Minor MLB Transactions: 6/14/18
Here are Thursday’s minor moves from around the game…
- The Twins announced that infielder Gregorio Petit has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester after being designated for assignment earlier this week. The 33-year-old stuck with the Twins for a few weeks as a seldom-used bench piece but lost his roster spot when Minnesota brought right-hander Matt Belisle back to the organization on a big league contract Tuesday. Petit appeared in a dozen games for Minnesota but made just 30 plate appearances, hitting .308/.400/.308. He’s a career .253/.298/.350 hitter in 483 MLB plate appearances and a .267/.317/.370 hitter in parts of 11 Triple-A seasons.
Earlier Moves
- Catcher Jose Lobaton cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Mets and has been sent outright to Triple-A Las Vegas, as noted on the team’s transactions page. It’s the second time that the veteran Lobaton has been designated and subsequently outrighted by the Mets in 2018. While he has the option of rejecting the option of rejecting the assignment in favor of free agency, he accepted his previous assignment and is already once again listed on the team’s roster in Triple-A. Lobaton, 33, has hit just .152/.264/.239 in 53 plate appearances for the Mets thus far in 2018, continuing his struggles from the 2017 season with the Nats. The switch-hitter is a career .271/.352/.419 hitter in Triple-A, however.
- Right-hander Jairo Diaz was released by the Rockies following his recent DFA, as reflected on the team’s transactions page. The 27-year-old Diaz hasn’t pitched much since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2016, struggling through 25 innings between MLB and the minors last season and through just 3 2/3 innings in Triple-A so far in 2018. Diaz has averaged better than 97 mph on his fastball (including in a short MLB stint last year, post-surgery) and did notch a 2.37 ERA and an 18-to-6 K/BB ratio with a 56.6 percent ground-ball rate in 19 innings with the Rox back in 2015. He’d been on the DL due to forearm tightness since mid-April at the time of his DFA, per Nick Groke of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Mets Claim Chris Beck
The Mets have claimed righty Chris Beck off waivers from the White Sox, per club announcements. The 27-year-old had been designated for assignment by the Chicago organization.
Beck came up as a starter but has mostly worked in a relief role in recent years. He has 119 2/3 MLB innings under his belt, with a cumulative 5.94 ERA and 6.1 K/9 against 5.0 BB/9. The results have improved so far in 2018, as Beck owns a 4.18 ERA in 23 2/3 frames. Frankly, the peripherals don’t really indicate that he has made any strides, though Beck is working at a career-high 95.8 mph with his average fastball.
Perhaps the Mets feel they can unlock something from the former second-rounder. Of course, the club also may simply feel Beck will help improve the team’s depth situation as several hurlers filter back from the DL.
Mets Expect Lengthy Absence For AJ Ramos
When he hit the DL with a shoulder injury about two weeks ago, it was not really clear how long Mets reliever AJ Ramos would miss. GM Sandy Alderson said today, though, that the righty is expected to sidelined for a significant stretch, as Tim Britton of The Athletic was among those to tweet.
Alderson revealed that Ramos is weighing a surgical route, in fact, though the precise nature of the underlying injury remains unclear. The alternative would be a rehab course that will also require further downtime.
“We certainly don’t expect him back anytime soon,” Alderson said. Though we still don’t know even loose potential timelines, it seems fair to read that as an indication that the Mets will go without one of their most experienced late-inning arms for the foreseeable future.
Of course, the 31-year-old Ramos had not been at his best in 2018. Acquired last summer even as the Mets sold off veterans, and then signed to a $9.225MM salary in his final year of arbitration, Ramos was seen as a key piece of the pen this year. Through 19 2/3 innings, though, he’s carrying a 6.41 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 6.9 BB/9.
Control problems are nothing new for Ramos, who has 99 career saves but also a lifetime average of 4.9 walks per nine innings. With free agency beckoning at season’s end, though, it was all the more important that he demonstrate he could keep the free passes in check. As things stand, Ramos will have quite a lot to prove if and when he’s able to return later in the season.
Mets Notes: Cespedes, Asdrubal, Reyes, Callahan
The release of Adrian Gonzalez and a subsequent roster shuffle is the big news out of Citi Field, though here are some more Mets items….
