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New York Notes: Marte, Mets, Hamilton, Rizzo

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Mets outfielder Starling Marte hasn’t appeared in the majors in nearly a month due to a right groin strain, and MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo notes that the veteran has received two cortisone injections and spent the past week working with a lower leg specialist in Philadelphia in hopes of returning to the field this season. Per DiComo, Marte’s discussion with reporters proved to come with news that’s both encouraging and ominous: while Marte is optimistic that he’ll be able to play for the Mets again in 2023, it’s possible Marte will have to undergo a groin surgery identical to the one he underwent back in November this offseason.

Marte made the second All Star appearance of his career with the Mets in 2022, slashing a strong .292/.347/.468 with a 134 wRC+ in 505 trips to the plate with the club last year. The now 34-year-old veteran struggled badly this season prior to heading to the injured list, however, slashing just .248/.301/.324 in 341 trips to the plate. That performance is good for a wRC+ of just 76 this year, 24% worse than league average. With two years and over $40MM left on Marte’s contract, the possibility of another season hampered by the same offseason surgery that hindered him this season is sure to be worrisome for Mets fans. The club is currently relying on DJ Stewart and Jeff McNeil in the outfield corners alongside Brandon Nimmo in center.

More from New York’s teams…

  • Sticking with the Mets, GM Billy Eppler spoke to Jim Duquette and Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio this afternoon. During the conversation, Eppler indicated to the duo that the Mets would be active in the starting pitching market this offseason. That should hardly come as a surprise, given the club shipped out Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander at the trade deadline earlier this season, leaving the club with few surefire starting options outside of Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana headed into next year. Youngsters David Peterson and Tylor Megill are currently in the rotation for the club, but both sport ERAs over 5.00 this season. Fortunately for the Mets, the upcoming free agent pitching class is deep with quality options, including the likes of Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
  • The Yankees lost right-hander Ian Hamilton to the injured list earlier today thanks to a right groin strain, with fellow righty Greg Weissert replacing him on the active roster. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) that Hamilton’s injury is the same one that caused him to miss roughly six weeks earlier this summer. Per Hoch, the club is holding out hope that Hamilton will be able to return this year, but Boone acknowledged it’s possible he’s done for the season. Hamilton joined the club on a minor league deal back in February and has proven to be a stalwart member of the club’s bullpen this year, with a 2.24 ERA and 2.74 FIP in 52 1/3 innings of work.
  • Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who has been out since last month due to post-concussion syndrome, is going through baseball activities in New York, as Boone told reporters (including Hoch) this evening. While Rizzo has not suffered a setback as he looks to return to the field, Boone indicated that the club intends to sit down with their veteran first baseman in order to discuss Rizzo’s progress in rehabbing the injury. With less than a month left in the regular season and Rizzo seemingly not close to beginning a rehab assignment, it seems unlikely that the 33-year-old will return this season, though Boone said as recently as August 23 a return before the end of the year was “realistic,” per MLB.com.

Mets Claim Peyton Battenfield

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The Guardians announced that right-hander Peyton Battenfield has been claimed off waivers by the Mets.  Battenfield was designated for assignment earlier this week as part of Cleveland’s roster-clearing moves for waiver claims Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Matt Moore.

Perhaps something of an overlooked arm within a Cleveland system deep in pitching prospects, Battenfield made his Major League debut this season, called into action to help eat innings amidst some injuries within the Guardians’ rotation.  The results weren’t great, as Battenfield posted a 5.19 ERA, 18.5% strikeout rate, and 8.2% walk rate over 34 2/3 innings (starting six of his seven games).  The righty was then injured himself, as shoulder inflammation sent Battenfield to the 60-day IL from mid-May until the start of August, when he was activated and then optioned back to Triple-A Columbus.

