Mets Notes: Smith, Loup, Lindor
Mets manager Buck Showalter spoke with reporters about the team’s decision to option Dominic Smith to Triple-A this week, calling it a “difficult” conversation to have with the first baseman (link via Newsday’s Laura Albanese). “You always try to put yourself in their shoes knowing that, in a lot of cases, you can’t,” Showalter said of his conversation with Smith. “It’s one of those cases where someone says, I know what you’re feeling. No, you don’t. No, you don’t, so don’t act like you do. I’ve learned in situations like that, you’re better off listening than you are talking.”
Smith will play primarily first base in Syracuse, and Showalter voiced confidence in the 26-year-old’s ability to find his swing with the help of regular at-bats and to get back to the Majors sooner than later. For the time being, however, with a banged-up pitching staff, the Mets needed a extra arm. Smith had minor league options remaining and had been struggling through infrequent usage. The former first-rounder hit .299/.366/.571 from 2019-20, but he batted just .186/.287/.256 in 101 plate appearances this year. Smith told SI.com in March that he played through a small tear of the labrum in his right shoulder last year, and it’s certainly possible there are (or were) some lingering effects of that issue.
A few more notes out of Queens…
- Former Mets lefty Aaron Loup chatted with SNY’s Andy Martino about his decision to sign with the Angels over the winter, revealing that the Mets indeed made an offer but did not match the two-year, $17MM terms he received from the Halos. Loup details that the Angels were aggressive from the jump, while the Mets took their time in putting together an offer as they sorted through front-office and managerial searches. Loup acknowledges that he and his agents “tried to stall the Angels as long as we could” while waiting to see if the Mets would match the offer. Ultimately, the Mets came in the $12-12.5MM range with a two-year offer, per Loup, who unsurprisingly opted for the larger guarantee in Anaheim. Loup has already allowed more runs in 18 2/3 innings with the Angels than he did in 56 2/3 frames as a Met last year, though the bulk of the damage against him has come over his past four appearances. No one expected the 34-year-old to replicate last year’s immaculate 0.95 ERA in the first place, and the fact that he’s sporting nearly identical strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates suggests that Loup ought to bounce back from this rough patch before long.
- Showalter told reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that Francisco Lindor has “a form of” fracture in his finger. However, it doesn’t seem to be terribly serious, as Lindor is in tonight’s lineup, hitting third and playing shortstop. The injury came about in an unusual fashion, as he got his finger stuck in a hotel door. The shortstop seems to be in good spirits about the situation, joking with reporters about keeping the door open from now. “I ain’t touching that door,” Lindor said, per Tim Healey of Newsday. “It can stay open.” Lindor has been a key part of the club’s tremendous start to the season, as he’s hitting .261/.345/.442 for a wRC+ of 126. He’s also added seven steals and quality defense, accumulating 2.1 fWAR already with less than a third of the season played.
Mets Option Dominic Smith
The Mets announced Tuesday that first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Righty Adonis Medina has been recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster. Andrew Cohen of Sports Business Journal reported the news before the team announcement (Twitter link).
The demotion to Triple-A is the latest step in a pronounced downturn for Smith, who was one of the better hitters in the National League from 2019-20 when he slashed .299/.366/.571 through 396 trips to the plate. At that point, the former No. 11 overall pick and longtime top prospect looked to have finally solidified himself as a big league regular who could serve as a focal point in the Mets’ lineup for years to come.
The National League didn’t have the luxury of a designated hitter at that point, which complicated things from a playing time vantage point, given that the Mets also had Pete Alonso on the roster. Smith got a look in left field as the Mets hoped to keep both sluggers in the lineup, but through 1240 innings dating back to 2019, he’s posted dismal marks in the eyes of all defensive metrics (-7 Defensive Runs Saved, -8 Ultimate Zone Rating, -15 Outs Above Average).
Had Smith’s bat remained as productive as it was in 2019-20, perhaps the Mets might’ve lived with that poor glovework and given him a full slate of innings in left last year. However, Smith’s downturn at the plate began in 2021, when he slashed just .244/.304/.363 in 493 plate appearances. Smith told reporters this spring that he played through a small tear in his labrum last year (link via SI.com’s Pat Ragazzo), and he’s been been unable to rebound in 2022 while receiving sparse playing time alongside fellow defensively challenged slugger J.D. Davis. Smith has just 101 plate appearances on the year and has turned in a grisly .186/.287/.256 slash.
