Mets Rumors

Mets To Activate Max Scherzer On Tuesday

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | July 1, 2022 at 2:36pm CDT

Mets ace Max Scherzer tells reporters he’ll be activated from the injured list and return to the Major League mound next Tuesday when the team is in Cincinnati (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com).

It’ll be the first appearance in just over six weeks for Scherzer, who suffered an oblique strain in mid-May. That came with a six-to-eight week recovery timetable, and the eight-time All-Star wound up landing on the earlier end of that estimate. Needless to say, that’s a welcome development given Scherzer’s importance to the club.

At the time of the injury, New York sat seven games clear of their competitors in the NL East. That gap has been closed to 3 1/2 entering play Friday, although that’s in large part due to an excellent run from the defending champion Braves. The Mets have gone 21-15 in Scherzer’s absence, regressing a bit from their early-season form but generally continuing to play well in spite of the absence of their two co-aces. Jacob deGrom, of course, has yet to pitch this season after suffering a scapular injury during Spring Training.

Signed to a record-setting three-year contract over the winter, Scherzer had continued to thrive in his new environs before getting hurt. Through his first eight starts as a Met, he’s tossed 49 2/3 frames of 2.54 ERA ball, striking out an elite 30.6% of opposing hitters.

Mets Place Chris Bassitt On Injured List

By Steve Adams | July 1, 2022 at 2:21pm CDT

The Mets announced Friday that they’ve placed right-hander Chris Bassitt on the injured list and selected the contract of righty R.J. Alvarez from Triple-A Syracuse. No designation was given for Bassitt’s injury, suggesting that he was placed on the Covid-related injured list. The Mets also announced that pitcher Locke St. John cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Syracuse. He’d been designated for assignment earlier this week.

Acquired in an offseason trade that sent minor league righties JT Ginn and Adam Oller to the A’s, Bassitt has been a stabilizing presence in the Mets’ rotation amid several injuries. The steady right-hander has tossed 89 2/3 frames of 4.01 ERA ball over the life of 15 starts, though a pair of recent drubbings in San Diego and San Francisco (combined 15 earned runs in 7 2/3 innings) have skewed that number and masked how strong he’s been in his other 13 appearances.

That Bassitt has been placed on the Covid-related list doesn’t necessarily mean he’s tested positive. Players can also be placed on that list if they report symptoms or are deemed close contacts of someone who has tested positive. If Bassitt did test positive for Covid-19, the league’s health-and-safety protocols stipulate a 10-day absence or a pair of negative PCR tests and approval from a panel of three medical experts (team doctor, league-appointed doctor, MLBPA-appointed doctor).

Alvarez’s selection to the big league roster could bring about his first MLB appearance since way back in 2015. The righty pitched 28 innings from 2014-15 between the Padres and A’s and has been grinding through the Triple-A ranks since that time. Since his last MLB showing, he’s pitched in the minors for the A’s, Cubs, Rangers, Marlins, Brewers and now the Mets — for whom he logged a 2.49 ERA in 25 1/3 frames in Syracuse. Walks have been an issue for Alvarez this season, but he has a solid overall track record in parts of seven Triple-A campaigns.

Mets Select Ender Inciarte

By Anthony Franco | June 28, 2022 at 3:51pm CDT

The Mets announced they’ve selected outfielder Ender Inciarte onto the major league roster before this evening’s matchup with the Astros. Fellow outfielder Nick Plummer has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to clear an active roster spot, while the club designated left-hander Locke St. John for assignment to free space on the 40-man roster.

Inciarte earns his way to the majors for the first time this season. The 31-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Yankees during Spring Training, but he was released a couple weeks back. He latched on via non-roster deal with the crosstown Mets fairly quickly, and he gets an MLB nod after just four games with Syracuse. Inciarte hasn’t hit over that limited showing, but he had a capable .252/.336/.408 line in 34 contests with the Yankees’ top affiliate earlier in the season.

Those aren’t eye-popping offensive numbers, but roughly league average hitting like that would be more than serviceable given Inciarte’s defensive acumen. He’s claimed a trio of Gold Glove awards during his time in the majors, receiving the nod each season from 2016-18 while playing for the Braves. His public defensive metrics haven’t been as great over the past couple years, but he’s still capable of playing all three spots on the outfield. New York’s starting group of Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte is one of the league’s best, but Inciarte adds a glove-first option to the bench for manager Buck Showalter.

