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Mets Designate Paul Sewald, Select Rajai Davis, Send Brandon Nimmo To 10-Day IL

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The Mets have announced a series of roster moves, including the placement of outfielder Brandon Nimmo on the 10-day IL due to a stiff neck (placement retroactive to May 21).  Veteran outfielder Rajai Davis will be coming up to replace Nimmo, as the Mets have selected his contract.  To create 40-man roster space for Davis, reliever Paul Sewald has been designated for assignment.

The 38-year-old Davis was one of several veteran players signed to minors deals by the Mets last winter, and he now joins Carlos Gomez and Adeiny Hechevarria as names from that list who have seen their contracts selected in the wake of multiple injuries on the Mets’ roster.  Davis will now suit up for his 14th MLB season and eighth different team to help New York fill its outfield void.

Davis has long been known more for his speed (415 career stolen bases) and fielding ability than his bat, though he hasn’t delivered an above-average season at the plate since 2015.  This includes a .224/.278/.281 slash line over 216 PA with the Indians last season, though Davis was still a threat when he did get on base, swiping 21 bags in 28 chances.

Sewald has a 5.18 ERA over 128 1/3 relief innings for the Mets since the start of the 2016 season, including an 3.86 mark in seven frames this season.  He misses a fair number of bats (career 9.2 K/9) for a pitcher whose average fastball sits around the 90mph threshold, though Sewald doesn’t generate many grounders, and has a career 1.2 HR/9.

After a breakout 2018 season that saw him hit .263/.404/.483 with 17 homers in 535 plate appearances, Nimmo had gotten off to a much slower start (.200/.344/.323) in his first 161 PA of the 2019 campaign.  The neck issue could be somewhat to blame for this performance, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo notes that Nimmo has been bothered by neck soreness since April.

Today’s moves leave the Mets with an outfield mix of Davis, Gomez, Juan Lagares, converted infielder J.D. Davis, and Jeff McNeil, though McNeil isn’t in today’s lineup due to hamstring tightness.  While McNeil told DiComo and other reporters that he expects to be back as soon as tomorrow, the lack of depth has left the Mets exploring their options.  Manager Mickey Callaway said today that the Mets could consider using Dominic Smith in the outfield again, as the erstwhile first baseman has been lobbying for more outfield work as a way of getting back into the lineup.  (SNY.tv’s Scott Thompson was among those to report the news).  Smith has hit well in limited time this season, as he has made only 48 PA due to Pete Alonso’s emergence as the everyday first baseman.

Michael Conforto also began some light baseball activities today as he continues his recovery from a concussion suffered last weekend.  There wasn’t yet any timetable on when Conforto could return, Callaway said.

Orioles Acquire Keon Broxton, Claim Chandler Shepherd

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The Orioles have acquired outfielder Keon Broxton from the Mets and claimed righty Chandler Shepherd from the Cubs, per a club announcement. $500K in international signing bonus slots are headed to the Mets in the swap.

Those additions created a need for two 40-man slots. To do so, the team moved starter Alex Cobb to the 60-day IL and designated fellow righty Yefry Ramirez for assignment.

Broxton, 29, obviously drew some interest since it took a non-trivial trade return to add him. He’ll need to stay on the active roster since he’s out of options. It’ll be interesting to see whether the O’s give him an extended audition in center field. While the results just haven’t been there for Broxton at the game’s highest level, he also has not had much of a chance to get going since the 2017 campaign.

This year has been a wreck so far for Broxton, who saw action in 34 games but took only 53 plate appearances with the Mets. He struck out 22 times in that span while delivering just one extra-base hit. Broxton did still manage to swipe four bags and figures to be a strong contributor in the field and on the bases.

As for the 26-year-old Shepherd, he’s on the move again just days after being claimed by the Cubs from the Red Sox. The right-handed hurler has been hit exceptionally hard this year at Triple-A, allowing 33 earned runs on 53 hits (eleven of them long balls) in 29 2/3 innings. But he had previously been a solid performer in the upper minors. The O’s are in need of innings and may have some ideas for getting him sorted out.

In any event, the organization obviously preferred Shepherd to Ramirez, who has had his own struggles this year. In 10 1/3 MLB frames, Ramirez has issued nine walks against eleven strikeouts while coughing up eight earned runs. Though it had never been an issue in the minors, he also struggled with the free passes last year in the majors.

Brodie Van Wagenen Issues Mickey Callaway Vote Of Confidence

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It was a busy day for Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen, who addressed reporters on the latest strange health twist from outfielder (and former client) Yoenis Cespedes and also issued a vote of confidence in manager Mickey Callaway. Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports was among those to cover the presser.