The Mets reportedly received trade interest on both Smith and Davis over the winter, but even after creating what looked to be an infield/outfield logjam they opted to hold on to both players. Between Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil and offseason signees Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha and Starling Marte, it wasn’t clear just how Smith and/or Davis would fit into the infield/outfield rotation. So far, they really haven’t Smith’s 101 plate appearances speak to his limited use, and Davis has had even fewer plate appearances (90). Those plate appearance tallies haven’t been impacted by injury, either, as neither player has spent time on the IL in 2022.
Perhaps the Mets weren’t keen to sell low on Smith after he’d been such a productive hitter in 2019-20, but his stock has only dropped since the offseason. He’ll be able to get regular at-bats in Triple-A as he hopes to sort through his issues at the plate, and the hope is, of course, that more frequent reps at the plate will help him unlock his potential. Even if Smith rakes in Syracuse, though, he’ll still be looking up at the same crowded roster that led to such infrequent playing time to begin with.
Smith has been asked repeatedly about whether he’d prefer a trade to another team, and to his credit, he’s generally deflected those opportunities to speak out and stir the pot. Asked about the subject just two weeks ago, Smith reiterated his desire to play every day while continuing to speak positively about the Mets (link via Newsday’s Anthony Rieber). “I like where this team is going,” Smith said at the time. “I feel like I can impact this team in a number of ways, and that’s being [in the lineup] every day, in my opinion.” Smith did, however, acknowledge that the opportunity may not come with the Mets.
It’s a fine line for a player to walk, but it’d have been easy for Smith to clamor for a trade, either via interviews with the Mets beat or by more directly requesting a trade form the front office. To this point, neither has happened, though it’s feasible that being sent to Triple-A for the first time since 2018 (excluding a two-game rehab stint in ’19) could finally push him to do so. Then again, given his struggles since that huge showing in 2019-20 might make other teams wary to aggressively pursue a deal. A contending club, for example, isn’t likely to acquire Smith and plug him right into its everyday lineup, but it stands to reason that a rebuilding club might be more willing to do so.
Smith, after all, is controllable through the 2024 season, so he could be a multi-year piece should any team look to acquire him. Being sent to Triple-A won’t impact that timeline, as he entered the 2022 season with three years and 146 days of MLB service, meaning he needed only 26 days of service to reach four-plus years of service time. He’s already done that, so even in the unlikely event that he remained in Triple-A for the remainder of the season season, he’d still have the service time needed to qualify for free agency post-2024.
Optioning Smith to Triple-A should at least ostensibly appears to open some more playing time for the aforementioned Davis, who has top-of-the-scale exit velocity and hard-hit rates, even if the results aren’t there at this point. It could also mean some additional playing time for rookie Nick Plummer, who just surely turned some heads with a 4-for-8, two-homer showing in the Mets’ pair of games on May 29-30. With Canha, Marte and Nimmo all healthy, Plummer will be viewed more as a reserve option for now, but there’ll be some occasional outfield and DH at-bats available to him.
NL East Notes: Strasburg, Megill, Smith
Nationals’ starter Stephen Strasburg seems to be nearing his MLB season debut, as he threw 58 pitches over five innings in a rehab game yesterday. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com relays that Stras is with the big league team and will travel to New York with them as they visit the Mets for a three-game set. From there, he will likely head to Rochester, home of the team’s Triple-A affiliate, to make another rehab start, which could be his last. He hasn’t pitched since June of last year due to undergoing surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome.
The retooling Nationals don’t need to be in any rush, as they don’t really have designs on competing this year. After selling off most of their best players last year, they are predictably in the NL East basement with a record of 18-31. With Strasburg, his long-term health and success should be the priority, as the 33-year-old still has four more years on his contract after this one, at $35MM per season. Although a lot of the money is deferred, he’s still set to be the most significant contract on the books as the team aims to return to contention in the coming seasons.
