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Mets Activate Jed Lowrie

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The Mets are set to welcome one of their offseason additions, as infielder Jed Lowrie has been activated from the injured list, according to Tim Healey of Newsday. In addition, Dominic Smith has been transferred to the 60-day injured list and right-hander Drew Gagnon has been recalled from Triple-A.

Lowrie, one of the Mets’ significant signings of the offseason, has yet to play a game in his new uniform due to a series of left leg injuries affecting the knee, hamstring, and calf. Lowrie, 35, inked a 2-year, $20MM contract with the Mets but began the season on the injured list with a left knee capsule strain that emerged in Spring Training. However, a hamstring strain in May delayed the timetable for his recovery, and it seems that rehab subsequently snowballed into a complicated mess of recovery and re-injury.

With Robinson Cano and Todd Frazier installed at second and third base, respectively, it’s unclear just how much playing time Lowrie will receive. In that regard, not much has changed since Lowrie was signed, when the fit appeared questionable, given the team’s invested in Cano and the presence of promising youngster Jeff McNeil. At the very least, he’ll be able to offer some return on the first year of the Mets’ investment. He’s coming off a pair of productive seasons in Oakland, posting a cumulative OPS of .804, including a career-best 23 home runs last season. While he likely isn’t at full health yet, the Mets will hope for signs that Lowrie isn’t far off those numbers—not only for this season, but with an eye on 2020 as well.

Meanwhile, Smith may very well have played his last game this season; now on the 60-day IL, the earliest he could return would come in the final week of the regular season. If indeed his season is over, he’ll close the book on a breakthrough age-24 season in which he has slashed .278/.352/.506 in a part-time role. However, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that there’s a chance he could be cleared to make another appearance or two, as he’ll be reevaluated in his recovery from a stress fracture in his left foot.

Outrighted: Castillo, Hart

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These are the latest players to be outrighted after being designated for assignment …

  • Marlins catcher Wilkin Castillo is headed back to the Triple-A roster after being outrighted, per the PCL transactions page. The 35-year-old had returned to the majors this season for the first time since 2009, though he only appeared in two contests. An exceptionally versatile player, Castillo has spent most of his professional career behind the dish but has also lined up at every other position on the field. (Only barely. Though he has five pitching appearances, Castillo has logged just one inning in center field.)
  • The Mets outrighted southpaw Donnie Hart to their top affiliate after he cleared waivers, the International League transactions page reflects. Hart, who turns 29 tomorrow, has spent time this year with the Mets and Brewers. He previously appeared in parts of three seasons with the Orioles. While Hart carries a 3.13 ERA in 89 career MLB innings, that relies heavily upon his unsustainable debut showing (one earned run in 18 1/3 innings in 2016). Though he hasn’t been much of a strikeout pitcher in the big leagues, the soft-tossing lefty does have a career 54.1% groundball rate.

Latest On Jeremy Jeffress

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Right-hander Jeremy Jeffress, officially released by the Brewers yesterday, has drawn some level of interest from several teams, tweets Yahoo’s Matt Ehalt. The Reds, Mets, Phillies, Rays and even the Brewers are among the teams who’ve inquired about the 2018 All-Star.

Jeffress isn’t postseason eligible, having been cut loose in September, but some of the interested teams would apparently like to proactively lock him up to a deal that covers the 2020 campaign (perhaps via a club option). That’d help to explain Milwaukee’s reported interest in bringing the righty back; the Brewers clearly had no intention of exercising Jeffress preexisting $4.3MM option for the 2020 season, but they (or another suitor) could conceivably try to hammer out an option at a lower base salary with some additional incentives. Any team signing Jeffress would only owe him the prorated league minimum for the remainder of the current season.

It’s also possible, though, that Jeffress could simply sit out the remainder of the season and explore opportunities this winter. He was on the injured list due to a hip ailment at the time of his release, and there’d surely be some benefit to an extended period of rest for the righty. He’ll likely have offseason minor league offers with decent base salaries (though less than the previous $4.3MM) at the very least, meaning there’s no rush to sign at the moment. There’ll surely be teams who are only interested in adding him after the current season draws to a close, so waiting until November to take a deal would widen his market.

