Mets Rumors

Unvaccinated Mets And Yankees Not Currently Allowed To Play Home Games

By Darragh McDonald | March 15, 2022 at 3:41pm CDT

Members of the Yankees and Mets that are not vaccinated against COVID-19 are not eligible to play baseball in New York City, per a report from Stefan Bondy and Dennis Young of the New York Daily News. As noted in the piece, the Yankees and Mets will be affected by the city’s private employer mandate in the same way as Kyrie Irving, whose unvaccinated status has left him ineligible to play home games for the Brooklyn Nets or games hosted by the New York Knicks. (For separate reasons, Irving is also ineligible to cross the Canadian border to play the Toronto Raptors.)

A New York City Hall spokesperson tells the reporters that, although the mandates could change along with the reality of the pandemic, there will not be special exemptions given out to the teams.

This could potentially have significant on-field ramifications for both clubs. As noted in the piece, it is believed that each club has, or perhaps had, some key members still not having received a vaccine. If any of them decide to follow in Irving’s footsteps and refuse to get the necessary shots, they could find themselves sitting out half of their team’s games, or more, when Toronto-based games are factored in.

The Yankees released comment to various reporters, including Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, which reads, “On behalf of the Yankees, [team president] Randy Levine is working with City Hall and all other appropriate officials on this matter. We will have no further comment.” Adler also relays a quote from Aaron Judge, who is rumored to be unvaccinated, on the matter:

“I’m so focused on getting to the first game of spring training. So I think we’ll cross that bridge when the time comes. Right now, so many things could change. So I’m not really too worried about that right now.”

It was recently reported that the new CBA contained a detail that players who miss games in Toronto because of vaccination status will not be paid nor receive service time for those games. Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports that the same would apply here. It’s perhaps worth noting that Judge currently has five years and 51 days of MLB service time, meaning he needs 121 more days to reach six years and hit free agency. If he were to miss more than half the 186-day season for vaccine reasons and not accrue service time, he would come up short, thus delaying his free agency by another year.

Marly Rivera of ESPN adds some more information, (Twitter links) saying that this has been known for about 48 hours now, with the players’ union and team both working with the Mayor’s office. Both camps are confident the situation will be resolved before Opening Day. The Yankees are scheduled to play their first home game April 7th, while the Mets won’t be at home until April 15th.

Mets To Sign Mike Montgomery To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | March 15, 2022 at 1:56pm CDT

4:01 pm: If Montgomery cracks the big league team, he’ll earn a salary of $1.1MM, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

1:56 pm: Left-handed pitcher Mike Montgomery is signing a minor league deal with the Mets, per Robert Murray of FanSided. The deal is pending a physical and presumably comes with an invitation to big league camp.

Montgomery and the Mets also connected on a minor league deal a year ago, but he never cracked the roster. He opted out and ended up signing another minor league deal with the Yankees, which he also opted out of, before heading to Korea. He made 11 starts for the Samsung Lions, putting up an ERA of 5.37.

The southpaw spent the previous six seasons in the majors, appearing in 183 games from 2015 to 2020, making 70 starts and logging 541 innings with the Mariners, Cubs and Royals. His career ERA is 3.84, though it hovered around 5.00 in 2019 and 2020. His career strikeout rate is 18%, along with a walk rate of 8.8%. The highlight of that period, however, was Montgomery recording the final out of the 2016 World Series for the Cubs.

Now 32, Montgomery has worked both out of the rotation and bullpen in his career, meaning he could function as depth in either capacity for the Mets. The rotation is strong on paper but comes with loads of uncertainty. Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Chris Bassitt and Carlos Carrasco figure to be the front four, though they all dealt with injuries last year to varying degrees. Taijuan Walker underwent knee surgery in January and may not be ready for Opening Day. If any of that core five need to miss time, the club could also turn to Tylor Megill, David Peterson, Jordan Yamamoto, Sean Reid-Foley or Yennsy Diaz, who are all on the 40-man roster.

