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Mets Place Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil On Injured List

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3:03pm: The Mets have announced the moves, Healey tweets . They also transferred Lugo to the 60-day IL, meaning he won’t return before May 31.

12:01PM: Khalil Lee will be called up from Triple-A along with Fargas, according to Newsday’s Tim Healey (via Twitter).

11:31AM: The Mets will place both Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil on the 10-day injured list due to hamstring injuries, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports (Twitter link).  Outfield prospect Johneshwy Fargas will be called up from Triple-A to fill one of the spots on the active roster.

The news isn’t a surprise, as both Conforto and McNeil left yesterday’s game due to injury — Conforto with tightness in his right hamstring, and McNeil with a similar issue in his left hamstring.  McNeil already missed a couple of games earlier this week due to cramping problems, and he stated after yesterday’s game that his latest hamstring problem was related those previous cramps.

Usually two of the Mets’ more consistent offensive performers, both Conforto (.230/.356/.336 in 135 PA) and McNeil (.242/.336/.374 in 113 PA) have been pretty average thus far in 2021.  Conforto’s performance has been under a particular microscope, as he is scheduled to hit free agency this winter and extension talks with the Mets didn’t seem to gain much traction.

While Conforto and McNeil hadn’t been hitting like their usual selves, they at least represented two active regulars on a Mets team that now has 12 players on the injured list.  J.D. Davis and Seth Lugo could both soon be starting rehab assignments and ace right-hander Jacob deGrom could be back as early as Friday, but in the near term, the Mets are still very short-handed.

The outfield is a particular issue, with Dominic Smith and Kevin Pillar holding down the fort in left and center field, while converted infielders Jake Hager and Jose Peraza aren’t reliable fill-in options for Conforto.  This opens the door for Fargas, a full-time outfielder who is now set to make his MLB debut after eight minor league seasons.

An 11th-round pick for the Giants in the 2013 draft, Fargas spent much of his career in San Francisco’s farm system before signing with the Mets in the 2019-20 offseason.  The 26-year-old is known to have a solid glove (capable of playing all three outfield positions) and some notable speed, with 243 stolen bases in 344 attempts during his minor league career.  Fargas has hit .255/.331/.343 over 2289 plate appearances in the minors, and hadn’t reached Triple-A prior to this season.

Peraza and Hager can likely handle McNeil’s duties at second base until Davis returns, which will give the infield some breathing room as Jonathan Villar can then move from third base to factor into the second base picture.  Given this infield depth on hand, the Mets could opt to call up another outfielder to fill the other roster hole.  Outfielder Khalil Lee could be a candidate for another promotion, as he was recently called up and sent back down to Triple-A without making an appearance in any big league games.

Mets Promote Khalil Lee, Place Albert Almora On Injured List

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The Mets announced Wednesday that they’ve placed outfielder Albert Almora Jr. on the injured list with a shoulder contusion and promoted outfield prospect Khalil Lee for what will be his Major League debut. Almora sustained the injury on a full-sprint collision with the center field wall on what was very nearly a brilliant catch against the Orioles last night (video link). Almora briefly caught what was a deep drive off the bat of Austin Hays before the impact knocked the ball loose and resulted in a triple. He left the game for testing, and the fact that he escaped with what appears to be a relatively minor injury is welcome news.

In place of Almora, the Mets will turn to the 22-year-old Lee — a 2016 third-round pick by the Royals who ranked as one of the better prospects in the Kansas City organization before coming to the Mets by way of the three-team Andrew Benintendi trade over the winter. Lee opened the season in Triple-A but will get his first call to the big leagues after a six-game stint in Syracuse that saw him bat .250/.478/.313 in a small sample of 23 plate appearances.

Entering the season, Lee was generally regarded among the Mets’ ten best farmhands, ranking seventh at MLB.com, eighth at FanGraphs and ninth at Baseball America. Scouting reports on Lee praise his plus arm, above-average raw power and above-average speed, but his tools have been counteracted to an extent by his penchant for striking out. Lee has punched out in just over 28 percent of his professional plate appearances, though he’s also walked in nearly 12 percent of them. He can handle all three outfield positions and has a 53-steal campaign in 2019 under his belt, although both BA and FanGraphs note that’s more a product of his aggression on the bases than blistering raw speed.

Lee’s initial call to the big leagues comes at a time when the Mets have both Almora and Brandon Nimmo on the injured list, which should create some opportunities to get him into the lineup. He may not have an immediate path to a roster spot once the team is back up to full strength, but Mets fans will get their first look at a player who could factor into the team’s plans for the next several years at some point in the near future. Lee isn’t in the starting lineup today — Dominic Smith, Kevin Pillar and Michael Conforto are manning the outfield — but is available off the bench and figures to get into a game before too long.