Open-market circumstances surrounding Jeffress will always be somewhat atypical, given the right-hander’s history. He’s served multiple minor league suspensions for drugs of abuse (i.e. marijuana) and was charged with a DWI while pitching for the Rangers in 2016. That track record surely contributed to the club-friendly deal Jeffress signed with Milwaukee prior to the 2018 season, which came with two team options at relatively low base rates and plenty of yearly incentives based on innings pitched and games finished.

Jeffress’ release earlier this week marked the end of a radical downturn in performance. The right-hander logged a 1.29 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.59 HR/9 and a 56.4 percent ground-ball rate in last year’s All-Star season before unraveling in the playoffs. He then missed the first several weeks of the 2019 season due to shoulder fatigue.

Upon activation in mid-April, Jeffress pitched well for two months, logging a 2.52 ERA and a 26-to-9 K/BB ratio through his first 22 appearances (25 innings). Since that time, he’s scuffled with an ERA north of 7.00 and a deflated strikeout rate. Jeffress’ velocity has actually improved a bit as he’s distanced himself from the early shoulder fatigue, but the aforementioned hip ailment has added another injury to the ledger. In all, he’s turned in 52 innings with a 5.02 ERA, 8.0 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 1.00 HR/9 and a 48.4 percent ground-ball rate while enduring a pair of IL stints in 2019. The upside a healthy Jeffress brings to the table is enormous, but he’s struggled to produce consistent results over the past three seasons.

Robinson Cano Expected To Return Tomorrow

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When Robinson Cano went down with a torn left hamstring on Aug. 5, appearances were that the accomplished infielder was likely going to miss the remainder of the 2019 season. Amazingly, at 36 years old, Cano has progressed well enough in his recovery that he will return to action for tomorrow’s game with the division-rival Nationals, according to Mike Puma of The New York Post (link). Cano concluded a two-game rehab appearance with the short-season Brooklyn Cyclones on Sunday.

With Cano out of action, the Mets have split keystone duties between Jeff McNeil and free agent pickup Joe Panik. Production hasn’t been powerful from the veteran Panik, who has offered a .265/.315/.338 line in a limited sample of 74 plate appearances. That said–as has been said before–it’s not as if Cano was his vintage self while wearing a Mets uniform this year, either.

In his first year in Flushing, the eight-time All-Star has hit .252/.295/.415 with 10 home runs in 346 plate appearances. That’s not what the Mets had in mind when they acquired him in an essentially franchise-altering trade this offseason, but even a shade of the Dominican’s former greatness would be greatly welcome as the Mets try to mount a 4.0 game deficit in the NL Wild Card race. After this season, Cano will have four years and $96MM remaining on the ten-year/$240MM contract he signed with the Mariners in 2013.

 

 

Mets Re-Sign Ruben Tejada

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The Mets have re-signed infielder Ruben Tejada to a minor league contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Tejada won’t yet be part of the expanded September roster in New York, as he’ll report to Triple-A Syracuse for now.

It was only a brief separation between the two parties, as the Mets just released Tejada earlier this week.  He’ll continue to provide backup infield depth at Triple-A, and is probably ticketed back to the big leagues before too long.  The 29-year-old has appeared in six games for the Mets this season after signing his initial minors contract back in March.  That six-game stint marked Tejada’s Major League appearance since 2017, as he spent 2018 with Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate and didn’t receive a call-up, ending a string of eight consecutive years of MLB action.

Tejada was hitless over nine plate appearances in those six Mets games this season, but he has a very strong .330/.408/.476 slash line over 304 PA for Syracuse.

Notable September Callups

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We’ll track the flurry of notable callups as roster expand on September 1.