More from around the division…
- Mets’ hurler Tylor Megill is nearing a rehab stint, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. He adds that Megill is only expected to need one or two rehab starts to get back into game shape after going on the IL with biceps inflammation about three weeks ago. When Jacob deGrom went on the IL to start the year, Megill jumped into the rotation and was a valuable steadying force. Now that he and Max Scherzer have joined deGrom on the shelf, the team’s rotation is down to Chris Bassitt, Carlos Carrasco, Taijuan Walker and David Peterson, with Trevor Williams likely to jump back into the mix once needed. The Mets have already been connected to Frankie Montas and Tyler Mahle, two starters who are among the most likely to be dealt and the most sought after. Their aggressiveness in that pursuit between now and the August 2 trade deadline will likely hinge on the health of Megill, deGrom and Scherzer, as its possible the rotation becomes stacked with talent even without a trade.
- As for the Mets’ bullpen, Drew Smith had to exit last night’s game after attempting to field a comebacker with his bare hand and injuring it. Thankfully, it seems like Smith and the Mets have avoided the worst, with post-game X-rays showing a dislocation but no fracture, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Smith has been a nice development for the club over the past couple of years, throwing 62 1/3 innings with a 2.45 ERA since the start of the 2021 season. There’s likely some good fortune in there, considering his .205 BABIP and 90.7% strand rate, but the results have nonetheless been enough for him to be trusted with some leverage, as he’s racked up 12 holds this year already.
Mets Acquire J.T. Riddle
The Mets have acquired infielder JT Riddle from the Reds, according to Doug Gray of the Redleg Nation blog (Twitter link). Riddle has mostly played at Triple-A Louisville this season, but also made two appearances with Cincinnati at the big league level.
A veteran of six MLB seasons, Riddle received most of his playing time as a semi-regular with the Marlins from 2017-19, with 223 of his 252 career games coming during those three seasons. After playing 23 games with the Pirates during the shortened 2020 season, Riddle got into just four games with the Twins in 2021.
Riddle has mostly played shortstop during his career, but has expanded his defensive repertoire to become a super-utility type over the last three years. He’ll provide the Mets with a Triple-A depth option in the event of an injury to one of their regular infielders. Known more for his glove and his versatility than his bat, Riddle has hit .233/.261/.354 over 797 career plate appearances in the majors.
Mets Promote Nick Plummer, Option Yoan Lopez
The Mets are calling up outfielder Nick Plummer from Triple-A today, creating space on the active roster by optioning Yoan Lopez, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter).
Lopez was only just coming back from suspension. Despite spending a fair amount of time in the news this season, Lopez has been a surprisingly small-time contributor on the diamond, with just two appearances spanning three innings on the season.
Plummer, meanwhile, takes on a somewhat important role as the Mets’ fourth outfielder in the wake of Travis Jankowski‘s injury. Plummer was brought in this offseason for this exact contingency, of course. The southpaw-swinging outfielder has slashed .250/.313/.511 across 99 plate appearances in Triple-A so far this season, his first year with the Mets organization after spending the rest of his career as a Cardinals’ farmhand.
The Mets could give Plummer decent run as a fourth outfielder backing up Starling Marte, Brandon Nimmo, and Mark Canha, especially given that Nimmo is currently dealing with a sore wrist. Nimmo is expected to be out until Monday, per DiComo. The Mets might take these couple of days to get Plummer’s feet wet, but they could also turn to Jeff McNeil or Dominic Smith in the grass.
Mets’ Travis Jankowski Out 6-8 Weeks Following Hand Surgery
The Mets announced to reporters, including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, that outfielder Travis Jankowski underwent surgery today following a fracture of the fourth metacarpal on his left hand. He has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 26, with a recovery timeline of approximately 6-8 weeks. Thosar also relays word from manager Buck Showalter that the injury was sustained as Jankowski made a diving catch in Wednesday’s game. The club also optioned left-hander Thomas Szapucki, recalling right-handers Stephen Nogosek and Yoan Lopez to take the open spots on the active roster, per Tim Britton of The Athletic.
A veteran of eight MLB seasons now, Jankowski has never been a huge threat at the plate, but has continually been employed for his speed and defense. In 459 career games with the Padres, Reds, Phillies and Mets, he’s hit .238/.320/.314 for a wRC+ of 78. But thanks to 72 steals and good defensive numbers, he’s still produced 2.1 wins above replacement in that time, according to FanGraphs.
Signed to a minor league deal by the Mets in the offseason, he had his contract selected to start the season and has gotten into 33 games so far, but starting just 13 of those, often entering games as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He’s hit just .209/.292/.209 on the season but has swiped three bags and helped out with the glove.
