Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets Rumors

Mets Activate Jose Siri, Designate Wander Suero

By | at

The Mets announced Tuesday that they’ve reinstated outfielder Jose Siri from the 60-day injured list. Reliever Wander Suero was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, and outfielder Jared Young has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. The Mets also announced that righty Justin Garza, whom they’d previously designated for assignment, cleared waivers and has been assigned outright to Syracuse.

Siri, 30, appeared in just 10 games with the Mets before suffering a fractured tibia that wound up sidelining him close to five months. New York acquired him from the Rays in an offseason deal sending reliever Eric Orze back to Tampa Bay.

Though Siri strikes out far too often (career 35.8%) and posts poor batting averages and on-base percentages as a result, he’s an elite runner and defender with considerably above-average power. Last year, Statcast pegged Siri’s sprint speed (99th), outfield range (99th) and outfield arm strength (97th) in at least the 97th percentile of MLB players. He popped 43 home runs and stole 26 bags in just 812 plate appearances with the Rays from 2023-24 but did so with a grim .203/.260/.424 batting line overall (91 wRC+).

The Mets placed Tyrone Taylor on the injured list a couple weeks ago and are already expecting to be without Jesse Winker for the balance of the regular season. Siri steps back into an outfield mix that includes Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto in the corners, with deadline pickup Cedric Mullins in center field. Starling Marte, Jeff McNeil and Luisangel Acuña are all options on the grass as well.

Siri’s right-handed bat is a natural complement for the lefty-swinging Mullins in center field — or so it would seem. However, Siri’s career .194/.251/.378 slash against lefties is markedly worse than his career .211/.269/.411 batting line in right-on-right situations. Neither is a strong mark, however, and Mullins is a better hitter in left-on-left situations than Siri is in right-on-left situations — historically speaking, anyhow. For now, Siri seems like he’ll operate as a fourth outfielder and late-game option off the bench, be that in a pinch-running, defensive upgrade or pinch-hitting scenario.

As for the 33-year-old Suero, he was only just claimed off waivers five days ago and only reported to the team four days ago. He didn’t appear in a game during his brief time with the Mets. His only big league work in 2025 has come with the Braves, for whom he yielded eight runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Ugly Atlanta stint aside, Suero was a frequently used bullpen arm for the Nationals from 2018-20, when he pitched 142 2/3 innings of 4.10 ERA ball. He picked up a save and 27 holds along the way. Suero’s production has taken a nosedive since; he’s pitched in each of the past four MLB seasons but has a 7.11 ERA in 57 innings thanks to an alarming susceptibility to home runs. After yielding just 0.63 homers per nine frames in his first three MLB seasons, Suero has surrendered an average of 2.53 big flies per nine innings since 2021.

To his credit, Suero has been outstanding in Triple-A this season. He’s pitched 46 2/3 innings with the Braves’ top affiliate in Gwinnett and recorded a 1.35 ERA with a dozen saves, a 31.2% strikeout rate and a 6.9% walk rate. Now that he’s been designated for assignment, he’ll head to outright waivers and again be made available to all 29 other clubs.

Tylor Megill Headed For Imaging With Renewed Elbow Tightness

By | at

Mets righty Tylor Megill suffered a setback in his rehab from elbow inflammation. Manager Carlos Mendoza tells reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) that Megill felt elbow tightness when he tried to throw his breaking stuff on a rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse yesterday. The Mets sent him back to New York for imaging to determine whether there’s any structural damage.

Megill has been out since the middle of June. There’s a decent chance the setback will prevent him from contributing to the Mets’ hopeful playoff push. “We’re running out of time, especially now with him complaining about the same thing that he went down with earlier in the year,” Mendoza admitted. “I don’t want to speculate here, but the fact that he’s getting another MRI and where we’re at, it feels like we’re running out of time.”

The 30-year-old Megill opened the season in New York’s rotation. He started 14 times and managed a solid 3.95 earned run average across 68 1/3 frames. Megill struck out more than 29% of opponents, and while he didn’t often work deep into games, he was typically good for five solid innings in his starts. Megill probably wouldn’t have secured a spot in the Mets’ playoff rotation coming off an elbow injury that cost him most of the second half. He could have been a valuable multi-inning arm out of the bullpen, though.