With the Mets still reeling ten days after COO Jeff Wilpon called a sit-down with Van Wagenen and Callaway, the temperature on Callaway’s seat in the dugout is warming. Van Wagenen met with players and the coaching staff today to make clear that Callaway remains in charge, then met with the media to make the same point.

As is often the case when head coaches and managers receive a vote of confidence, the message was somewhat mixed. Van Wagenen said that Callaway “has our full support to lead this team for the foreseeable future,” yet raised some doubt as to the meaning of the term “foreseeable” by stopping well shy of giving any assurances that Callaway would be entrusted with the reins for the remainder of the season.

Van Wagenen says that the club’s focus has been the unity between the players and coaching staff. Callaway scores well in that department in the eyes of the rookie GM, who says that his club’s manager “has the pulse of the clubhouse.”

Whether that will remain the standard by which Callaway is judged moving forward isn’t clear. All that does seem clear is that the second-year skipper won’t be canned in the next few weeks. That’d make for a rather embarrassing change of direction after today’s statements. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess whether and when a change might take place.

Yoenis Cespedes Fractures Ankle In Accident At His Ranch

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Mets outfielder Yoenis Cespedes suffered “ankle fractures” in an accident at his ranch in Port St. Lucie over the weekend, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen announced Monday afternoon. Additional information was not provided, and it’s not known how far back this will push what was already a murky timeline for Cespedes’ return. He’s being evaluated by medical professionals in New York City today. Tim Healey of Newsday adds that Cespedes sustained multiple fractures in his right ankle after stepping in a hole and experiencing a “violent” fall (Twitter link).

Cespedes underwent a pair of surgeries last year to address calcification in both heels, the effects of which were expected to sideline him until at least midway through the 2019 campaign. There was no defined timetable for his return to baseball activities, but it’s difficult to imagine him allowing this new injury to heal and still having enough time to build up to a return this season.

Now 33 years of age, Cespedes is in the third season of what has become an ill-fated four-year, $110MM deal with the Mets. The slugger was an instant hero in Queens upon being acquired minutes before the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline, as he led the Mets’ World Series charge with a .287/.337/.604 performance down the stretch. He returned on a three-year, $75MM contract that allowed him to opt out after the first year of said deal and, after posting a superlative .280/.354/.530 line and making the NL All-Star team, he did just that. Cespedes was viewed as a vital piece of the team’s offense at that point, and his four-year deal to return to the club was generally met with favorable reviews.

Hamstring troubles limited him to just 81 games in the first season of the new contract, though when healthy, his .292/.352/.540 slash was right in line with expectations. His offensive performance in 2018 was strong as well (.262/.325/.496), but he was limited to an even smaller set of 38 games, thanks to the aforementioned heel troubles that ultimately required surgery. Now, it appears possible, if not likely, that Cespedes won’t even match that total in 2019. He’s being paid $29MM both this season and next. Specifics of the policy aren’t known, but it’s been reported that Cespedes’ contract, as was the case with David Wright, is insured, so the team won’t be out that entire $29MM sum this season.

Mets Place Seth Lugo On Injured List, Select Hector Santiago

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The Mets announced that they’ve placed right-hander Seth Lugo on the 10-day injured list due to tendinitis in his right shoulder and selected the contract of southpaw Hector Santiago to take his spot on the active roster. They’ll need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move, although that could be accomplished by simply shifting Jed Lowrie from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list, as Lowrie has already missed nearly a full 60 days.

There’s no timetable for how long Lugo is expected to miss. The right-hander himself told reporters that the plan is to rest for a few days, adding that he’s hopeful this can be a relatively short absence (Twitter link, with video, via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The discomfort in his shoulder began in his most recent outing and is only something he feels when pitching, per Lugo.

It’ll be another hit to the Mets’ pitching staff, as Lugo has arguably been their best setup reliever, pitching to a 3.12 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 1.04 HR/9 and a 43.9 percent ground-ball rate in 26 innings so far in 2019. Only fellow righty Robert Gsellman, the team’s other top setup option, has logged more innings (27 1/3) out of the bullpen so far.

Meanwhile, free-agent signee Jeurys Familia, brought back to solidify the team’s late-inning mix, has struggled and already spent a bit of time on the IL himself. With Lugo sidelined for at least 10 days, Familia will have to take on a larger role. To his credit, however, Familia has tossed a pair of shutout innings since returning from that short stay on the injured list.

As for Santiago, he’ll join the club after logging a 3.35 ERA in 43 innings of Triple-A ball (seven starts, one relief outing). Solid as that number appears, Santiago is toting an unsightly 38-to-23 K/BB ratio in that time and has benefited from a .235 average on balls in play while pitching for Syracuse. Santiago struggled with similar control issues for the White Sox last year when he averaged 5.3 BB/9 over 102 innings, en route to a 4.41 ERA.