With Jankowski on the shelf, the Mets will have a little less outfield depth. Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte and Mark Canha will get the the lion’s share of time on the grass, with Jeff McNeil occasionally joining them while Luis Guillorme plays second. It’s possible that McNeil gets a bit more time in the outfield, though perhaps Dominic Smith could factor in as well. He played some outfield in each of the previous four seasons but has only played first base so far in this campaign. Britton relays that Showalter has mentioned Nick Plummer as someone who could come up from the minors, with Plummer not in tonight’s lineup for Triple-A Syracuse.
Mets Notes: deGrom, Megill, McNeil
The Mets have been without Jacob deGrom all season, although the club has maintained he’s progressing well in his recovery from a Spring Training stress reaction in his scapula. deGrom has been throwing off flat ground for a couple weeks, and Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News tweeted yesterday that he’s lengthened out to throwing from 95-100 feet.
More encouragingly, Thosar suggests the star right-hander could progress to throwing a bullpen session by this weekend. That’d mark a notable step in his recovery, although he’ll presumably need multiple mound sessions before he progresses to facing live hitters. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com wrote last week that deGrom is also expected to require three-to-five rehab starts in the minor leagues before returning to the majors.
There are still significant hurdles before deGrom will be back in a game at Citi Field, but he continues to make incremental strides. Jon Heyman of the New York Post said on yesterday’s The Show podcast with colleague Joel Sherman that he’d heard a “late June” potential timetable for deGrom’s return to the big leagues from a team source (Mets’ talk around 34:00 mark). Even if his rehab lingers a bit beyond then, the organization is surely hopeful the two-time Cy Young winner will be healthy for the second half of the season.
The Mets are also down Max Scherzer and Tylor Megill, leaving them to rely on their rotation depth. Scherzer isn’t likely to be back before the All-Star Break, while Megill has been out since May 15 because of biceps inflammation. Pitching coach Jeremy Hefner suggested Megill’s further along in his recovery than deGrom (Thosar link), but he’s not yet thrown a bullpen session and certainly won’t be ready to return when first eligible on Friday.
While the rotation has taken some key hits, the position player group has been healthy aside from catcher James McCann (out through late June because of a hand fracture). Second baseman/left fielder Jeff McNeil is now day-to-day after crashing into the wall chasing a fly ball this afternoon. Mike Puma of the Post was among those to relay (on Twitter) that he’s been diagnosed with a left knee contusion.
The subject of some trade speculation over the winter, the lefty-hitting McNeil is rewarding the organization’s decision to keep him in Flushing. Across 170 plate appearances, he’s hitting .323/.376/.458 with a minuscule 10% strikeout rate. McNeil only has two home runs, but he’s among the top 25 qualified hitters in both batting average and on-base percentage.
Mets Acquire Daniel Johnson From Guardians
The Guardians announced that outfielder Daniel Johnson has been dealt to the Mets for cash considerations. Johnson will be assigned to Triple-A Syracuse.
A fifth-round pick for the Nationals in the 2016 draft, Johnson was acquired as part of the Yan Gomes trade in 2018, and it seemed like Cleveland might have gotten a steal. Johnson hit a combined .290/.361/.507 with 19 homers over 547 plate appearances with Double-A Akron (167 PA) and Triple-A Columbus (380 PA) in 2019, putting him on the radar to win a job with a team in constant need of outfield help.
However, over 35 games with the Guardians in 2020-21, Johnson has hit only .202/.245/.337 over his 94 career plate appearances in the majors. While not a huge sample size, the Guards appeared ready to move on from Johnson after the season, as he was designated for assignment and then outrighted off the 40-man roster back in November.
Johnson’s Triple-A numbers came back to earth in 2021, and he has full-on struggled this year, batting .217/.217/.337 in 69 PA with Triple-A Columbus this season. He’ll now head to the Mets organization for a fresh start, and he’ll provide New York with some depth at all three outfield positions. Johnson’s defense has been well-regarded, and he possesses a strong throwing arm that makes him ideal for right field in particular.
Mets Notes: Paddack, Hosmer, Smith, Bassitt
Chris Paddack‘s recent Tommy John surgery has brought a new focus on the rumored offseason trade between the Mets and Padres that would have seen San Diego move Paddack, Eric Hosmer, Emilio Pagan, and over $30MM (to help cover Hosmer’s salary) to New York in exchange for Dominic Smith. Trade talks reportedly got pretty deep between the two sides, but ultimately fell apart due to what The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports as concerns from the Mets’ medical staff about Paddack’s health records.