A ninth-round pick for the Astros in the 2019 draft, Battenfield was dealt to the Rays during the 2019-20 offseason before heading to Cleveland in the 2021 deadline deal that sent Jordan Luplow and DJ Johnston to Tampa.  He’ll now find himself on the move again to a Mets team that might have some competition for a rotation job next spring, given how only Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana look like sure bets to be part of the starting five.  At worst, Battenfield looks he can be a depth option for New York, and might have some further upside considering that he is just a year removed from a solid performance with Columbus in 2022.

Mets Notes: Alonso, Front Office, Carrasco

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Pete Alonso’s future in Queens has been the subject of speculation ever since the first baseman was at least discussed with other teams prior to the trade deadline.  Since Alonso is a free agent after the 2024 season, there is a possibility he isn’t a long-term concern for a Mets team that is taking some degree of step back next year, which makes him perhaps the most intriguing trade candidate available this offseason.

That is, if Alonso is available at all.  SNY’s Andy Martino threw some cold water on the idea of a blockbuster trade, reporting that unnamed Mets executives were “surprised and confused” at the public perception that Alonso will be dealt at all.  The Mets don’t intend “to actively shop Alonso,” and would only be open to a deal in the event of a huge offer from a rival club.

As Martino notes, much could change between now and the offseason, so this isn’t exactly an absolute declaration that Alonso won’t moved.  Of course, it also helps New York’s leverage in trade negotiations to appear as though Alonso isn’t for sale, in order to up the bidding for potential suitors.  Given how much league-wide interest there is in Alonso’s services, the Mets probably won’t need “to actively shop” such a top-tier hitter anyway.

It seems likely that Alonso trade rumors will persist in some fashion either until a deal actually happens, or if Alonso signs an extension to remain in New York.  For now, Martino writes that the club’s plan is to let Alonso play out the 2024 season and then pursue a new contract, as they did with other recent pending free agents like Edwin Diaz, Brandon Nimmo, and Jacob deGrom.  It is a bit of a risky gambit since it assumes the Mets won’t be outbid for Alonso’s services, though the club was able to re-sign both Nimmo and Diaz, with the latter locked up to a new deal just before the free agent market officially opened last November.

All of this could remain theoretical until the Mets hire their new president of baseball operations, who could bring some new ideas and plans into the organization.  A new PBO isn’t expected to be hired until after the season, but some key front office personnel are already on the way out.  The Mets have parted ways with director of player development Kevin Howard (as per Mike Mayer of Metsmerized), director of pro player evaluation Jeff Lebow (according to reporter Michael Marino), baseball development director Bryan Hayes and performance director Jim Cavallini (as per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo).  It is probably safe to assume that the new hires won’t be announced until the new PBO is in place, as the incoming president will want some say in installing their own staff.

Lebow and Hayes had both been with the Mets in various roles for over a decade, while Cavallini had been with the team since 2018 and Howard since 2021.  Howard might be best known by casual fans, as he briefly served as the Mets’ interim assistant hitting coach during the 2021 campaign before turning to his player development position after the season.

In other Mets news, Carlos Carrasco has at least temporarily been moved to a relief role.  As manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News), Carrasco suggested the move himself, as a nod to throwing only 49 pitches over 1 2/3 innings in his last start on August 26.  The veteran righty’s last turn in the rotation was skipped, and it isn’t clear when he might start again, as the Mets’ rotation plans will be shuffled due to a pair of off-days this upcoming week.

It’s been a tough year overall for Carrasco, who missed about a month due to elbow inflammation and hasn’t looked right all season, posting a 6.80 ERA over 90 innings.  Carrasco will be a free agent this winter and New York already looked into an early parting of the ways by placing him on waivers last week, though since Carrasco cleared waivers, the Mets will remain on the hook for the $2.33MM still owed in salary between now and the end of the season.

Carrasco’s struggles and salary made it quite likely that he wouldn’t be picked up another team, so September now looks to be his final month in a Mets uniform.  He could end up making another start or two down the stretch, though with the Mets out of contention, the priority is likely to give innings to younger arms as an audition for 2024.  Carrasco’s relief efforts could hint at a new career direction as he approaches his age-37 season, yet since Carrasco was still an effective starter as recently as 2022, he is likely to head into free agency still marketing himself as a rotation arm.