St. John loses his roster spot six weeks after being claimed off waivers from the Cubs. He hasn’t appeared in a big league game in Queens, spending the entirety of his Mets’ tenure on optional assignment to Syracuse. Over 10 Triple-A appearances, the 29-year-old has worked 15 2/3 innings of nine-run ball, striking out 18 while walking seven. He’d allowed four runs in seven innings with Chicago’s top affiliate earlier in the season.

A former Tigers’ draftee, St. John has eight MLB appearances under his belt. The first seven came with the Rangers three years ago, and he got into a game with the Cubs this April. The South Alabama product owns a 4.25 ERA in parts of three Triple-A seasons. He’s likely to hit the waiver wire over the coming days and would have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Andy Martino of SNY reported St. John’s designation shortly before the team announcement.

Mets Claim Kramer Robertson, Transfer Tylor Megill To 60-Day IL

By Anthony Franco | June 27, 2022 at 3:15pm CDT

The Mets have claimed infielder Kramer Robertson off waivers from the Braves, tweets Tim Healey of Newsday. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. That’s also true of reliever Colin Holderman, who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list and sent to the minors. To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Robertson, the Mets transferred Tylor Megill from the 15-day to the 60-day IL.

A former fourth-round pick of the Cardinals, Robertson made it to the big leagues last month. He appeared in two games, picking up his first plate appearance, before being optioned back out. St. Louis designated the 27-year-old for assignment not too long thereafter, and the Braves grabbed him off waivers.

Robertson has spent 13 games with Atlanta’s top affiliate in Gwinnett. Despite playing quite well over that stretch, he apparently landed on waivers over the weekend. (The club didn’t announce his removal from the 40-man roster at the time). The Braves’ attempt to slip Robertson through waivers and keep him in the organization as a non-roster player was thwarted by their division rivals.

In parts of three Triple-A seasons, the LSU product owns a .246/.369/.398 slash line. He’s walked in a stellar 14.3% of his plate appearances at the minors’ highest level and can cover anywhere on the infield. Robertson is in his first of three minor league option years, so the Mets will add a flexible upper level depth option if they keep him on the 40-man roster.

Megill’s IL transfer backdates to June 17, when he first landed on the shelf. The right-hander suffered a shoulder strain and won’t begin a throwing program until around the All-Star Break, and he’ll certainly need weeks to build up arm strength even in a best-case scenario. It never seemed likely he’d be back before mid-August given that initial timeline, and today’s move makes that official.

Mets Notes: McCann, Scherzer, Holderman, deGrom

By Mark Polishuk | June 25, 2022 at 10:24pm CDT

James McCann was activated from the 10-day injured list prior to today’s 5-3 win over the Marlins, and the catcher went 1-for-4 with a single and a run scored in his first game since May 10. McCann had to undergo surgery to fix a broken left hamate bone, costing him a little beyond the initial six-week recovery timeline. Nevertheless, McCann is back behind the plate and looking to finally get his Queens tenure on track. Since signing a four-year, $40.6MM free agent deal in the 2020-21 offseason, McCann has hit only .227/.290/.341 over his first 142 games and 476 plate appearances in a Mets uniform.

Neither Tomas Nido or Patrick Mazeika shone while McCann was out, so there isn’t much chance of McCann losing his starting job….unless the aggressive Mets either added a short-term catcher (i.e. a pending free agent like Willson Contreras) or perhaps promoted star prospect Francisco Alvarez. While Alvarez is crushing Double-A pitching, it would be bold to see the Mets promote him past Triple-A and directly to the majors, so the club would certainly prefer to just see McCann flash some of his good hitting form from the 2019-20 seasons.

Luis Castillo Drawing Early Trade Interest

By Anthony Franco | June 23, 2022 at 7:19pm CDT

The Reds have a pair of the top trade candidates on this summer’s market, with starting pitchers Luis Castillo and Tyler Mahle each midway through their penultimate seasons of club control. Rotation-needy teams will be in discussion with Cincinnati general manager Nick Krall and his staff over the next six weeks, and a few have already expressed early interest in Castillo.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post lists the Twins, Mets and Padres among the clubs in the market. That surely won’t be an exhaustive list, as virtually every contender could find room in their starting five for a pitcher of that caliber. Castillo is playing this season on an affordable $7.35MM salary (a bit more than half of which is still owed), so most clubs shouldn’t have an issue fitting him in the picture financially.