With Paddack now on the shelf until at least partway through the 2023 season, it appears as though New York’s team doctors made the right call. Interestingly, Heyman reports that the Mets were also planning to flip Hosmer in another trade with an unknown team, rather than use the first baseman in their own lineup. Given the difficulties that the Padres have had for months in finding a taker for Hosmer, it would’ve been a little surprising to see him moved twice in short order, though it is also easy to imagine Hosmer’s market picking up with the Padres eating so much of his contract.
More from the Amazins….
- This isn’t the first time Dominic Smith has been a trade candidate, as the former top prospect has swung from cornerstone to expendable multiple times in his career. Smith has struggled to a .552 OPS over his first 79 plate appearances and isn’t pleased about being back in a part-time role. “Being here since I was 22, now I’m 26, and still in the same position….If there’s a team out there that wants me to play and wants to let me play, I would love to play every day. That’s just how I feel about that,” Smith told Newsday’s Anthony Rieber. However, Smith also stressed that he feels he can get the opportunity with the Mets, saying “I feel like I can impact this team in a number of ways, and that’s being [in the lineup] every day, in my opinion.” Even after Robinson Cano‘s release theoretically should’ve created more at-bats for Smith at the DH spot, Smith still isn’t playing very often, seemingly caught in the catch-22 of not hitting well enough to earn more playing time, yet also not being able to get into a groove due to that lack of playing time.
- Chris Bassitt and the Mets agreed to a one-year deal (with a mutual option for 2023) today, which avoids the need for the two sides to determine Bassitt’s 2022 salary in an arbitration hearing. Speaking to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters, Bassitt said he was “happy that it’s not going to be a distraction for anybody,” given how the lockout has pushed several unsettled arbitration cases into the actual season. While Bassitt said he would like to with the Mets beyond 2022, that same desire to just concentrate on this season doesn’t make it seem likely that extension talks will take place until the winter. “A lot of people are short-term thinking right now this year. We have such a special group that I don’t really want to be a distraction and hurt that in any way,” Bassitt said.
Mets Scouting Frankie Montas, Tyler Mahle
The Mets have recently had scouts watching Athletics right-hander Frankie Montas and Reds right-hander Tyler Mahle, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports. With the aggressive Mets clearly focused on a championship this year, it isn’t surprising that the club is already looking ahead to possible trade candidates on struggling teams.
Montas is over 18 months older than Mahle, but the two have quite a bit in common. The two righties are under control through the 2023 season via a third and final arbitration year, both have already been mentioned in trade speculation for months, and both have already made it through an offseason of payroll cuts by their respective teams. In fact, the Mets and A’s already combined on a big pitching deal during the offseason when Chris Bassitt was brought to Queens.
Thus far in 2022, Montas has clearly been the better of the two pitchers in terms of bottom-line numbers, with a 3.67 ERA in 49 innings to Mahle’s 5.23 ERA over 43 innings. The advanced metrics also generally favor Montas, though Mahle’s 4.28 xFIP and 4.15 SIERA paint a bit more of an optimistic view of his 2022 performance, and Mahle appears to be on the upswing with a 2.60 ERA over his last 17 1/3 frames.
It stands to reason that the Mets will probably at least monitor just about every available arm heading into the August 2 deadline, considering that Montas and Mahle figure to get attention from most or all pitching-needy clubs. Oakland or Cincinnati probably have some idea of what some suitors are already willing to give up for either pitcher, based on offseason talks — the White Sox, Twins, Yankees, Tigers, Mariners, Rays, and Royals all reportedly had interest in Montas over the winter, while the Blue Jays and Rangers were linked to Mahle.
Despite a number of rotation injuries this season, the Mets have gotten quality work from just about every starter who has taken the mound. However, health remains a concern, as Max Scherzer will miss 6-8 weeks with an oblique strain, Tylor Megill is on the IL with biceps inflammation, and Jacob deGrom has yet to throw a pitch this season due to a stress reaction his throwing shoulder. Jumping to swing a deal with the Reds or A’s now would cost the Mets a heavier price in prospects, and it could be that New York will wait until closer to the deadline to make a move, as the Mets already have a sizeable cushion of a lead in the NL East race.