Notes On The Andrew Benintendi Trade: Cordero, Profar, Lee

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The Royals had been in talks with the Red Sox (and as many as six other teams) about potentially acquiring Andrew Benintendi going all the way back to November, said assistant general manager JJ Picollo in an interview with Quinn Riley of Bostonsportswave.com. Another Royals’ assistant GM, Scott Sharp, did a lot of the legwork in terms of keeping Boston on the line, per Lynn Worthy of the Kansas City Star.

Despite the Royals’ belief in Franchy Cordero’s power potential – Picollo invoked the name of David Ortiz in comparison as a late-blooming power bat – Benintendi better fits the needs of their ball club. To replace the legendary Alex Gordon in left, the Royals had explored a pact with Jurickson Profar, notes Worthy. But the Padres’ three-year commitment to Profar ultimately proved a pricier acquisition than Benintendi by quite a bit in terms of pure dollars, especially since Boston is chipping in cash to help with his $6.6MM salary this season.

The Royals plan to utilize Benintendi near the top of the order, probably in the two-hole. The Royals have a noted need for on-base ability – Kansas City finished tied for 26th in the Majors with a .309 On-Base Percentage – and while Khalil Lee looked like a potential internal candidate to bring those skills to the table, the 26-year-old Benintendi is the more proven commodity. Even considering questions surrounding his recent performance and decline in foot speed, Benintendi has maintained an ability to get on base with a solidly above-average 10.5 percent career walk rate. If anything, Benintendi was over-patient in 2020 as his swing rate fell to 44.5 percent, though he also saw less strikes than ever with just a 44.1 percent zone rate in the extremely small sample season.

Regarding Lee, the Royals never spoke directly with the Mets about their speedy young outfield prospect. That leg of the deal was entirely cooked up by Boston, writes Ken Davidoff and Mike Puma of the New York Post. The Red Sox know Mets GM Zack Scott well considering his 16 years in the Boston organization, and they knew about his longstanding interest in Lee as a prospect. The Royals were aware of another team’s involvement, but didn’t hear about Lee’s ultimate destination until about 90 minutes before the deal was finalized.

Royals Acquire Andrew Benintendi In 3-Team Deal

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The Royals have announced a three-team deal to acquire outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Red Sox. Outfielder Franchy Cordero is part of the return going to Boston, along with righty Josh Winckowski, who’ll come from the Mets. The Boston org also receives three players to be named later, two from Kansas City and one from New York. On their end, the Mets will add K.C. outfield prospect Khalil Lee.

Benintendi is under team control through the 2022 season. He’ll earn $6.6MM for the upcoming campaign under a two-year arbitration agreement he made previously with the Sox. The Sox will pick up $2.8MM of the tab on Benintendi’s 2021 salary.

There’s no doubting Benintendi’s talent. He has largely produced above-average offensive numbers while delivering well-rated, versatile glovework across the outfield. Benintendi shone in particular in 2018, when he ran a .290/.366/.465 slash line with 16 home runs and 21 stolen bases over 661 plate appearances.

Unfortunately, Benintendi’s output has drooped a bit since that time. He was merely an average offensive performer in 2019, though his batted-ball figures (.330 wOBA vs. .348 xwOBA) suggested some poor fortune. And he struggled mightily in brief action last year, with a forgettable 14-game effort halted by what turned out to be a season-ending rib injury.

The Royals obviously believe a well-rested Benintendi can return to form. To reach his previous levels, the former sixth-overall pick will both need to rediscover his acumen at the plate and rebound from a multi-year decline in foot speed.

For the rights to Benintendi, the Royals will part with a package of potentially interesting but unestablished players. Cordero is 26 years of age, like Benintendi, but has only taken 315 MLB plate appearances over the past four seasons. Despite immense potential, he has been thwarted to this point by injuries and has yet to fully test himself at the game’s highest level.

The Sox will give Cordero a chance to find his footing in the bigs, though even if he’s successful he’ll only come with one more season of control than Benintendi. They’ll otherwise look solely to the future in this deal. Winckowski, whom the Mets acquired earlier in the offseason, has yet to crack the upper minors. He’s considered a potential back-of-the-rotation arm. It remains to be seen what names will be available in the PTBNL selection pool, but the Red Sox will have three chances to choose far-away young talent after getting a fresh look over the coming months.