The path to a job in the bullpen is much more open, however, as the club doesn’t really have a lefty on the roster projected to be part of the relief corps. Alex Claudio was signed to a minor league deal in January and would likely be Montgomery’s chief competition in that respect. The Mets could continue this wild offseason with another addition, though there aren’t many high profile lefties remaining on the free agent market, with Andrew Chafin and Tony Watson perhaps being the most notable.

Mets Sign Adam Ottavino

By TC Zencka and Darragh McDonald | March 14, 2022 at 6:05pm CDT

The Mets announced Monday evening that they’re signed right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino. It’s reportedly a a one-year contract worth $4MM, plus $1MM of performance bonuses for the 36-year-old. Ottavino is represented by WME Sports.

Ottavino broke into the big leagues as a Cardinal but was claimed on waivers by the Rockies and ended up staying for seven seasons from 2012 to 2018. In that time, the righty got into 361 games, throwing 390 2/3 innings with an ERA of 3.41, strikeout rate of 27.6% and walk rate of 10.1%. His last season with the Rockies was especially noteworthy, as he had the best year of his career at the age of 32. In that campaign, he threw 77 2/3 innings with a 2.43 ERA. His 11.7% walk rate was a few ticks above league average, but he offset that with an incredible 36.2% strikeout rate.

Based on that tremendous late-career breakout, the Yankees signed Ottavino to a three-year, $27MM contract. In 2019, Ottavino largely made good on the faith the Yankees showed in him. In 66 1/3 innings, he lowered his ERA to 1.90, despite his strikeout rate falling to 31.1% and his walk rate jumping to 14.1%. In the shortened 2020 season, however, things took an ugly turn, as he put up an ERA of 5.89 over 18 1/3 innings, with his strikeout rate falling to 29.4%.

Prior to the 2021 campaign, the Yankees sent Ottavino to the Red Sox, mostly because they were nearing the luxury tax and wanted his salary off the books. In 62 innings for Boston last year, his ERA was 4.21, not as bad as the small sample from 2020, but definitely a notch below his 2018-19 stretch. His strikeout rate also dipped for a third straight season, coming in at 25.7%.

For the Mets, this is yet another move in what has been an extremely busy offseason for them. They upgraded their lineup by signing Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Eduardo Escobar. They also improved their rotation by signing Max Scherzer before the lockout and trading for Chris Bassitt yesterday. Now they’ve added Ottavino to a bullpen that already features Edwin Diaz, Trevor May, Miguel Castro and Seth Lugo. Those are all right-handed options, meaning that the club could look to supplement that group with a lefty, if their wild roster revamp isn’t yet complete.

To create space on the 40-man roster, New York outrighted right-hander Antonio Santos, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The Mets had claimed the 25-year-old off waivers from the Rockies in November, but he didn’t stick on the New York 40-man all winter. He doesn’t have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment, so he’ll remain in the organization as non-roster depth.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post first reported the agreement and its terms.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Pete Alonso Involved In Car Accident, Not Expected To Miss Time

By Anthony Franco | March 14, 2022 at 11:21am CDT

Mets star Pete Alonso told reporters (including Tim Britton of the Athletic) this morning that he was involved in a scary car accident on his way to camp in Port St. Lucie last night. According to Alonso, another vehicle ran a red light and struck his car, which flipped over three times.

While Alonso seemed understandably shaken up when discussing the matter (Anthony DiComo of MLB.com provides video of his media session), he has fortunately come away without serious injury. He partook in some Spring Training drills this morning and doesn’t anticipate missing any time.

“Every day’s a gift. Man, today’s really special for me,” the 2019 home run champ said. “I just had a blast out there today, doing work, seeing everybody. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier showing up to Spring Training. It’s truly amazing how I’m here. I’m so fortunate that everyone’s ok.” Alonso conceded the incident inflicted “a lot of emotional toll” but noted he’s “here, happy and healthy.”

Alonso went on to credit his wife, who was driving another vehicle behind him, for managing the accident in its immediate aftermath. Fortunately, it seems everyone came out of what could’ve been a disastrous situation alright.