Castillo has been one of the sport’s more consistently productive arms over the past few years. Despite spending his entire MLB career with a team that plays in one of the most hitter-friendly home ballparks, the righty has an ERA below 4.00 in five of his six seasons. That includes this year’s 3.71 mark through nine starts and 51 innings.

The 29-year-old’s underlying numbers haven’t been quite as strong in 2022 as they’d been in prior years. His 22.9% strikeout rate and 10.5% swinging strike percentage are right around this season’s respective league averages for starters. Castillo’s 49.6% ground-ball rate is strong but down from the 55-58% range in which he sat every year from 2019-21. He’s also lost a tick on the average velocity of his four-seam and sinking fastballs, perhaps related to a bout of shoulder soreness that cost him the first month of the year.

While Castillo’s first couple months might be a bit underwhelming relative to his lofty standards, there’ll still be no shortage of demand. Even his slightly diminished fastball checks in north of 96 MPH on average. His performance this season has remained solid — his 3.71 ERA and 3.88 SIERA are below the respective 4.10 and 4.09 league marks for starters — and the native of the Dominican Republic has shown impact potential in the past. Between 2019-21, Castillo ranked among the top 25 qualified pitchers in ERA and strikeout rate and posted the sport’s second-highest grounder percentage.

With that kind of resume, it’s no surprise rival teams are in contact with the Reds already. The Twins are among the most straightforward candidates for a rotation pickup, and they also figure to explore the market for other high-end arms like Mahle and the A’s Frankie Montas. Minnesota enters play Thursday percentage points back of the Guardians in the AL Central, with the White Sox looming as a divisional threat four games behind them. Minnesota’s rotation started strong but has been tagged for a 4.80 ERA over the past month, a stretch that’s coincided with injured list stints for Bailey Ober and Chris Paddack (the latter of whom is done for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery).

The Mets, on the other hand, have a star-studded rotation when healthy. Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tylor Megill are all currently on the injured list, and they’ve been on the periphery of the market for most available stars over the past twelve months. Scherzer is expected back imminently (perhaps as soon as this weekend), while deGrom continues to progress from the scapula stress reaction he suffered during Spring Training. The club is hopeful he’ll back before the August 2 deadline, but Megill is likely to be on the shelf beyond that point.

One could argue that New York should prioritize areas beyond rotation help, but the Padres’ presence in the Castillo market illustrates that even teams without a clear need figure to at least perform due diligence. San Diego already has an excellent six-man staff of Joe Musgrove, Sean Manaea, Yu Darvish, MacKenzie Gore, Mike Clevinger and Blake Snell. That’s forced offseason signee Nick Martinez into a swing role, and prevailing opinion is they’re likelier to deal from that surplus than add another impact starter. Between their rotation depth and the fact they’re right up against the $230MM base competitive balance tax threshold, the Friars feel like a longshot to land an arm of Castillo’s caliber. That was perhaps true of Manaea as well, however, and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller has shown time and again he’s willing to act boldly to land players the organization desires.

No Castillo deal is imminent, of course, and there’ll be plenty more teams in the bidding over the coming weeks. The Reds don’t have to move either he or Mahle with an additional season of control, but their trade value will probably never again be as high as it’ll be this summer. At 23-46, Cincinnati has no chance of contending this year. Moving Castillo and/or Mahle would deal a key blow to the 2023 roster, but this year’s struggles may hint at a broader overhaul being necessary. The Reds didn’t go into this season intending to rebuild, but their efforts to remain competitive while subtracting some key players to pare back payroll were dashed out of the gate by a 3-18 showing in April.