Carlos Carrasco Clears Waivers

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Mets right-hander Carlos Carrasco has passed through waivers unclaimed, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He was freely available to any club willing to take on his contract but will remain with the Mets, unless the team opts to outright him to a minor league affiliate (which he could reject in favor of free agency).

Acquired from Cleveland in the Francisco Lindor blockbuster, Carrasco was a quality member of the Mets’ pitching staff in 2022, tossing 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with a slightly better-than-average 23.6% strikeout rate against a sharp 6.4% walk rate. As has been the case with so many Mets in 2023, however, he’s seen his performance take a nosedive. The 36-year-old righty has been rocked for a 6.80 earned run average in 90 frames this year, posting the worst full-season marks of his career in strikeout rate (15.8%), walk rate (9.1%) and average fastball velocity (92.9 mph).

In addition to those struggles on the mound, Carrasco has battled injury troubles this season. The right-hander was on the injured list from April 16 through May 19 due to inflammation in his right elbow. He’s earning $14MM this year under the final season of his current contract, with about $2.333MM of that sum yet to be paid out.

Between the struggles on the mound, the early-season elbow trouble and the money remaining on his contract, Carrasco always looked like a good bet to clear waivers. He’ll likely finish out the season on the Mets’ staff and then hit free agency this winter, where he’ll be a candidate for a rebound pact on the open market — be it a one-year deal or a non-guaranteed pact.

The Best Fits For Lucas Giolito

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Yesterday’s biggest development was the number of players reportedly on the waiver wire. The Angels, White Sox, Yankees, Mets and Tigers each put impending free agents on irrevocable waivers.

Those clubs are out of contention. The hope is that another team with a path to the playoffs will take what remains of this year’s contract off their hands. It’s particularly meaningful in the Angels’ case, as shedding enough veterans could allow them to limbo back under the luxury tax threshold after their deadline push fell flat.

No other player known to be on waivers has the upside of Lucas Giolito. The right-hander has had a tough time in Orange County, allowing a 6.89 ERA over six starts. Giolito has been the victim of a home run barrage in Southern California, allowing multiple longballs in three of those appearances. Clearly, the past month hasn’t gone as he or the team had envisioned. Yet we’re only four weeks removed from Giolito and reliever Reynaldo López (also now on waivers) fetching two of the Halos’ top prospects in trade. Now, another team could have him for nothing more than the approximate $1.9MM remaining on his arbitration contract.

Giolito isn’t the only starter out there, but he’s by far the most appealing (at least among the players publicly reported to be on waivers). The Mets made Carlos Carrasco available. He has a 6.80 ERA through 20 starts on the season, though. He hasn’t shown much sign of recent progress, allowing 35 runs and a staggering .404/.450/.654 opponents’ batting line in 29 innings since the All-Star Break. It’s hard to imagine him as an upgrade for a contending pitching staff, particularly since there’s still around $2.6MM remaining on his $14MM salary.

Mike Clevinger would be a clearer roster upgrade than Carrasco. He missed a month and a half midway through the year with biceps inflammation. A return one start before the August 1 deadline wasn’t sufficient to drum up trade interest. Clevinger has turned in a solid enough season, though, pitching to a 3.32 ERA over 97 2/3 innings. While his 20.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk percentage are each worse than average, it’d be easy enough for a number of hopeful contenders to find room for Clevinger at the back of their rotation — at least from an on-field perspective.