- Yoenis Cespedes was on the verge of a return from his hip flexor strain, though a setback in Saturday’s minor league rehab game will require him to restart his recovery program, manager Mickey Callaway told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo and other reporters. It isn’t clear when Cespedes will be able to return from the injury that has kept him sidelined since May 16, leaving the offense-starved Mets without their best hitter for an even longer period of time. In better DL news, Callaway was hopeful that Jeurys Familia and Wilmer Flores would both be back in action at some point during the Mets’ upcoming road trip.
- Asdrubal Cabrera left tonight’s game due to a tight left hamstring, with Newsday’s Tim Healey (Twitter link) being among those to report that Cabrera will stay overnight in New York to have the problem examined. Losing Cabrera would be yet another big injury loss for the Mets, as the infielder has hit an impressive .283/.323/.498 through 254 PA this season.
- A Cabrera DL stint could help prolong Jose Reyes‘ time with the Mets, though as The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler (subscription required) writes, the infielder’s prolonged struggles are creating an uncomfortable situation for both the player and the team. Reyes “has advocates in ownership and the front office” and has yet to speak to team officials about his future, though he seems like an expendable piece after hitting just .149/.213/.203 through his first 80 PA. Reyes said that he is still adjusting to being a part-time player, though he acknowledges that he hasn’t been worthy of more playing time. “So far the opportunities that I’ve had I feel like I didn’t do anything,” Reyes said.
- Right-hander Jamie Callahan will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, Triple-A manager Tony DeFrancesco told Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Journal-Review and other reporters (Twitter link). It’s a tough blow for Callahan, who was acquired as part of the Addison Reed trade last July and looked like a potential candidate to see more time in the Mets bullpen this season. Originally a second-round pick for Boston in the 2012 draft, Callahan began to deliver better results after becoming a full-time reliever in 2016, and he made his MLB debut by appearing in nine games with the Mets last year. Shoulder problems began to crop up early this season, however, and Callahan tossed just 8 1/3 Triple-A innings before hitting the disabled list.
Mets Release Adrian Gonzalez
The Mets announced several roster moves after tonight’s win over the Yankees, including the news that first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has been released. On Tuesday, prior to the team’s next game, catcher Jose Lobaton will be designated for assignment. The two open roster spots will be filled by Dominic Smith and Ty Kelly, as the Mets will recall Smith and select Kelly’s contract.
Gonzalez found himself a free agent this winter after the Braves acquired him as part of a payroll-shifting trade with the Dodgers and then almost immediately released the veteran first baseman. With the Braves covering virtually all of Gonzalez’s 2018 salary, the Mets inked him to a minimum-salary contract to see if they could find a bargain if Gonzalez regained any of his old form.
After a hot start in his first few games, however, Gonzalez settled into being a below-average bat and has most recently been caught in a deep slump, with just a .550 OPS over his last 43 plate appearances coming into tonight’s game. He’ll conclude his Mets tenure with a .237/.299/.373 slash line and six homers over 187 PA, with the bulk of his at-bats coming against right-handed pitching.
“A-Gon” began to show some signs of decline in 2016 (though still posting a 111 wRC+) and then cratered in 2017, as a severe back injury limited him to just 71 games and he hit only .242/.287/.355 over 252 PA. Gonzalez has looked generally healthy during his time with the Mets, though at age 36 and showing little sign of his old hitting prowess, one has to wonder if this could mark the end of Gonzalez’s otherwise outstanding 15-year career in the big leagues.
Ranked as one of baseball’s top-100 prospects coming into last season, Smith’s star dimmed after a mediocre start to his MLB career, as he hit just .198/.262/.395 and struck out a whopping 49 times over 183 PA last season. Mets GM Sandy Alderson was rather bluntly critical about Smith’s first stint in the big leagues, and the team’s acquisitions of Gonzalez and Jay Bruce in the offseason indicated that the team felt Smith needed more seasoning before being given another crack at regular first base duty.