That no longer seems likely. The Mets haven’t firmly closed the door on a return, but any kind of structural issue would certainly do so. Even if the imaging only reveals inflammation, it’s tough to see him returning before the end of the regular season on September 28. Playing deep into the postseason would give him a little more runway from a recovery perspective but also make it riskier for the Mets to shake up their October pitching staff.

Megill is playing on a $1.975MM salary in his first trip through arbitration. He crossed the four-year service threshold and will earn a slight raise for next season. The Mets control him through 2027.

Mets Activate Reed Garrett, Designate Justin Garza

By | at

The Mets announced five roster moves in advance of today’s game with the Reds, including their official selection of Brandon Sproat’s contract from Triple-A.  Sproat will make his MLB debut as today’s Mets starter, and New York is also welcoming right-hander Reed Garrett back from the 15-day injured list.  In corresponding 28-man and 40-man roster moves, right-handers Kevin Herget and Wander Suero were optioned to Triple-A, and righty Justin Garza was designated for assignment.

Garza was acquired in a trade with the Giants in June, and his five appearances with the Mets marked the righty’s first Major League action since the 2023 season when he pitched with the Red Sox.  While Garza’s first four Mets outings were scoreless, he was torched for four runs in his last game on June 20, and he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse the next day.  His Triple-A work has been far from stellar, as Garza has an 8.17 ERA over 25 1/3 innings in Syracuse.

If Garza clears waivers and is outrighted off the Mets’ 40-man roster, he has the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency, since Garza has already been outrighted earlier in his career.  Given the late date on the regular-season calendar and the frequency of the Mets’ bullpen shuffles, Garza might prefer to just stick in the organization if he thinks another call back to the majors might still be in the cards.

A waiver claim is a possibility, if another team is willing to look past Garza’s lack of success in 2025.  He has added some velocity to his fastball this season and is now averaging better than 96.1mph in the big leagues and in Triple-A, even if that added heat has actually led to a downturn in his strikeout rate.  Garza has also been a lot more homer-prone in 2025 than in past seasons.

Garrett was retroactively placed on the IL on August 23, and he’ll return in short order since his bout of elbow inflammation fortunately didn’t turn out to be too serious.  The time off could also act as a bit of a reset, as Garrett struggled to a 15.43 ERA over his last 4 2/3 innings prior to hitting the injured list.

Garrett ranks second on the Mets with 54 appearances, and he’ll resume his role as one of the few true regulars within New York’s revolving door of a bullpen.  Over 52 1/3 innings, Garrett has a 3.61 ERA and a strong 28.3% strikeout rate, even if his 11% walk rate is on the high side.

Davey Johnson Passes Away

By | at

Longtime Major League manager and infielder Davey Johnson passed away on Friday at age 82.  A four-time All-Star during his 13-year playing career, Johnson went on to manage five different teams over 17 seasons as a manager, capturing a World Series with the Mets in 1986.

Breaking into the majors with the Orioles in 1965, he emerged as Baltimore’s everyday second baseman the following year, and finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting.  Johnson also won his first World Series ring that same season, adding a second with the Orioles in 1970.  Such superstar teammates as Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, and Jim Palmer drew most of the headlines during this golden age of Orioles baseball, but Johnson provided excellent glovework (three Gold Gloves) and above-average offense while locking down the keystone.

Johnson delivered one more All-Star season with the Braves in 1973, hitting 43 home runs in what stood as the single-season record for a second baseman until Marcus Semien went yard 45 times with the 2021 Blue Jays.  Johnson’s production then declined in 1974, and he spent the 1975-76 playing in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants.  It was something of a tumultuous two-year run that saw Johnson fight through some injuries to ultimately help the Giants reach the 1976 Japan Series, and Johnson then returned to the majors for his final two MLB seasons with the Phillies and Cubs in 1977-78.