Outrights: Lowther, Katoh

By Steve Adams | June 22, 2022 at 2:04pm CDT

We’ll keep track of some recent players who’ve cleared waivers following earlier DFAs in this post…

The Orioles announced that left-hander Zac Lowther went unclaimed on outright waivers and has been subsequently assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He was designated for assignment a week ago, when Baltimore claimed infielder Jonathan Arauz off waivers from the Red Sox. Lowther, 26, was a second-round pick by the Orioles back in 2017 and for a few years rated as one of their system’s most promising arms. It was easy to see why, as he breezed through the low minors, reaching Double-A as a 23-year-old in 2019 and hurling 148 frames of 2.55 ERA ball with a 26% strikeout rate (albeit against an elevated 10.6% walk rate). Since moving up to the Triple-A level, however, the former Xavier University standout has been clobbered for 61 earned runs in 65 1/3 frames. He’s endured similar struggles in his limited Major League action, pitching to a grisly 6.94 ERA with 15 walks, five hit batsmen and six homers allowed in just 35 innings.
Infielder Gosuke Katoh passed through outright waivers and has been assigned to the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, per the team’s transactions log at MLB.com. Katoh was claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays in early May, and while he was recalled for a series later that month, he didn’t get into a game before being optioned back to Syracuse three days later. The Mets needed a 40-man roster spot last week when selecting veteran reliever Tommy Hunter, and Katoh proved to be the roster casualty. The longtime Yankees farmhand made his MLB debut with the Blue Jays earlier this year after signing a minor league deal and went 1-for-7 with three walks in a brief cup of coffee. Katoh entered the season with a strong track record in 197 Triple-A games between the Yankees and Padres, but he’s gone just 4-for-46 in 55 plate appearances between the Triple-A clubs for the Jays and Mets this year. He’ll remain on hand as a depth option in Syracuse and hope to start trending toward the .306/.388/.474 form he showed in Triple-A a year ago.

Mets Notes: Scherzer, deGrom, Megill

By Anthony Franco | June 21, 2022 at 9:47pm CDT

The Mets co-aces each hit a milestone in their recoveries from injury today. Max Scherzer made a rehab start with Double-A Binghamton, tossing 3 1/3 innings and 65 pitches. It’s the first game action for the three-time Cy Young winner since he suffered an oblique strain in mid-May.

Jon Heyman and Mark Sanchez of the New York Post wrote over the weekend that Scherzer could return to the big league staff as soon as Sunday. Whether he’s back that quickly remains to be seen, but it’s possible he could beat the initial timeline. The club originally estimated his recovery at six-to-eight weeks; this Thursday will mark the five-week mark since the injury. Even if Scherzer does wind up requiring one more rehab start before returning to the majors, the Mets surely have to be happy with his current situation considering the initial expectations.

The team announced that Jacob deGrom threw a live batting practice session at their Florida complex (via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). It’s the first time deGrom has thrown to hitters since he was diagnosed with a stress reaction in his scapula at the end of Spring Training. The four-time All-Star has been working off the mound for the past couple weeks, and he continues to progress toward an eventual return. A specific timeline for him logging game action is to be determined, and deGrom is expected to require at least three rehab starts before getting back on the Citi Field mound.

In addition to Scherzer and deGrom, New York will be without Tylor Megill for an extended period. The right-hander suffered a shoulder strain and landed on the injured list last week, with the club announcing he’d be shut down from throwing entirely for at least a month.

Megill only managed a 5.01 ERA through nine starts before the injury, but he struck out a quality 27% of batters faced against a 6.3% walk rate. He’s started all 27 of his major league appearances dating back to last year’s call-up, but the Mets have at least given some thought to using him in shorter stints. Ken Rosenthal suggested on this week’s Athletic Baseball Show that New York had some internal discussions about the possibility of converting Megill into a high-leverage setup role once Scherzer and deGrom returned to join Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker, Chris Bassitt and depth starters David Peterson and Trevor Williams.

Rosenthal noted those hypotheticals were kicked around before Megill’s injury, which could throw a wrench into any plans. It seems likely he’d require less of a rehab buildup to work out of relief than as a starter, perhaps increasing the appeal of such a move though. Either way, Megill won’t be on an MLB mound for an extended period, and intervening events will no doubt affect the club’s course of action. He’s likely to be out through the August 2 trade deadline, and New York figures to explore the market for both starting and relief help over the coming weeks.

Mets, Ender Inciarte Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams and Anthony Franco | June 20, 2022 at 6:41pm CDT

6:41pm: Inciarte will earn a prorated $1.1MM salary for any time he spends in the majors with the Mets, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com (on Twitter).