Mets, deGrom Expected To Talk Contract After Season

By Darragh McDonald | March 14, 2022 at 10:16am CDT

TODAY, 10:16am: Talking to reporters today, deGrom said “it would be really cool” to be with the Mets for his entire career, but “the plan is to exercise” his opt-out clause after the season “and be in constant contact in the offseason with the Mets and Steve Cohen and the front office.”

YESTERDAY, 6:52pm: Approximately eight months from now, Jacob deGrom can opt out of the remainder of his contract and become a free agent. Despite that, the Mets aren’t seriously thinking about extending him for now, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Team owner Steve Cohen said they won’t be engaging in extension talks until “the appropriate time,” as quoted by DiComo. “We’re going to play the season and then we’ll figure that out, and Jake will do what he does,” Cohen said. “We love Jake, and we’ll figure it out at some point.”

Despite already being one of the best pitchers in baseball over the previous seven seasons, deGrom seemed to be taking his game to new heights last year. Through 15 starts and 92 innings, deGrom had a miniscule ERA of 1.08, along with comical strikeout and walk rates of 45.1% and 3.4%, producing an incredible 4.9 fWAR in that time. Unfortunately, injuries put him on the shelf and he didn’t make a start after July 7th.

That duality is surely what’s giving the club some hesitation about taking on the added risk of another extension. If deGrom were to undergo another injured-marred campaign, he could potentially decide not to opt out of his contract, leaving the Mets on the hook for $34.5MM in 2023. Under this scenario, the club could wait until the end of that year and decide whether or not to exercise a $34.5MM club option for 2024. This option doesn’t appear to have a buyout, making the wait-and-see path a low-risk option for the club.

deGrom was something of a late bloomer, not making his debut until just before his 26th birthday. That means that, despite only pitching in eight MLB seasons, he will turn 34 in June. Under the scenario where deGrom doesn’t opt out, the club could already control him through his age-36 season. However, there’s also the alternate scenario where deGrom does opt out and leaves the club in November. Since he was producing at an elite level as recently as a year ago, it’s still entirely possible that he could opt out, hit the open market and easily beat the money still owed to him. After all, deGrom’s new teammate Max Scherzer just signed a record-setting $130MM deal with an AAV of $43.33 at the age of 37. deGrom still has the potential to hit the open market three years younger than that.

At this early stage of spring, the early reports indicate that everything seems to be okay with deGrom health-wise, as general manager Billy Eppler found no cause for concern when speaking to the training and coaching staff. Regardless, it seems like the preference of the club is to wait and see before taking on that additional risk. Even if deGrom does stay healthy and opts out, the club has certainly not been shy about spending in recent years, making it entirely possible that the worst-case scenario is they just have keep spending to keep deGrom around.

Mets Notes: Luxury Tax, deGrom, Hand, Kikuchi, Nimmo

By Mark Polishuk | March 13, 2022 at 4:25pm CDT

The new collective bargaining agreement included a new penalty tier for teams that exceed the luxury tax ($230MM this season) by more than $60MM. This tier was almost immediately nicknamed “the Steve Cohen tax,” in regards to how the Mets owner has been willing to spend to the utmost on upgrades for his team’s roster. Cohen himself isn’t too worried about either the new tax threshold or being personally attached to it by name, telling The New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar and other reporters that “the way I describe it is, it’s better than a bridge being named after you or something like that.”

While $290MM+ is “still a lot of money to spend on a payroll, I don’t feel like it’s so confining that I can’t live with it,” Cohen said, noting that the Mets will indeed “probably” exceed the top tax threshold. Roster Resource projects that the Mets are already around the $285.5MM mark for this season’s tax number, and with some needs still left to address on the roster, it isn’t any surprise that Cohen isn’t suddenly putting the brakes on spending. Since the Mets didn’t exceed the tax threshold last season, they would be penalized at the “first-timer” rate of 80 percent on the overage of any dollar spent beyond $290MM, plus their top pick in the 2022 draft would be moved back 10 places.