Regarded as a future manager even early in his career, Johnson indeed turned to minor league managing almost immediately after retiring as a player, and started managing in the Mets’ farm system beginning in 1981.  This led to a promotion as the Mets’ big league skipper in 1984, and Johnson immediately led New York to a string of five straight seasons with at least 90 wins.  This excellent run included a pair of NL East titles in 1986 and 1988, highlighted by the 108-win team in 1986 that remains the most recent Mets club to capture a World Series title.

Things eventually soured between Johnson and Mets GM Frank Cashen, leading to Johnson’s firing in 1990.  This essentially set the tone for the rest of Johnson’s managerial career — he would lead a team to success, yet would be dismissed relatively quickly due to clashes with ownership or upper management.  Johnson’s next four stints as a skipper saw him never stay with a team for longer than three seasons, even though Johnson had a sub-.500 record in just one of his eight final full seasons as a manager.

For instance, Johnson’s feud with infamous former Reds owner Marge Schott saw Johnson dismissed after the 1995  season, even though he led Cincinnati to the NL Central title and a NLDS victory over the Dodgers that remains the Reds’ most recent postseason series win.  Johnson then returned to his old stomping grounds and led the Orioles to postseason appearances in both 1996 and 1997, but even winning AL Manager of the Year honors in 1997 didn’t smooth over a dispute between Johnson and O’s owner Peter Angelos.

Johnson managed the Dodgers to a 163-161 record in 1999-2000, marking the only time Johnson didn’t lead a team to at least one postseason berth as a manager.  He spent much of the next decade managing in international baseball, while also working for the Nationals in a consulting role (beginning in 2006) that paved the way for his final managerial job in 2011, when Johnson took over as interim skipper following Jim Riggleman’s resignation.  Johnson was made the full-time skipper following that initial year in Washington, and won NL Manager of the Year honors for leading the Nats to their first NL East crown in 2012.  Johnson was 70 years old during his final season in Washington, however, and the Lerner family didn’t view him as a long-term manager, so Johnson retired after an 86-win season in 2013.

Known for his brash personality, Johnson’s outspoken ways may have hurt him in terms of keeping steady employment, yet it certainly aided his ability to manage a clubhouse.  Johnson was viewed as being somewhat ahead of his time in terms of running a team, being one of the first skippers to use some analytics to help in formulating his game plans.  A mathematics major during his college days, Johnson’s reputation for using analytics to gain an edge on the field earned him the ironic nickname of “Dum-Dum” from his Orioles teammates.

Johnson’s career managerial record was 1372-1071 over parts of 17 seasons.  His resume as a player includes 136 homers and a .261/.340/.404 slash line over 1435 games and 5465 plate appearances during his 13 MLB seasons, good for a 112 wRC+.  Though Johnson has fallen short of Hall of Fame induction on multiple veterans’ committee ballots, his overall body of work in baseball would certainly seem worthy of Cooperstown, and it can be argued that Johnson could deserve a HOF nod based on his managerial work alone.

We at MLB Trade Rumors express our condolences to Johnson’s family, friends, and peers.

Mets Sign Joe La Sorsa To Minors Contract

By | at

1:12PM: The Mets have signed La Sorsa to a minor league contract, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports.  La Sorsa will provide some left-handed bullpen depth for a New York team that has had a revolving door of relievers going up and down from Triple-A all season.

11:59AM: Left-hander Joe La Sorsa has chosen to become a free agent instead of accepting an outright assignment to the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate, according to reporter Charlie Goldsmith.  Cincinnati designated La Sorsa for assignment earlier this week, and after he cleared waivers, La Sorsa had the ability to decide his next step since he has been previously outrighted in his career.

Over his first two MLB seasons, La Sorsa posted a 4.47 ERA over 50 1/3 innings and 41 games with the Rays and Nationals in 2023-24.  Cut loose by the Nats over the offseason, the southpaw caught on with Cincinnati on a minors contract, and that contract was selected to the active roster in early June.

The Reds made only sporadic use of La Sorsa and frequently only kept him in the majors for brief stints, and the up-and-down usage may have contributed to his ugly 10.80 ERA over five appearances and 6 2/3 innings.  Within that small sample size, La Sorsa was tagged for four home runs.