Complicating matters is the structure of the righty’s contract. Clevinger’s $8MM salary isn’t the issue, as most teams could easily accommodate the roughly $1.5MM still to be paid out. Yet there’s also a $4MM buyout on a $12MM mutual option for next season. Clevinger receives the buyout regardless of which side declines the option and is very likely to return to free agency since mutual options are almost never triggered by both sides. A claiming team would have to take on responsibility for the buyout as well — it’s all or nothing for assuming a player’s contract off waivers — so it’d be a nearly $5.5MM investment for a month (and perhaps a playoff run) of Clevinger’s services.

That’s a tough sell for a team. If there were no option buyout, he’d need to be playing this season on a $30MM salary to have that kind of money remaining on his deal. It’s hard to imagine any team views Clevinger as equivalent to a $30MM pitcher, even for just a few weeks.

While Carrasco and Clevinger seem like borderline waiver claims at best, there’s little doubt someone will add Giolito. Despite his recent struggles, he’d be a clear upgrade for fringe contenders with uncertain rotation outlooks.

A few things to remember before taking a look at the likeliest teams to make a claim. It’ll be a club with playoff aspirations. Giolito would be the best pitcher on the A’s, but there’s no incentive for them to add him when he’ll be a free agent in five weeks. Yet he’s probably not going to wind up with one of the three best teams in the sport. Waiver priority is in inverse order of the MLB standings as of tomorrow morning. The Dodgers, Orioles and/or Braves could place a claim, but it’s very likely someone with a worse record will do so as well and beat them out.

Let’s identify potential fits (in expected waiver priority order):

  • Padres (62-72)

This could be a test of how much optimism remains in the San Diego front office. The Padres are 10 games under .500 and eight out of the final NL Wild Card spot. A postseason run is hard to envision at this point. Yet the Friars held Blake Snell and Josh Hader at the deadline and acquired Garrett Cooper, Ji Man Choi, Scott Barlow and Rich Hill. If there’s any hope for 2023 left at Petco Park, a Giolito claim would be the last sign. Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish are on the injured list, leaving Hill and Pedro Avila in the starting five. There’s room for Giolito on the roster. A couple million dollars doesn’t seem much of a deterrent for owner Peter Seidler. The question is simply whether the Padres still think they have a shot.

  • Marlins (66-66)

Miami looked into rotation possibilities at the deadline but ultimately brought in just a depth starter in Ryan Weathers. They’ve kept Edward Cabrera in Triple-A for the past month. Johnny Cueto is on the injured list, while it’s unclear if Trevor Rogers will return at all this season. There’s a strong front four in Sandy Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and rookie Eury Pérez. There’s enough uncertainty with the final rotation spot that Miami could consider a claim.

Notably, the Marlins aren’t guaranteed to remain above the Reds’ in the waiver order. A Marlins win over the Rays paired with a Cincinnati loss in San Francisco would push Miami’s win percentage marginally above that of the Reds.

  • Reds (68-66)

The Reds are the first club where it’d be incredibly surprising if they didn’t put in a claim on Giolito. Cincinnati didn’t address their rotation at the deadline despite ranking 27th at the time in rotation ERA. They’ve been no better over the past month, with their starters allowing 5.86 earned runs per nine in 26 games. Hunter Greene returned from the injured list in the intervening weeks but was shelled in his first two starts back. Nick Lodolo —  initially expected back from a leg injury at the end of this month — suffered a setback. Even with Graham Ashcraft and Brandon Williamson performing well of late, there’s clear room for more help. The Reds checked in with the White Sox about their rotation before the deadline, presumably at least gauging Chicago’s asking price on Giolito before they sent him to Anaheim.

  • Twins (69-65)*

Giolito would be a luxury buy for a Minnesota club that’s on its way to an AL Central title. The rotation is already strong, anchored by Pablo López, Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Joe Ryan. The Twins have gotten decent enough work from Dallas Keuchel that they optioned Bailey Ober to Triple-A. Placing a claim would simply be about deepening the pitching staff for the postseason, where skipper Rocco Baldelli could have quicker hooks for everyone aside from López and Gray.