Mets Acquire Chris Bassitt From A’s

By Mark Polishuk | March 12, 2022 at 11:59pm CDT

The Mets have acquired right-hander Chris Bassitt from the Athletics in a deal now officially announced by both teams ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report that Bassitt was on the way to New York, while Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported Oakland will receive right-handed pitching prospects J.T. Ginn and Adam Oller in return for the 33-year-old All-Star.

Bassitt had been tabbed as one of the likelier players to be switching teams this offseason, as he had only one year of arbitration control remaining (at a projected $8.8MM salary) before free agency, and the A’s were known to be looking to cut payroll. With the Mets searching for further pitching upgrades, Bassitt seemed like a logical target for New York to add to a rotation that also saw Max Scherzer come to Queens prior to the lockout.

With Scherzer and Jacob deGrom atop the rotation, Bassitt will slot right alongside Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco in what is now looking like one of baseball’s better rotations if everyone is healthy. Granted, that is a big if, given how deGrom and Carrasco each missed big chunks of the 2021 season due to injury, and even Scherzer battled a dead arm during the postseason.

Bassitt himself had a major injury scare last August when he was hit in the face with a line drive and needed surgery to repair facial fractures. After a rather remarkable recovery, Bassitt even returned to the mound for two abbreviated starts after spending over a month on the injured list. That comeback capped off a very impressive season for Bassitt, who has been a solid performer for most of his seven MLB seasons, and quietly been one of baseball’s better pitchers over the last two years.

After an eighth-place finish in AL Cy Young voting in the abbreviated 2020 season, Bassitt continued his fine form over 157 1/3 frames in 2021, resulting in a tenth-place spot in the AL Cy race and his first All-Star berth. Bassitt posted a 3.15 ERA, 25% strikeout rate, and 6.1% walk rate, as well as some very strong hard-hit ball numbers. Not known for his high velocity or big spin rates, Bassitt has a five-pitch mix that has generally done a good job of keeping hitters off-balance.

These are some very solid numbers for a No. 3 starter, and it provides the Mets with some front-of-the-rotation caliber pitching should deGrom, Carrasco, or any other pitchers miss time. Adding Bassitt also lengthens the pitching mix as a whole, as the Mets can now deploy Tylor Megill and David Peterson primarily as spot starters, Triple-A depth, or even long relievers depending on the team’s needs.

Between Bassitt and free agent signings Starling Marte and Mark Canha, there is a distinct shade of Oakland green-and-gold coming to the 2022 Mets roster. Mets team president Sandy Alderson has longstanding ties to the A’s organization, of course, working as Oakland’s GM from 1983-97 and then returning to the organization as an adviser in 2019-20 before the Mets brought Alderson back when Steve Cohen took over the franchise.

It is quite possible that tonight’s trade could be the first of many for Billy Beane and company over the next few weeks, depending on just how far the A’s go with their latest selloff. While the club has always resisted a complete teardown in Beane’s long tenure, such prominent names as Sean Manaea, Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, and Frankie Montas could also potentially be heading out the door. Manaea is entering his final year of team control, while Olson/Chapman/Montas each have two remaining seasons of arbitration eligibility.

In reloading the roster, the A’s have added a pair of new arms. Ginn is the highest-touted of the duo, ranked fifth by MLB Pipeline and sixth by Baseball America on their lists of the Mets’ top 30 prospects. A second-round pick in the 2020 draft, the Mississippi State product had a 3.03 ERA over 92 combined innings with New York’s A- and high-A affiliates in 2021. It was a solid performance for Ginn’s first pro season, and perhaps even more impressive considering that Ginn was returning from Tommy John surgery in early 2020. Ginn has a quality fastball (usually in the low 90s but has reached into the 95-97mph range) and sinker, plus he generates a lot of ground balls.

As noted by Newsday’s Tim Healey, with Ginn now on his way to the Athletics, the Mets have now parted ways with five of their six players selected in the 2020 draft — the last amateur draft under the purview of former Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen. Fifth-rounder Eric Orze is the last player remaining, as Ginn, Pete Crow-Armstrong (for Javier Baez), Isaiah Greene (for Carrasco and Francisco Lindor), and Matthew Dyer (for Rich Hill) were all traded in high-profile deals, while Anthony Walters was released.