3:34pm: The Mets have agreed to a minor league deal with veteran outfielder Ender Inciarte, reports SNY’s Andy Martino (Twitter link). The longtime Braves center fielder spent the first portion of the season with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate but was released last week.

Inciarte has yet to crack the major leagues this season after signing a minor league deal with the Yankees over the offseason. He generally played well over his Triple-A time, posting a .252/.336/.408 line with four home runs and stolen bases apiece through 116 trips to the plate. Inciarte walked at a robust 11.2% clip while going down on strikes only 14.7% of the time, and his overall offensive output was about league average.

Continued passable production at the plate could eventually get Inciarte another look in the majors, as he’s a well-regarded defensive player. A three-time Gold Glove award winner with Atlanta, he’s capable of suiting up at all three outfield spots but has seen most of his time in either center or left field. Inciarte’s defensive numbers have fallen from their elite heights as he’s gotten into his 30’s, but he’s still rated average or slightly above with the glove in recent years.

The bigger concern is that Inciarte’s production at the plate had fallen sharply since the 2020 campaign kicked off. The lefty-swinger has never been a great hitter, but his .286/.338/.390 career line through 2019 was more than sufficient considering his defensive acumen. Between 2020-21, however, Inciarte managed only a .200/.267/.277 mark in 220 trips to the dish. That eventually resulted in his release from the Braves, and subsequent non-roster pacts with the Reds and Yankees haven’t resulted in an MLB opportunity.

The Mets have one of the game’s best outfields, with Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte suiting up on a regular basis. Backups Nick Plummer and Dominic Smith are better suited in the corners, and the center field-capable Travis Jankowski underwent hand surgery late last month. Inciarte adds some experienced depth to the upper minors alongside Khalil Lee, who presumably remains ahead on the depth chart by virtue of his spot on the 40-man roster.

Mets Recall Dominic Smith

By Steve Adams | June 20, 2022 at 11:57am CDT

With teams cutting their pitching staffs down to 13 on Monday, the Mets announced that they’ve recalled first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith from Triple-A Syracuse and placed righty Seth Lugo on the paternity list. Another arm will have to be sent out once Lugo returns from the paternity list later this week.

Smith was optioned to Triple-A earlier in the month after struggling through limited playing time and publicly acknowledging (when asked) that he’d prefer an opportunity to play every day — be it with the Mets or another club. He’s found more of a rhythm down in Syracuse, logging regular reps and hitting .266/.347/.438 with a pair of homers, five doubles, an 8.3% walk rate and a 16.7% strikeout rate in 72 plate appearances. Smith absolutely tore through International League pitching for the first two weeks after his demotion, though he’s fallen into a 3-for-24 skid over his past five games.

That’s a far cry from Smith’s 2019-20 form, when he was one of the NL’s best all-around hitters, posting a combined .299/.366/.571 slash with 21 homers in 396 trips to the plate. However, it’s also markedly better than the numbers he produced in 2021 while playing through a small tear in his shoulder (.244/.304/.363) or earlier this season in a heavily limited role (.186/.287/.256).

It’s possible this will be only a short-term move for Smith, as there’s still no clear path to regular playing time for him on the big league roster. Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte are one of the game’s most productive outfield trios, while Pete Alonso is enjoying some of the best production of his career at first base. J.D. Davis is hitting .339/.391/.452 over his past 20 games, mostly operating as the Mets’ designated hitter. One could argue in favor of Smith seeing regular DH work and Davis taking playing time from the struggling Eduardo Escobar at the hot corner, but Escobar was generally hitting fine before falling into a five-game hitless slump — and Davis’ defensive shortcomings are well-documented.

Ultimately, a trade of some sort seems like the most straightforward path to uncluttering the corner infield/designated hitter mix in Queens, with Smith or Davis standing as the most obvious possibilities to change hands. That said, there’s no pressure for the Mets to make an immediate move, and Smith could simply be optioned out again if the Mets want to add some more defensive versatility than he brings to the table. Both Smith and Davis have multiple minor league options remaining, meaning they can be freely optioned this year and next. It’s a relatively expensive pair of depth options to carry when there isn’t clear space for both on the 26-man roster — Smith is earning $3.95MM, Davis $2.76MM — but payroll issues of that nature are less concerning to the deep-pocketed Mets than to other clubs.

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