  • Red Sox (69-64)

The Red Sox may feel their rotation is strong enough to pass on Giolito. They’re running with a starting five of Chris Sale, James Paxton, Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford. That’s a pretty good group, although they’re middle-of-the-pack in ERA and strikeout rate since the All-Star Break. Paxton, Sale and Houck have had injury concerns. Houck and Crawford have spent time in the bullpen this season.

Starting pitching isn’t necessarily a need, but adding any kind of talent could be welcome for a club that has fallen 6.5 games out of the last AL Wild Card spot. Boston has roughly $9MM in payroll space before reaching the base luxury tax threshold, as calculated by Roster Resource. They’d only take on the remaining portion of Giolito’s salary if they claimed him, so that shouldn’t be an issue.

  • Diamondbacks (69-64)

If Cincinnati, Boston (and everyone else in front of them) passes on Giolito, the D-Backs figure to step in. They’re quite similar to the Reds. Arizona’s a surprise contender that sought but didn’t find rotation upgrades for the deadline. They also touched base with the Sox on Giolito. There’s still very little depth beyond Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. Righty Slade Cecconi has five MLB appearances to his name. Brandon Pfaadt has been knocked around as a rookie. Zach Davies probably shouldn’t be starting for a team with playoff aspirations. Tommy Henry, arguably the club’s third-best starter, seems likely to miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury.

*Note: Boston, Minnesota and Arizona could swap places in waiver priority tonight. When multiple clubs have the same record, priority goes to the team in the same league as the team that put the player on waivers. Within leagues, priority goes to the team that had the worse record in prior seasons. If they all have the same record going into tomorrow, the order would go Minnesota (worse record than the Red Sox in 2021) – Boston – Arizona.

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It’s tough to envision scenarios where Giolito gets past the Diamondbacks. At least one of Miami, Cincinnati and Arizona should be motivated enough to make a claim. Contenders like the Cubs, Rays, Orioles and Dodgers may all have interest, but it’d require inexplicable decisions to pass on the part of a few teams in front of them. Perhaps clubs near the back of the waiver order will consider a flier on Clevinger as a fallback, though the aforementioned contract situation makes that far less appealing than getting Giolito would be.

Mets To Promote Ronny Mauricio

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The Mets are promoting infield prospect Ronny Mauricio, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (Twitter link). He’ll join the club on Friday when active rosters expand from 26 to 28 players.

Mauricio, 22, joins the major league team for the first time. He has been one of the most highly-touted players in the system since signing out of the Dominican Republic during the 2017-18 amateur period. Baseball America has slotted him among the Mets’ five most talented farmhands at the start of each of the last five years, while he placed among the league’s Top 100 talents at BA every season from 2019-22.

A switch-hitter, Mauricio draws praise from evaluators for significant power potential from both sides of the plate. He’s an excellent athlete with a strong throwing arm and has a shot to stick in the middle infield. Few minor league players can match Mauricio’s physical ability, which he has put on display in the upper minors over the past couple seasons.

Mauricio has posted consecutive 20-20 seasons, spending last year in Double-A before moving up to Triple-A Syracuse for this year. He connected on 26 longballs with 20 stolen bases a year ago. Through 115 contests with Syracuse, he has hit 23 homers and gone 24-31 on the basepaths.

The main question is whether Mauricio is a selective enough hitter to continue performing against MLB competition. This year’s 6.6% walk rate is his highest at any full-season level but is still a couple points below the MLB average. The lack of free passes have generally resulted in below-average OBP marks as he’s climbed the minor league ladder. His prospect stock has dimmed slightly as a result. Baseball America no longer includes him in their Top 100, though he still ranked sixth in the organization on their midseason update. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN left him just outside a recent Top 50 list.

Mauricio is still a very good prospect, albeit perhaps more high-variance than most top minor league talents. To his credit, he has continued to perform well at the upper levels — generally against slightly older competition. Mauricio is hitting .295/.349/.511 across 527 Triple-A plate appearances. Alongside his marginally improved walk rate, he has cut his strikeouts to a lower than average 18.2% clip — nearly five points better than his Double-A figure. Mauricio has performed well from both sides of the dish, hitting .298/.358/.521 against southpaws while posting a .284/.316/.477 slash versus right-handed pitching.