Latest Moves

  • The Mets promoted left-hander Daniel Zamora and right-hander Tyler Bashlor from Triple-A, and also selected the contract of second baseman Sam Haggerty.  (The club posted a fun video on its Twitter account of the players receiving the news.)  A 24th-round pick for Cleveland in the 2015 draft, Haggerty came to the Mets last winter part of the trade that sent Kevin Plawecki to the Indians.  Haggerty began the year at low-A ball and worked his way up to the Show after posting a .907 OPS over 49 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Earlier Updates

  • The Diamondbacks announced a slew of callups today. Most notably, the club has selected the contract of outfielder Abraham Almonte and recalled right-hander Jon Duplantier. Almonte, 30, has logged time as a reserve each of the past six seasons, to the tune of a career .237/.294/.367 slash (79 wRC+). Duplantier, one of the club’s top pitching prospects, has battled injury issues in recent years but offers a high-upside bullpen piece for the stretch run.
  • The Rays’ September additions include a number of notable players, with Nate Lowe headlining a group of five call-ups. He’ll be joined by Peter Fairbanks and Daniel Robertson, among others.
  • The Braves announced they’ve recalled utilityman Johan Camargo. Camargo was optioned after the club signed Adeiny Hechavarría to replace the injured Dansby Swanson at shortstop. Swanson’s back now, and Hechavarría is still on hand, so it’ll be a tough climb for Camargo, who’s mired in a dreadful season. He’s only a year removed from a productive age-24 campaign, though.
  • The Padres will select the contract of right-handed reliever David Bednar, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). The 24 year-old gets a little lost among the Padres’ loaded system, but he boasts a pair of plus offerings in his fastball and curveball, opine Kiley McDaniel and Eric Lognenhagen of Fangraphs. Despite a less-than-stellar reputation for his command, Bednar has dazzled in the Texas League this season, pitching to a 2.95 ERA with elite strikeout (35.8%) and walk (7.5%) numbers.
  • The Indians announced today they have selected the contracts of Ryan Flaherty and James Hoyt. They’ve also recalled Eric Haase. Flaherty’s solid Triple-A work this year has earned him his seventh consecutive big league season, where he’ll serve as infield depth for the club down José Ramírez. Hoyt logged 72.2 innings with the Astros from 2016-2018 and offers right-handed bullpen depth, while Haase, 26, is a power-hitting catcher with contact issues.
  • The Yankees announced they have selected left-hander Tyler Lyons. The veteran reliever just signed a minor-league contract with the organization a few weeks ago and adds depth to a loaded bullpen. Right-hander David Hale was transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear 40-man space. The Bombers also recalled right-handers Ryan Dull and Chance Adams and outfielder Clint Frazier.
  • The Cardinals have selected catcher Joe Hudson, per a team announcement. The 28 year-old got into eight games last year with the Angels. He’s had a tough season offensively with Triple-A Memphis, slashing .223/.293/.411. Outfielder Lane Thomas was transferred to the 60-day injured list with a season-ending wrist injury. Anne Rogers of MLB.com tweets that veteran backstop Matt Wieters is day-to-day with a calf strain, so the club elected to bring Hudson and Andrew Knizner aboard to bolster their catching depth.
  • The Brewers announced they have selected the contract of first baseman Tyler Austin. A former Yankee, Twin and Giant, Austin has a strong minor-league track record and brings some right-handed power, but has mustered only a .220/.288/.451 line in 556 career MLB plate appearances thanks to untenable strikeout rates.
  • Top Astros prospect Kyle Tucker isn’t up yet, but he will be shortly, tweets Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle. Houston’s additional reinforcements will be announced tomorrow, Rome adds. The 22 year-old corner outfielder has again laid waste to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and has nothing left to prove at the minor-league level, but opportunities have been few and far between in the Astros’ loaded lineup.
  • Just-acquired first baseman Ryan McBroom will be selected to the Royals’ active roster shortly, tweets Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com. As Flanagan notes, the 27 year-old was likely to be added to the 40-man this offseason to protect him from the Rule V draft regardless, so there’s little harm in giving him his first taste of MLB action in the meantime. The former 15th-rounder has put up strong offensive numbers throughout his minor-league career, culminating in a .315/.402/.574 line in the Triple-A International League this season.

Mets Activate Brandon Nimmo, Designate Donnie Hart

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The Mets have returned one of last year’s top contributors ahead of Sunday’s game, activating outfielder Brandon Nimmo from the injured list, according to Tim Britton of The Athletic. He’ll be joined by a number of other roster additions, which necessitate the removal of Donnie Hart, who has been designated for assignment and is no longer on the 40-man roster.