Time is running out on La Sorsa’s chances of landing a big league job with another team before 2025 is over, yet signing elsewhere on another minors deal might at least give the lefty a head start on the offseason.  La Sorsa has another minor league option year remaining, and clubs might be intrigued by La Sorsa’s career 2.88 ERA over 134 1/3 Triple-A innings.  These excellent bottom-line results come with a modest 19.05% strikeout rate, and La Sorsa’s walk rate also drastically spiked upward when pitching with Triple-A Louisville this season.

Mets Option Kodai Senga

By | at

The Mets announced Friday that right-hander Kodai Senga has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Catcher Francisco Alvarez has been reinstated from the injured list. New York also optioned catcher Hayden Senger and activated righty Wander Suero, whom they claimed off waivers yesterday.

Senga’s five-year, $75MM contract stipulated that he needed to consent to being optioned at any point, meaning he gave his approval for the move. It’s obviously a bit surprising at first glance to see a former Rookie of the Year runner-up with a 3.02 ERA optioned to Triple-A, but the Mets have been mulling this move in recent weeks as Senga’s struggles have mounted. He’s pitched to a bleak 6.56 ERA over his past eight starts and lasted only 35 2/3 innings in that time. He’ll bite the bullet and head to the minors as he looks to get back on track before the Mets’ overwhelmingly likely trip to the postseason.

SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the decision to option Senga doesn’t appear to have strained the relationship between player and team. He was included in multiple discussions on the possibility and ultimately “felt respected by the process and consented without issue,” per Martino.

The demotion for Senga coincides with the expected promotion for pitching prospect Brandon Sproat, who’ll reportedly make his major league debut when he starts Sunday’s game against the Reds. He’ll join a youth movement in a rotation that currently includes fellow top prospects Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. That trio of rookies will join David Peterson, Clay Holmes and the also-struggling Sean Manaea as the Mets’ starters for the time being.

Senga has to spend at least 15 days in the minors and can only be recalled sooner if it’s to replace an injured player on the roster. The Mets surely want him to get multiple Triple-A starts to try to get back on track anyhow, but his results in Syracuse will determine whether he’s back to rejoin the rotation in the final week or so of the regular season — and in the playoffs.

While the recent struggles are notable, it bears mentioning that Senga started the 2025 campaign in excellent fashion. Through his first 13 starts, he posted an exceptional 1.47 earned run average, albeit with less-impressive rate stats (23.9% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate) and some more skeptical grades from metrics like SIERA (4.28) and FIP (3.25). A hamstring strain sent Senga to the injured list in mid-June, and while he tossed four shutout innings in his return to the big leagues just under one month later, his struggles began immediately thereafter.

If Senga were still feeling the effects of that hamstring injury, he’d likely have been placed on the injured list rather than optioned. However, it’s possible that he developed some bad mechanical habits while compensating for that injury. He’s displayed uncharacteristically poor command since the All-Star break, walking 13% of his opponents (plus another two plunked batters) and yielding an average of 2.02 homers per nine innings pitched. Prior to his hamstring injury, he’d walked 10.7% of his career opponents and surrendered just 0.81 homers per nine frames.

There are no real service time or salary implications with Senga’s demotion. He’s guaranteed the full freight of that $75MM sum regardless, and his contract stipulates that he become a free agent at its conclusion, even though he’ll have under six years of major league service time. Sending him to Syracuse doesn’t alter his window of control with the team — it merely provides him a lower-stakes environment to try to get back to his All-Star form.

The other side of today’s notable slate of transactions will see the astonishing return of Alvarez. The Mets’ catcher had been one of baseball’s hottest hitters since mid-July but tore a ligament in his thumb while sliding into second base. That injury occurred less than three weeks ago, and his health troubles were compounded when Alvarez suffered a broken pinky finger upon being hit by a pitch on his minor league rehab assignment.