The Mets have used Mauricio at shortstop for the majority of his pro career. He has logged nearly 500 innings of second base work in Syracuse this year. The latter position seems his likeliest fit at the MLB level given the presence of Francisco Lindor in Queens. New York could kick Jeff McNeil into left field while taking reps from Rafael Ortega as they get their first look at Mauricio to close a disappointing season.

Mauricio will retain his rookie eligibility headed into next year, leaving open the possibility of him netting the club a future draft choice if he meets the criteria for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He was already added to the 40-man roster two offseasons ago, so the Mets won’t have to make any additional moves to bring him up on Friday.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Adam Kolarek Elects Free Agency

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Mets left-hander Adam Kolarek rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Syracuse after clearing waivers and elected free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Outfielder Abraham Almonte, also designated by the Mets over the weekend, went unclaimed and has been assigned outright to Syracuse as well. Like Kolarek, Almonte has the right to elect free agency, but there’s no indication yet that he’s chosen to do so.

Kolarek, 34, now stands as an interesting, last-minute depth addition for playoff hopefuls seeking to stockpile bullpen arms in advance of Friday’s postseason eligibility deadline. The sidearm southpaw has appeared in parts of seven big league seasons, logging a combined 3.62 ERA with a well below-average 15.9% strikeout rate but strong command (6.8% walk rate) and a mammoth 63.9% ground-ball rate. He’s tossed six shutout innings with a 7-to-1 K/BB ratio between the Dodgers and Mets in 2023, plus another 35 1/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball in Triple-A (albeit with an uncharacteristic 13.5% walk rate in that time).

Kolarek struggled with the A’s in 2021-22 (5.74 ERA in 26 2/3 innings) but has had success at every other stop in his big league career, including with the Rays, Dodgers (two stints) and Mets. He’s not a hard thrower (as is the case with most sidearmers), but he’s held opponents to an ugly 87.2 mph exit velocity in his career and allowed less than a third of the batted balls against him at 95 mph or more — both strong marks. He’ll presumably draw some interest on a minor league deal from a playoff hopeful, and with rosters set to expand to 28 players on Friday, a return path to the big leagues could be all the more realistic.

As for the 34-year-old Almonte, he went 1-for-15 with eight punchouts in 16 plate appearances with the Mets. The journeyman outfielder has suited up for eight teams in parts of 11 seasons at the MLB level. He’s typically been a reserve outfielder, never topping 258 plate appearances in a season, and is a career .233/.300/.371 batter in 1379 plate appearances. Almonte is a lifetime .287/.388/.493 hitter in parts of nine Triple-A seasons, including a .228/.331/.564 slash in 118 plate appearances with Syracuse this season.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Ohtani’s Torn UCL, Free Agent Power Rankings and Stephen Strasburg to Retire

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss:

Plus, we answer your questions, including:

  • Would the Brewers be a good fit for Pete Alonso? (21:10)
  • What will the Cubs do at first base next year and could Alonso be a fit? (24:50)
  • Could Alonso fit on the Twins? (26:35)

Check out our past episodes!

  • The White Sox Fire Their Front Office, Injured Rays and Prospect Promotion Time – listen here
  • Pete Alonso’s Future, Yankees’ Rotation Troubles and Should the Trade Deadline Be Pushed Back? – listen here
  • The Streaking Mariners, the Struggling Angels and Injured Aces – listen here

Mets Reportedly Place Carlos Carrasco On Waivers

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The Mets have placed Carlos Carrasco on waivers, as reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The right-hander is one of several players to go on waivers today, as teams out of the postseason picture attempt to shed payroll. If another team claims Carrasco, they will be responsible for the prorated portion of his $14MM salary. He is set to become a free agent after the season.