One of last year’s top performers, Nimmo entered the year looking like an integral piece of the Mets’ future. Thus far, things haven’t gone according to plan in 2019 for the 26-year-old. Though he’s been troubled by the effects of a bulging cervical disk, Nimmo failed to duplicate last year’s breakout performance in his first 161 plate appearances. He landed on the injured list in late May after slashing an underwhelming .200/.344/.323 through 43 games.

Without last year’s breakout star, there’s been a revolving door in center field for the Mets. Holdover Juan Lagares has received the lion’s share of the playing time, though his untenable .560 season OPS has forced the front office to look elsewhere for options. Keon Broxton, Carlos Gomez, and Rajai Davis have all gotten looks in center, though none has offered a significant upgrade over Lagares. With Nimmo back in the mix, the team should gain some much-needed stability at the position, including a considerable boost in offensive production, assuming Nimmo can regain the form that made him a 2018 fan favorite.

Hart, meanwhile, only managed to contribute one inning of work to the Mets, his second team this year. Since breaking in with the Orioles in 2016, Hart has tossed 89 Major League innings and has posted a 3.13 ERA. A combination of low strikeout numbers and subpar control doesn’t make Hart a sexy reliever, but he’s a southpaw who owns a career 54.1% groundball rate, meaning that there may be a spot for him on some team’s 40-man roster.

Dilson Herrera Opts Out Of Mets Contract

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Infielder Dilson Herrera has exercised a release clause in his minor-league deal with the Mets and will now enter free agency, reports MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

If you’re feeling a bit of déjà vu, that’s because Herrera has already opted for free agency once this year. The last time he tested the free agent waters, he wound up rejoining the Mets on a minor-league pact when no other favorable opportunities emerged.

The 25-year-old Herrera, who hasn’t appeared in the Majors this season, will seek out an agreement with a club that may offer a better chance at returning to the big leagues. It’s certainly fair for Herrera to want to reevaluate his worth after a 2019 season in which he has put up career-best power numbers, having slugged 24 home runs in 460 Triple-A plate appearances. An interested team may be willing to use one of its expanded roster spots on a player like Herrera, who seems to have reimagined himself after a lackluster opening to his Major League career.

Brandon Nimmo Return Imminent

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The words “bulging cervical disc” are likely to produce a wince from even the most stoic of readers, but it seems that Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo has managed that exact injury well enough to make a return to playing baseball in the coming days. Per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, it seems that Nimmo, who hasn’t appeared with the Metropolitans since mid-May, could rejoin the team as soon as tomorrow according to manager Mickey Callaway (link). After a brilliant 2018 in which the 26-year-old slashed .263/.404/.483 with a 149 wRC+, Nimmo was expected to be a large part of New York’s playoff push; instead, his injury largely opened the door for an emergent J.D. Davis, who has more than helped account for Nimmo’s absence with a 131 wRC+ in 374 trips to the plate this year.

Still, fellow Mets outfielder Michael Conforto is excited about Nimmo’s return: “He can be a gamechanger,” Conforto told Thosar. “He gets on base and there are days where he just doesn’t get out. If he’s feeling 100% healthy, he’ll be a serious weapon for us.”

Mets Notes: Amaro, Cano

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Mets second baseman Robinson Cano will begin a rehab assignment at the Single-A level on Saturday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports. Cano suffered a torn left hamstring on Aug. 5, which looked like a potential season-ending injury at the time. But Cano has progressed far quicker than expected and now appears likely to return before the original six- to 12-week timeline. If so, he’ll attempt to close the year out in solid fashion after struggling for most of it. The eight-time All-Star has batted a career-worst .252/.295/.415 with 10 home runs in 346 plate appearances during his first season with the Mets.

  • The Mets have given special assistant to the general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. permission to look for a job elsewhere, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. They are willing to keep Amaro, per Puma, though Andy Martino of SNY relays that he will indeed leave when his contract expires. The executive’s not in for an “immediate” exit, though, and his departure will be “amicable,” Martino writes. Amaro has been with the Mets for two seasons – he worked as their first base coach and outfield/baserunning coach a year ago – but he’s best known for his run as the Phillies’ GM from 2009-15.
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