For the Mets, it’s rather a straightforward situation. The club obviously preferred the future of Lee to that of Winckowski (and whatever PTBNL ends up moving in the deal). In addition to filling a void in the team’s prospect pool, Lee has some serious potential upside. He’s a certified burner, having swiped 53 bags at Double-A in 2019, but still has some developing to do as a hitter.

MLB.com’s Jon Morosi (via Twitter) first reported a deal was in the works. Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweeted an agreement was in place. Further details were reported by Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link), Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter), Heyman (Twitter link), Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (in a tweet), MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (on Twitter), Chad Jennings of The Athletic (in a tweet), and Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Quick Hits: Nationals, Schwarber, Martinez, Royals, Dozier, Red Sox, Prospects, Blalock, Yorke

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Kyle Schwarber is now a member of the Washington Nationals, in no small part because of Nats manager Dave Martinez, per ESPN. Schwarber, of course, won a World Series with Martinez as his bench coach in Chicago. In fact, Martinez was the Cubs bench coach for the first three years of Schwarber’s career. Said Schwarber, per ESPN, “I love [Martinez] to death. I’m so excited to play for this guy. He only wants to win.” Washington hopes Martinez can help Schwarber recapture some of the magic that made him a star in Chicago. Schwarber will also reunite with Starlin Castro, with whom he played as a rookie on the 2015 Cubs. Elsewhere…

  • Royals Assistant General Managers Scott Sharp and Jin Wong remain active in reaching out to agents about potential free agents, writes MLB.com’s Jason Beck. The Royals have been one of the more proactive teams in the Majors so far this winter, coming to terms with Mike Minor, Greg Holland, Michael A. Taylor, and Carlos Santana to Major League deals, all before the new year. The Royals are still potentially on the lookout for a left-handed bat, notes Beck. With just about $87MM in payroll commitments, the Royals have just a couple million before matching last year’s payroll. It wasn’t long ago, however, that Kansas City ran up payrolls over the century mark, so it’s possible they could extend yet another Major League contract, should the right deal fall their way.
  • Ryan O’Hearn, Franchy Cordero, and Nicky Lopez are the only pure left-handed bats on the roster, and only the latter has a guaranteed spot as a regular player. Adalberto Mondesi and Carlos Santana are switch-hitters who will be in the lineup every day, but both have traditionally fared better hitting from the right side. In terms of their targets, Beck also notes that the Royals are growing comfortable with Hunter Dozier as the regular third baseman. All that in mind, a lefty corner outfielder would fit nicely onto the roster. Should they not find a bat at an appropriate price point, however, the Royals are believers in the long-term ability of Khalil Lee, who is a candidate for playing time in 2021.
  • Red Sox prospect Bradley Blalock was a 32nd round draft choice in 2019, but after adding 10 pounds and roughly six miles per hour to his fastball, the 20-year-old right-hander will enter 2021 as a player to watch, per Alex Speier of Baseball America. Blalock is more-or-less just beginning his professional career, having signed out of high school for $250K in July of 2019. The Georgia native made just four appearances in rookie ball, giving up five earned runs on five hits and four walks while striking out four over 6 2/3 innings. Elsewhere in the system, the prospect gurus at MLB.com name Nick Yorke as a player who could rise quickly through Boston’s system, writing, “The California prep product has the sweet right-handed swing, bat speed, pitch recognition and discipline to potentially become a .300 hitter with 20 homers per season.” Yorke was the No. 17 overall selection of the 2020 draft.

 

Royals Release Glenn Sparkman

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NOV. 23: The Royals announced that they have placed Sparkman on unconditional release waivers.

NOV. 20: The Royals have announced a series of roster moves (via Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com). Right-hander Glenn Sparkman and left-hander Gabe Speier have each been designated for assignment, while right-hander Chance Adams cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Omaha. Those moves clear 40-man roster space for four players Kansas City added to protect them from the Rule 5 draft: outfielder Khalil Lee, catcher Sebastian Rivero, and left-handers Daniel Tillo and Angel Zerpa.

The 28-year-old Sparkman pitched in 31 games (23 starts) for Kansas City in 2019. He only managed a 6.02 ERA with a minuscule 13.4% strikeout rate in that time. The swingman started this season in the Royals’ bullpen but went down with a forearm strain after just five appearances.

Unlike Sparkman, Speier is exclusively a reliever. While he’s had some productive minor-league seasons, the 25-year-old hasn’t found much success at the game’s highest level. In seventeen MLB appearances for Kansas City over the past two seasons, Speier pitched to 7.62 ERA while walking an untenable 15.9% of opposing hitters.

Adams underwent Tommy John surgery last month and won’t pitch next season. The former well-regarded Yankee farmhand will try to work his way back into the mix in 2022.

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