Oller was originally a 20th-round pick for the Pirates in 2016, and his career includes stints in indy ball and the Australian Baseball League as well as minor league stretches with the Bucs, Giants, and (for the 2021 season) Mets. A starter for the bulk of his minor league career, Oller has a 4.05 ERA over 380 1/3 career innings on the farm, and he reached both the Double-A and Triple-A levels for the first time in 2021. It stands to reason that the 27-year-old could serve as some rotation depth for the A’s this season, as a big league-ready arm that can step in for some starts should a need arise (via injury or more trades).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NL West Notes: Weaver, Mets, Roberts, Dodgers, Giants, La Stella

By Mark Polishuk | March 11, 2022 at 6:48pm CDT

The Mets “have done some background work on” Diamondbacks righty Luke Weaver as New York continues to explore trade possibilities, SNY’s Andy Martino reports (via Twitter). A right shoulder strain limited Weaver to only 65 2/3 innings last season, giving him two injury-plagued seasons sandwiched around a dismal 2020 campaign that saw him post a 6.58 ERA. Despite these recent issues, Weaver is still controlled via arbitration for the next two seasons (projected for $2.7MM in 2022) and has shown some signs of quality throughout his career in Arizona and St. Louis, so the D’Backs might still want to see if Weaver can get healthy and be an inexpensive rebound candidate at the back of their rotation.

For the Mets, Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker and Carlos Carrasco are penciled into the top four rotation spots, and Tylor Megill and David Peterson are the favorites for the fifth starter’s role. Weaver brings his own set of question marks, but he would add depth to a group that also has plenty of injury concerns. Given how aggressive the Mets will likely continue to be in their offseason endeavors, New York is likely to check in on just about any pitching option available, whether a bigger name in free agency or on the trade market, or perhaps a more modest acquisition like Weaver.

Multiple Teams Showed Pre-Lockout Interest In J.D. Davis

By Darragh McDonald | March 10, 2022 at 9:51pm CDT

The Mets were one of the most active teams in the pre-lockout frenzy, adding Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha. Those signings, along with Robinson Cano’s return from serving a season-long PED suspension, have given them a crowded position player mix. This has led to some speculation that the club could end up moving a player like Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith or J.D. Davis, with all three of those players appearing on MLBTR’s list of the likeliest post-lockout trade candidates. It seems that Davis was garnering his fair share of attention before the lockout, as Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the Cubs, Red Sox, Twins and Athletics all had interest in his services before the transactions freeze took hold in December.

The fact that various teams are interested in Davis is hardly surprising, given his excellent offensive skills. Since being acquired by the Mets from the Astros prior to the 2019 season, Davis has made 893 plate appearances in 269 games and has a line of .288/.373/.472. That’s good enough for a wRC+ of 130, fifth-best among third basemen with at least 850 plate appearances in that time, ahead of big names like Rafael Devers and Josh Donaldson.

Unfortunately, Davis hasn’t been as good on the other side of the ball, as advanced defensive metrics don’t look kindly upon his work at either third base or left field. For instance, Statcast’s Outs Above Average gave him -8 in 2019, followed by -6 in the shortened 2020 season and -3 in the 2021 campaign, despite playing just 73 games due to injury.

Despite those flaws, Davis should still hold plenty of appeal. The 28-year-old (29 in April) qualified for arbitration in 2021 due to reaching Super Two status and earned a salary of $2.1MM. Due to injuries holding him back last year, he is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a modest raise to $2.7MM in 2022 and can be controlled for two seasons beyond that. Those factors, combined with his bat, could make him a fit on plenty of rosters, especially now that the universal designated hitter is official.

The Cubs have spent most of the past year-plus subtracting from their roster, trading away Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez and others. Since then, however, they have shown that they don’t have designs on totally tanking, as evidenced by their pre-lockout pickups of Wade Miley, Yan Gomes and Marcus Stroman. They currently have Patrick Wisdom pencilled in at the hot corner after a nice breakout campaign last year. However, he struck out in a whopping 40.8% of his plate appearances, making it questionable if he can be a long-term solution at the position.