That damaged thumb ligament will require offseason surgery, but Alvarez will remarkably gut out both of those injuries as he tries to help his club down the stretch. Alvarez, like Senga, was optioned to the minors earlier this summer amid some pronounced struggles but returned with a vengeance, hitting .323/.408/.645 in 71 plate appearances before his injury. He went just 4-for-19 with eight strikeouts in 21 plate appearances during his rehab stint, though he did belt a grand slam in his final minor league game prior to today’s activation.

Mets Claim Wander Suero

By | at

The Mets have claimed right-hander Wander Suero off waivers from the Braves, according to announcements from both clubs. Atlanta had designated him for assignment earlier this week. The Mets had an open spot on the 40-man roster, though it is now full.

Suero, 33, signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason. That club selected him to their roster in July but he has mostly been kept on optional assignment since then. He has only thrown 6 1/3 innings in the big leagues this year, allowing eight earned runs on four walks and ten hits while striking out seven.

His work in the minors this year has been greater in quality and quantity. He has thrown 46 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.35 earned run average. His 31.2% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate are both strong figures. He has likely benefited from an 81.3% strand rate but his 2.63 FIP suggests he would still be putting up good numbers with more neutral sequencing luck.

The major league work this year has obviously not been good but in a very tiny sample. He has some past major league success, though he’s a few years removed from it now. Over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, he gave the Nationals 95 innings with a 4.36 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. But since then, he has a 7.11 ERA in 57 innings.

For the Mets, it’s a sensible claim. They have a number of pitchers on the injured list. They have had an open 40-man spot since José Castillo was designated for assignment last week. In the post-deadline part of the calendar, it’s more difficult to add talent. Suero has a major league track record and is pitching well in the minors this year.

He can still be optioned to the minors for the remainder of this season but it’s also possible he gets bumped off the 40-man soon. The Mets are reportedly going to promote prospect Brandon Sproat to start Sunday’s game, so they will need to open a 40-man spot for him in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Mets To Promote Brandon Sproat

By | at

11:45am: The Mets will indeed call up Sproat for his major league debut this weekend, per Chase Ford of MiLB Central. He’ll make his big league debut on Sunday. The Mets will need to open spots on the active and 40-man rosters for Sproat.

9:15am: The Mets have already called up two of the organization’s top three pitching prospects. Nolan McLean has taken the National League by storm, and Jonah Tong looked sharp in his MLB debut last week. The third member of their touted Triple-A trio could soon join them in the majors. SNY’s Andy Martino reports that righty Brandon Sproat is receiving “strong consideration” to make a start for the big league club in the near future.

A possible promotion for Sproat comes at the same time the Mets have been mulling a minor league stint for struggling righty Kodai Senga, who has a 6.56 ERA over his past eight starts (averaging just 4 1/3 innings per outing in that time).

That’s not as straightforward a decision as it might seem. The five-year, $75MM contract Senga signed when he came to MLB from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball stipulates that he cannot be optioned to the minors without his consent. It’s not expressly clear that the Mets have asked him about to accept an optional assignment, though Mike Puma of the New York Post implied as much yesterday when writing that the organization expects to know whether Senga would approve the move by this weekend. Puma added that one way or another, the organization expects Sproat to make his big league debut before season’s end.

Sproat, 24, was the Mets’ second-round pick in 2023. The former Florida Gators standout has had an up-and-down year in Triple-A. He struggled to an ERA north of 6.00 in April/May before dominating with a combined 2.22 ERA in June and July. Sproat alternated between quality starts and clunkers throughout August. He’s sitting on a 4.24 ERA overall, and he’s punched out 22.1% of his opponents against a 10.6% walk rate. Those numbers look far better if you toss out the first two months of the season; Sproat has a 3.13 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate in his past 14 starts. He tossed seven scoreless frames against the Yankees’ top affiliate his last time out, fanning nine hitters against only two walks along the way.