Although Santiago has been starting in the minors, he won’t get the ball for tonight’s game. That nod will go to Wilmer Font, the team announced an hour ago. The Mets had originally indicated that Drew Gagnon would start tonight, but they announced earlier this morning that Gagnon wouldn’t take the ball to open the game after all.

Mickey Callaway Reportedly On Hot Seat

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The Mets hired manager Mickey Callaway in October 2017 with the hope that he’d immediately help the franchise rebound from an awful final season under predecessor Terry Collins. Nearly a season and a half later, the Mets are still waiting for Callaway’s tenure to yield positive results, and it seems they’re running out of patience with the former Indians pitching coach. Callaway will manage the Mets on Sunday, but the ax could fall on the 44-year-old after that, per reports from Joel Sherman of the New York Post, fellow Post scribe Mike Puma, and Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports.

Callaway’s seat looks particularly hot in the wake of yet another listless Mets performance Saturday, when they mustered just one hit in a 2-0 loss to the lowly Marlins. They’re guaranteed a series loss in Miami, having dropped the opener Friday, and now own a 20-24 record on the season and a 97-109 mark since hiring Callaway. Moreover, the Mets have fallen in four of seven games to a pair of struggling teams (the Nationals and Marlins) since COO Jeff Wilpon met with Callaway and general manager Brodie Van Wagenen on May 10. At that point, Wilpon reportedly let his two underlings know that the Mets’ performance wasn’t acceptable.

If Wilpon was fed up eight days ago, then he may be livid now, which could hasten a decision on Callaway. In the event Callaway does go, bench coach Jim Riggleman – an experienced manager who was the Reds’ interim skipper for most of 2018 – as well as quality control coach Luis Rojas could be names to watch, Puma relays. On the other hand, though, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal says (video link) the Mets might go outside for their next manager, listing Joe Girardi, Buck Showalter and Dusty Baker as out-of-work dugout chiefs with terrific resumes. Rosenthal notes it’s up in their whether the Mets would be willing to pay any of those guys in addition to Callaway, though Puma points out they’d be eating a relatively small sum in firing him. With an annual salary of $850K, Callaway is among the majors’ lowest-paid managers.

So far, the beleaguered Wilpons have gotten the type of basement-level results commensurate with Callaway’s salary, though that’s not to suggest he’s the lone source of blame for this mess. Van Wagenen’s aggressive offseason maneuverings haven’t really panned out to this point, and a neglect of pitching depth has helped doom the club. Second baseman Robinson Cano, relievers Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson, and catcher Wilson Ramos – all expensive additions – have each struggled. Meanwhile, $20MM infield signing Jed Lowrie hasn’t been healthy enough to debut, and center fielder Keon Broxton is now in DFA limbo after bombing over 53 plate appearances.

While other winter pickups Edwin Diaz and J.D. Davis have done their part, neither their quality performances nor the presences of Michael Conforto, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman – all inherited by Van Wagenen – have been enough to pull the Mets from the doldrums. Now, with the team in dire need of a quick turnaround, Van Wagenen’s solution may be to throw Callaway overboard. Van Wagenen did not hire Callaway, whom previous GM Sandy Alderson put in place, which may make it easier for BVW to go in another direction.

Mets Designate Keon Broxton

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The Mets have designated outfielder Keon Broxton for assignment, Tim Healey of Newsday reports on Twitter. That opens the door for Carlos Gomez to join the club’s MLB roster for the first time since his debut season with the club way back in 2007.

Gomez’s ascension was reported previously, so it comes as no surprise. Of course, something came up the last time we thought it was inevitable we’d again see him in a Mets uniform. (He instead landed with the Astros; it’s fascinating to consider the alternate universe.)

In other moves, also largely anticipated in advance, the Mets recalled righty Paul Sewald and placed outfielder Michael Conforto on the 7-day concussion injured list. Conforto’s injury is a concerning one for the team; it’s still not clear what kind of absence is anticipated.

Broxton came over from the Brewers in the offseason after failing to fill the center field opening created by Gomez’s departure. The defensively proficient 29-year-old seemed to be somewhat redundant with Juan Lagares already on hand, but the Mets evidently thought his upside was worth a chance.

Things just haven’t worked out at all for Broxton. He saw limited action in New York and struggled badly when he did get in the lineup. In 53 plate appearances this season, he carries a .143/.208/.163 batting line with 22 strikeouts. Though it’s still possible he’ll be snagged on the waiver wire, his appeal is limited by the fact that he is out of options.

Mets To Select Carlos Gomez

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The Mets have informed veteran outfielder Carlos Gomez that they will select his contract from Triple-A Syracuse, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link). He’ll join the club as Michael Conforto lands on the injured list due to a concussion.