There has been some speculation that Rafael Devers is destined to be moved off of third base in the long run, due to his defensive limitations, though Davis isn’t really an upgrade in that department. However, putting Davis in left field could be an option, if the club feels he would fit in front of the Green Monster. Jarren Duran struggled in his debut last season and could perhaps be sent to Triple-A for more reps there. Or perhaps the lefty Durran and righty Davis could complement each other in a platoon capacity.

The Twins have Josh Donaldson at third but he’s also seen significant time at DH, only taking the field in 92 of his 135 games last year. Given his age, 36, and injury history, it would make sense to acquire another option for the hot corner to help keep him healthy. Luis Arraez could fill that role at the moment, but he hasn’t produced the same level of offense as Davis thus far in his career. There also could be a path to playing time on the grass, as youngsters Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach both had tepid debuts last year, putting up a wRC+ of 93 and 89, respectively.

The Athletics already have an excellent third baseman, technically, in Matt Chapman. However, it’s widely expected that the club is about to embark upon a major selloff, with Chapman being one of those most often mentioned as a trade candidate due to his increasing salary and two remaining years of control. Acquiring Davis could be a relatively affordable way of filling Chapman’s absence after a trade. The club also has big question marks in its outfield right now, after Marte and Canha both went to the Mets. Ramon Laureano will be in center field eventually, but first has to serve 27 more games of his PED suspension. Seth Brown had a decent campaign, but none of Stephen Piscotty, Chad Pinder, Skye Bolt or Luis Barrera did much to inspire confidence last year. Tony Kemp could play the outfield but may be needed at second base.

Though his ultimate destination is unknown, the sense of an impending trade seems to be growing with Davis himself. “It’s kind of 50/50, kind of a flip of the coin,” he said back in October. When asked the same question by Puma today, he said, “Now it could be say 60-40 out of here, but you never know.” Davis then elaborated, referencing the fact that Cano, McNeil, Smith and Luis Guillorme are all lefties. “Baseball is in a situation of bench players, and something like that, three or four lefties and I’m maybe the only righty, so strategically I could see myself back there, but I don’t know. Anything can happen.”

Mets, Johneshwy Fargas Agree To Minors Deal

By Darragh McDonald | March 6, 2022 at 3:44pm CDT

Outfielder Johneshwy Fargas has returned to the Mets, the player himself announced on Twitter. (First cryptically, then more directly.) It can be safely assumed that this is a minors deal, due to the fact that major league deals cannot be signed during the ongoing lockout. The 27-year-old was eligible to sign such a contract due to the fact that he was outrighted in October and then elected minor league free agency in November.

Fargas made his MLB debut after the Mets selected his contract in May of last year to help shore up the club’s outfield after a number of injuries. However, after just seven games, Fargas landed on the IL himself, with a left AC joint sprain. After returning to health in July, he was optioned and then designated for assignment, being claimed on waivers by the Cubs. He bounced on and off the Cubs’ roster down the stretch, ultimately getting 15 more MLB games under his belt. Between the two organizations, he finished the season with 54 plate appearances in 22 games, hitting .250/.264/.385 in that small sample.

His best tool, however, is his speed, as evidenced by his 47 steals in High-A in 2018 and 50 in Double-A in 2019. Despite injuries limiting his playing time, he still racked up 18 steals in 2021, between Double-A, Triple-A and the majors.

The path to playing time in the Mets’ outfield might be steep, as they made significant upgrades before the lockout, adding Starling Marte and Mark Canha. Those two and Brandon Nimmo are likely to get the bulk of the outfield playing time, with Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis around to step in from time to time. Although that latter trio have been mentioned as possible trade targets, the club also has Khalil Lee, Nick Plummer, Mark Vientos and Travis Blankenhorn on the 40-man roster as depth options. However, if they were to suffer a rash of injuries like last year, Fargas could potentially rejoin the MLB club as a speedy option off the bench.

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