The uneven nature of Sproat’s season, coupled with the influx of talent from this year’s draft, has dropped him down — or even entirely off — most top-100 lists around the industry. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel still lists him 83rd in the game, and Baseball America has Sproat at No. 98. Baseball America notes that his turnaround in Syracuse coincided with increased usage of his curveball, changeup and two-seamer, helping to diversify his repertoire and make him less predictable, as opponents had become too keyed-in on his four-seamer. The 6’3″, 215-pound Sproat is sitting 96.4 mph on that four-seamer this season, and both his changeup and slider draw above-average to plus grades from scouts.

While Sproat’s seemingly inevitable addition to the 40-man roster and his MLB debut will come after Sept. 1, he’ll still be eligible for postseason play. Any player in an organization prior to September is eligible for postseason rosters. Technically, the Mets would need to petition for him to be an injury replacement, but teams make this move every year. At times, we’ve even seen top prospects who weren’t on the 40-man roster at the beginning of September get selected to the roster in October make their MLB debuts in the playoffs (e.g. Shane McClanahan, Adalberto Mondesi, Alex Kirilloff).

Mariners Claim José Castillo, Designate Joe Jacques For Assignment

By | at

The Mariners announced that they have claimed left-hander José Castillo off waivers from the Mets. The latter club designated him for assignment a few days ago. To open a 40-man roster spot, fellow lefty Joe Jacques has been designated for assignment. Castillo is out of options, so the M’s will need to make a corresponding active roster move once he reports to the team. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported the claim prior to the official announcement.

Castillo, 29, has logged 21 2/3 innings this year between the Diamondbacks and Mets. He has allowed 4.98 earned runs per nine but with better underlying metrics. His 21% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both close to average, while his 52.9% ground ball rate is quite strong.

That performance hasn’t been enough to keep him in the majors for an extended stretch. Since he is out of options, he has been designated for assignment multiple times this year. Arizona gave him his first DFA of the season in May and then flipped him to the Mets for cash. Since then, the Mets have given him the DFA treatment three times. The first two resulted in him clearing waivers and sticking with the Mets, later getting selected back to the roster. Around the transactions, he also tossed 16 Triple-A innings with a 1.69 ERA, 35.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate.

On this third Mets DFA, the Mariners have swooped in to grab him. They already have three lefties in their bullpen, with Gabe Speier, Caleb Ferguson and Tayler Saucedo back there, but adding Castillo will give them even more balance in their relief corps. He has between four and five years of big league service time, so they can retain him for 2026 via arbitration if he still has a roster spot at season’s end.

Jacques, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason. He was traded to the Mariners in early July. The M’s added him to their 40-man roster and then immediately optioned him to Triple-A. It’s likely that his deal with the Dodgers had some sort of opt-out or upward mobility clause. The Dodgers evidently weren’t willing to give him a 40-man spot but the M’s were.

In the minors this year, he has posted poor surface-level results with better underlying numbers. He has thrown 47 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League with a 6.51 ERA. His 23.6% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate are close to par while his 59.7% ground ball rate has been quite good. He has seemingly been undone by a .393 batting average on balls in play and 57.7% strand rate, which are both on the unlucky side. His 4.61 FIP this year is far more optimistic than his ERA.

Despite the positive indicators, the M’s are moving on. Jacques is in his final option year and will therefore be out of options going into 2026. That would have made it harder for them to roster him going forward, so they are cutting him loose now.

Since the trade deadline has passed, he’ll be on waivers in the coming days. It some team believes he can post better numbers going forward, perhaps away from the PCL, then they could put in a claim. He can still be stashed in the minors for the rest of this year. He has less than a year of service time and theoretically has years of control, though as mentioned, he’ll be out of options next year. He has 29 2/3 major league innings with a 5.46 ERA, 15.9% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 61.9% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Mets Notes: Senga, Taylor, Marte

By | at

The Mets’ rotation has gotten a huge helping hand from rookies Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong over the past few weeks, which has helped paper over a series of underwhelming performances from the veterans who were expected to hold down key roles. Frankie Montas pitched in only nine games and recorded a 6.28 ERA before going down with a UCL injury that will require surgery. Sean Manaea’s three-year, $75MM deal began with a lengthy IL stint for an oblique strain, and he’s now pitched in 10 games with a 5.60 ERA.