The 33-year-old Gomez was a top prospect with Mets back in 2006-07, was traded as one of the focal points of the Johan Santana blockbuster, and nearly returned to the Mets prior to the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline. He’ll now suit back up for his original organization more than a decade after his MLB debut.

Gomez is a career .253/.313/.412 hitter who slashed .284/.347/.491 with the Brewers during his 2013-14 All-Star peak, but he’s coming off a season in which he managed a mere .634 OPS with the Rays. He’s gotten out to a strong .270/.329/.500 start through 140 plate appearances in Syracuse, where he’s hit six homers, nine doubles and a triple in addition to collecting five stolen bases (albeit in 10 attempts). He’ll join an outfield mix that currently includes Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Juan Lagares and Keon Broxton, although the Mets will need to make a 40-man move to accommodate Gomez, and Broxton has struggled mightily so far in 2019.

Mets’ Michael Conforto Diagnosed With Concussion

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7:28pm: Carlos Gomez was removed from tonight’s Triple-A game, leading MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo to speculate that the Mets will purchase Gomez’s contract before Friday’s game.

5:27pm: Mets outfielder Michael Conforto suffered a concussion after a scary collision with teammate Robinson Cano during today’s game.  Both Conforto and Cano were chasing after a Howie Kendrick fly ball near the right field line when their signals got crossed, causing Cano to accidentally elbow Conforto in the head.

Conforto was immediately removed from the game, and will head back to New York for further observation, as manager Mickey Callaway told reporters (including Newsday’s Tim Healey) after the game.  Conforto will be sidelined for at least a week, as per the league’s seven-day concussion IL policy.

The 26-year-old was off to a fantastic start in 2019, hitting .271/.406/.521 with nine home runs over his first 180 plate appearances.  As per the advanced metrics, Conforto even had room to grow, as his .387 wOBA still trailed behind his .405 xwOBA.  Between this hot hitting and an above-average defensive showing as New York’s everyday right fielder, Conforto has already amassed 1.6 fWAR, tying him with Nolan Arenado for 18th among all players.

With Conforto out of action, the Mets could be further shorthanded in the outfield for at least a day or two since Jeff McNeil also left today’s game with abdominal tightness.  The good news in McNeil’s case is that the injury doesn’t seem serious, as he told reporters (including The Athletic’s Tim Britton) that he has faced similar issues before in the wake of multiple hernia operations.

Speaking with WFAN’s Mike Francesca this afternoon (hat tip to SNY.tv’s Steve Gelbs), Callaway said that J.D. Davis will handle left field duties on Friday, indicating that McNeil will miss at least one game.  As for the longer-term absence of Conforto, the Mets have Keon Broxton and Juan Lagares on the 25-man roster, though both have struggled badly at the plate.  Veterans Carlos Gomez, Gregor Blanco, and Rajai Davis are all on hand at the Triple-A level, though any of that trio would need to be added to the 40-man roster.

It’s hard to necessarily forecast anything until we know the severity of Conforto’s injury, as concussion symptoms can potentially linger.  If he faces an absence of weeks rather than days, the Mets might want to consider giving Dominic Smith another look in left field, as the team hasn’t allowed him any outfield work this year, Newsday’s David Lennon writes.  Smith offers far more hitting upside than any of the Mets’ other backup outfielders, and while Smith has hit very well in limited playing time this season, his spot at first base has been blocked by rookie sensation Pete Alonso.

Jed Lowrie Suffers Setback

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Mets infielder Jed Lowrie has suffered a setback that will delay his activation, Andy Martino of SNY.tv reports on Twitter. A “slight hamstring strain” will force Lowrie back to extended spring training for several more weeks of rehab work.

Lowrie has already spent the first six weeks of the season on the injured list with a sprained left knee. The 35-year-old played in eight games on a rehab assignment, hitting just .161/.235/.258 with ten strikeouts in 34 plate appearances.

To this point, the Mets have not received any return on their two-year, $20MM investment in Lowrie, who signed on in New York after an impressive pair of seasons with the Athletics. There’s still plenty of time for him to perform as expected, though it’s suboptimal for his tenure to open in this manner.

Furthermore, the new injury to Lowrie will quite likely prolong what has long been viewed as an impending roster crunch of sorts in Queens. A healthy Lowrie could very well have pushed wither Adeiny Hechavarria or Keon Broxton — neither of whom can be optioned to the minors without first hitting waivers — off the active roster. Instead, both players will now likely continue to hold down bench jobs, though between the lack of roster flexibility they offer and the struggles of veteran Todd Frazier, it’s not out of the question that changes are still looming on the horizon.

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