gimenez to open the season. It’s not clear just yet how robust a role he’ll occupy, but Amed Rosario projects as the everyday option at shortstop — he position Gimenez plays.

Also making the MLB roster are lefty Chasen Shreve and righty Hunter Strickland. Both have had their contracts selected to the 40-man roster. It’s the same situation for infielder Eduardo Nunez, as reported previously. To clear a 40-man roster spot, the Mets designated lefty Stephen Gonsalves for assignment.

The 21-year-old Gimenez has ranked as one of the organization’s best prospects for the past three years. His 2019 numbers weren’t exactly eye-catching — .250/.307/.387 in Double-A — but Gimenez was among the youngest players in the pitcher-friendly Eastern League. Gimenez went on to play in the Arizona Fall League and raked at a .371/.413/.586 clip in 18 games and 75 plate appearances. Entering the 2020 season, he was ranked as the game’s No. 84 prospect at MLB.com and No. 90 at Baseball Prospectus.

Strickland, 31, was limited by a Grade 2 lat strain last year and struggled enormously when on the mound, pitching to a combined 5.55 ERA in 24 1/3 frames between the Mariners and Nationals. His track record prior to that unsightly campaign, however, was strong. From 2014-18, Strickland worked to a combined 2.91 ERA (3.40 FIP) with averages of 8.4 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9.

Of course, Strickland has drawn as much if not more attention for other reasons. He incited a benches-clearing brawl in 2017 after throwing at Bryce Harper — an incident most believe to be the result of a years-old grudge against Harper for homering twice off Strickland in the 2014 NLDS. The next year, upon being pulled from a game after blowing a saved, Strickland punched a door out of frustration and sustained a broken right hand. He required surgery and missed the next six weeks.

The left-handed Shreve was a solid middle relief option for the Yankees for a few seasons but flopped when he was traded to the Cardinals in the 2018 Luke Voit swap that also sent Giovanny Gallegos to St. Louis. In 203 2/3 innings, Shreve has a career 3.71 ERA.

Gonsalves, 26, was a fourth-round pick by Minnesota and was long a top prospect in the Twins organization. He 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.

Mets Sign Hunter Strickland, Ryan Cordell

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The Mets announced Monday that they’ve signed right-hander Hunter Strickland and re-signed outfielder Ryan Cordell, whom they’d previously released. Both received non-guaranteed deals, and both players are “expected” to be added to the Mets’ 60-man pool, per the club.

Strickland, 31, joins the Mets with nearly five years of big league service time under his belt. He was limited by a Grade 2 lat strain last year and struggled enormously when on the mound, pitching to a combined 5.55 ERA in 24 1/3 frames between the Mariners and Nationals. His track record on the mound prior to that unsightly campaign, however, was strong. From 2014-18, Strickland worked to a combined 2.91 ERA (3.40 FIP) with averages of 8.4 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and 0.7 HR/9.

Of course, Strickland has drawn as much if not more attention for other reasons. He incited a benches-clearing brawl in 2017 after throwing at Bryce Harper — an incident most believe to be the result of a years-old grudge against Harper for homering twice off Strickland in the 2014 NLDS. The next year, upon being pulled from a game after blowing a saved, Strickland punched a door out of frustration and sustained a broken right hand. He required surgery and missed the next six weeks.

Cordell, 28, was once a fairly well-regarded prospect with the Rangers and Brewers but hasn’t put it together in the Majors. He’s had 287 plate appearances at the game’s top level but managed just a .205/.267/.335 slash line in that time. Cordell does possess a more solid .266/.323/.455 slash in three Triple-A seasons, and he’s capable of playing any of the three outfield slots.

East Notes: Sale, Mets, Nats, Jays

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Boston’s rotation took a hit it may not recover from in 2020 with this week’s news that ace Chris Sale will undergo Tommy John surgery. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who has been faced with no shortage of adversity during his first several months atop the Red Sox’s baseball department, addressed the surgery decision this week, as Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald details. The left-handed Sale dealt with elbow problems last season, but Bloom and the Red Sox don’t regret putting off his procedure. “Based on everything that went on last summer, the symptoms, the imaging, it seemed very reasonable to me to take that time off and try to rest, strengthen everything and hope for a successful path forward,” Bloom said. “Obviously up until (he felt pain) in early March, there was every indication that he was doing great.” Indeed, it was just this Wednesday that Sale seemed to be progressing in his recovery from a flexor strain. That changed a day later, and now Boston will have to go without its best pitcher until sometime in 2021.

  • The Mets have optioned shortstop Andres Gimenez, right-hander Tyler Bashlor and catcher Ali Sanchez to Triple-A Syracuse, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets. Bashlor’s the lone member of the trio with major league experience, but he endured immense struggles as a Met last year. The most promising player in the group is the 21-year-old Gimenez, whom MLB.com ranks as the sport’s 84th-best prospect. Gimenez could be a long-term factor in the Mets’ infield, though he hasn’t advanced past Double-A ball yet. He batted .250/.309/.387 with nine home runs and 28 stolen bases over 479 plate appearances at that level last season.
  • The Nationals released reliever Hunter Strickland last weekend, and it turns out that the move was somewhat costly for the club. Had the Nats cut ties with Strickland a week earlier, they would have only had to pay him one-sixth of his $1.6MM salary, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com notes. By parting with Strickland when it did, though, Washington had to fork over a fourth of his money; as a result, it lost $133K or so, per Zuckerman.
  • The coronavirus led the Criminal Court Complex in Clearwater, Fla., to push back Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire’s court date to April 20, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet relays. McGuire had been scheduled to appear in court Monday as a result of his Feb. 7 arrest on a charge of “exposure of sexual organs,” a first-degree misdemeanor. He could face one year in jail and fines up to $1K.
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