On the surface, it may seem odd to lump Kodai Senga and his excellent 3.02 ERA in with those other struggling veterans, but Senga has floundered through his past eight starts. The 32-year-old righty has totaled just 35 2/3 innings in that time while being tagged for a 6.56 earned run average. He’s walked 13% of his opponents in that stretch and surrendered a woeful 2.02 homers per nine innings pitched.

Senga’s struggles have been significant enough that the Mets have at least considered the possibility of sending him to the minors, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports. That’s not as straightforward of a decision as it would be with most pitchers; Senga’s five-year, $75MM contract stipulates that he cannot be optioned to the minor leagues without his consent. Sammon notes that Senga said Tuesday that he’s willing to do whatever is necessary to turn things around.

Still, it’d be a surprising development, given not only Senga’s prior runner-up finish in 2023 Rookie of the Year voting but also his general excellence to begin the season. Senga started 13 games before a hamstring strain sent him to the injured list on June 13. In those 13 games, he pitched 73 2/3 innings (5 2/3 innings per start) and recorded an immaculate 1.47 ERA. His rate stats didn’t support that level of dominance (23.9 K%, 10.6 BB%), but metrics like FIP (3.24) and SIERA (4.27) didn’t think he was due for the type of regression he’s since experienced.

Perhaps that hamstring strain led him to develop some bad mechanical habits, or perhaps he’s still feeling some discomfort. It’s also feasible that there could simply be some fatigue setting in after Senga missed nearly all of the 2024 season due to shoulder and calf injuries. Whatever the cause, this is the most sustained stretch of struggles that Senga has encountered since making the move from Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball. With the Mets overwhelmingly likely to reach the postseason, it’d make sense to take any measures necessary to get Senga back to form ahead of the playoffs.

Elsewhere on the roster, injuries continue to pile up. The Mets placed outfielder Tyrone Taylor on the 10-day IL due to a left hamstring strain yesterday, recalling Jared Young from Triple-A Syracuse in his place. The IL placement was backdated to Aug. 30. Manager Carlos Mendoza expressed optimism that Taylor wouldn’t require a long stint on the shelf but said the team felt it had little choice after Taylor was rested for three days but still unable to run close to full speed Monday (link via Steve Kornacki of MLB.com).

Taylor had struggled at the plate for most of the season but finally appeared to be turning a corner. He’d collected three multi-hit performances in his past seven games, going 10-for-21 with four doubles and three walks (.476/.542/.667). It’s a small sample, of course, and Taylor is still hitting just .218/.277/.315 overall, but getting his bat going in the season’s final month would’ve been a nice perk headed into postseason play. He’s provided outstanding defense throughout the year and also gone 11-for-13 on the basepaths.

With Taylor sidelined, it’s possible that Starling Marte could see some occasional reps in the outfield. He’s been a designated hitter 65 times this season, compared to just eight games in the field, but the 36-year-old has had a resurgent season at the plate. After hitting just .258/.314/.357 from 2023-24, Marte has turned back the clock with a .280/.358/.432 batting line in 272 plate appearances. This year’s eight home runs are already more than he hit in either 2023 or 2024 (despite considerably more plate appearances those seasons). His 18.4% strikeout rate is his lowest since 2020.

While Marte’s downturn in performance from 2023-24 might’ve led to some speculation about whether he’d continue playing after his four-year contract concludes at the end of the 2025 season, this year’s performance shows he still has something left in the tank. There may not be a great fit with the Mets — Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto are in the outfield corners, and the Mets have several infield options to cycle through the DH spot — but Marte tells MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo that he plans to continue playing beyond the ’25 season.

Marte, 37 in October, isn’t going to find the same kind of lucrative multi-year deal in free agency that he did when he signed a four-year, $78MM contract with the Mets, but he’s hitting well enough that he should still command a major league contract. Marte’s once-plus speed has faded, and he’s now in just the 29th percentile of big leaguers for sprint speed, per Statcast, but his arm strength still grades out quite well. Another limited outfield role with frequent DH work would make sense for him moving forward, even if it’s with another team.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top