Following a resurgent 2022 campaign, Carrasco has struggled in 2023. In 20 starts, he is averaging less than five innings per game, while pitching to a 6.80 ERA and 5.17 SIERA. The 36-year-old has run into particular trouble since the All-Star break, with a 10.24 ERA in his last eight starts. Given his rough performance, it seems unlikely that any team will be willing to take on his remaining salary, but it’s possible a contending club in need of rotation depth will take a chance on the veteran. He is only one year removed from a season in which he made 29 starts with a 3.97 ERA.

Revocable waivers no longer exist, so these are either outright or release waivers. If Carrasco goes unclaimed, there’s a chance he could become a free agent either way. As a 14-year MLB veteran, he has more than enough service time under his belt to reject an outright assignment without sacrificing any salary. Thus, this could mark the end of his time with the Mets. He has been with the organization for three seasons, having come over from Cleveland in 2021 as part of the trade that brought Francisco Lindor to New York. In 61 starts, he has pitched to a disappointing 5.21 ERA but a much more respectable 4.25 SIERA.

With a payroll far north of the highest competitive balance tax threshold, the Mets aren’t making this move with the luxury tax in mind. Still, given the tens of millions of dollars the team is paying to players no longer on the roster (including Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, and Robinson Cano), it’s understandable that Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler are looking for a little payroll relief.

New York has several arms available to take over for Carrasco in the rotation if need be, including right-handers José Butto and Denyi Reyes and left-hander Joey Lucchesi. All three are on the 40-man roster and have made at least two starts this season for the big league club. Lucchesi seems to be the most likely candidate; in six starts for the Mets, he has a 2.54 ERA in 28 innings pitched.

Latest On Edwin Diaz

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Injured Mets closer Edwin Diaz has been targeting a late-season return since tearing the patellar tendon in his knee during the World Baseball Classic, and even with the Mets squarely out of postseason contention, he’s still working toward that goal. Diaz told reporters yesterday that he just threw his first bullpen session and is still hoping to pitch before the end of the year (video link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Diaz’s hope is “to finish the year on a positive note,” and he later added that he was hitting 93 to 95 mph in Sunday’s bullpen session.

Onlookers may question the notion of bringing Diaz back at the short end of his recovery window of six to eight months, but both the pitcher and key members of the organization have previously spoken about the importance of Diaz getting back onto the mound to be sure he’s healthy and give him piece of mind through a hopefully normal offseason. Via Jerry Beach of the Associated Press, manager Buck Showalter said just yesterday that Diaz even being considered a possibility to return is a “good thing” and that the righty getting back on the mound would be “really exciting for everybody.” Showalter also emphasized that no decision will be made until Diaz is given medical clearance — which is still a aways off.

Diaz inked a five-year, $102MM contract to return to the Mets before free agency even opened in earnest last offseason — the largest contract ever given to a reliever. The first season of that pact has been wiped out entirely by his WBC knee injury. Given all that’s gone wrong in Queens this season, it’s unlikely that a healthy Diaz would’ve been enough to salvage the 2023 campaign, but losing him for the majority of the year was the first of many contributing factors to the downfall of a club featuring MLB’s largest-ever payroll.

The 29-year-old Diaz’s fastball isn’t back up to full strength, of course, but it’s nonetheless encouraging that he’s throwing 93 to 95 mph in his first ’pen session. Diaz averaged 98.7 mph on his heater from 2020-22 — including 99.1 mph last year — and pitched to an electric 2.27 ERA with 70 saves during that time. His 2022 campaign was one of the best ever by a relief pitcher, as he worked to a pristine 1.31 ERA with 32 saves, a better-than-average 7.7% walk rate and a historic 50.2% strikeout rate that stands as the second-highest ever for a qualified reliever during a 162-game season (third-highest, if counting Devin Williams’ 53% mark during the shortened 2020 season).

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