The first base picture at Citi Field is still rather unclear, as both Smith and Bruce are left-handed bats and thus not an ideal platoon mix. The right-handed hitting Jose Bautista is also on the roster, and utilityman Wilmer Flores is on the DL. Brandon Nimmo‘s emergence as an everyday player has helped the Mets withstand the loss of the injured Yoenis Cespedes, though it could lead to a bit of a roster logjam at the first base and corner outfield spots once Flores and Cespedes return (though the latter may not be back for a while yet).
Further complicating matters is the fact that Asdrubal Cabrera left tonight’s game with a hamstring issue, which could explain why utilityman Kelly is headed for another stint with the Mets. Rookie Luis Guillorme and struggling veteran Jose Reyes also provide infield depth on the roster, and if Cabrera does require some DL time, it could give Reyes some more opportunity to turn around his disastrous season.
Lobaton signed a minors deal over the winter to provide catching depth that quite immediately became necessary as Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki were both sidelined with injuries. With Plawecki back and Devin Mesoraco establishing himself as a regular, Lobaton became the odd man out. This is the second time in under a month that Lobaton will enter DFA limbo, so he could very well clear waivers again and return to Triple-A.
Mets Sign Ian Krol
The Mets have signed left-hander Ian Krol to a minor league deal, Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal reports (Twitter link). The Angels designated Krol for assignment two weeks ago, and the veteran southpaw elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A.
Krol signed a minors deal with the Angels in February and ended up appearing in just one game for the team, tossing two scoreless relief innings back on May 27. He’ll seemingly have a better chance at catching on in a Mets bullpen that is short on lefty options — Jerry Blevins is the only southpaw on the big league roster, while P.J. Conlon is the only other left-hander on the 40-man. It should be noted, however, that left-handed batters have actually fared better against Krol than right-handed batters over the last few years.
After mixed results in his first three MLB seasons, it seemed as through Krol had turned a corner when he posted a 3.18 ERA, 9.9 K/9, and 4.31 K/BB rate over over 51 innings out of the Braves’ pen in 2016. Last year, however, his ERA ballooned up to 5.33 thanks in large part to renewed problems with allowing home runs — his 1.5 HR/9 in 2017 matched his number from 2013-15, though he avoided the long ball in 2016 to the tune of just an 0.7 HR/9. His rough season led to the Braves outrighting him off their roster, costing Krol a projected $1.3MM salary in his second year of arbitration eligibility.
East Notes: Mets, Yanks, deGrom, Thor, Vlad Jr., D. Murphy, Franco
With the Mets looking more like bottom feeders than contenders, there has been speculation that they could listen to proposals for two of their best players, co-aces Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. The 29-year-old deGrom is under control through 2020, while Syndergaard, 25, is wrapped up through 2021, meaning each would bring back a significant haul in a trade. Of the teams that could go after either, the Yankees perhaps stand out as the most logical suitors, and Buster Olney of ESPN opines that the Mets would have to strongly consider offers from their crosstown rivals. While it would hurt the Mets and their fans in the near term to see one of those starters thriving with the Yankees, the return they’d get back would ease the pain, Olney contends. Ultimately, however, Olney doesn’t expect a deal between the teams to come to fruition, and he goes on to name several other starters the Yankees could pursue prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline if they attempt to upgrade their rotation.
More from the East Coast:
- Forget about seeing Blue Jays super prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the majors in the immediate future. The 19-year-old third baseman, who went on the Double-A disabled list this week, has a strained patellar tendon in his left knee, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com tweets. The Jays will bring Guerrero along slowly in his recovery and re-evaluate him in four weeks, Chisholm adds. The injury has derailed an incredible year for Guerrero, who pushed for a major league promotion with a .407/.457/.667 line and 11 home runs in his first 235 Double-A plate appearances.
- Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy could come off the DL and make his 2018 debut Tuesday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com reports. Murphy has been working back from the right knee surgery he underwent last October, and while he hasn’t been at full speed during his Double-A rehab games, the assignment’s only allowed to continue through Thursday. Thus, with the Nats set to play in AL parks from Tuesday through Sunday, they could opt to bring Murphy back and use him as a designated hitter for the week.
- Third baseman Maikel Franco has lost his grip on an everyday job, the latest sign that his days with the Phillies may be numbered, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com observes. Franco and fellow third base options J.P. Crawford and Scott Kingery have each offered poor production this year, so the Phillies may seek an outside solution at the hot corner by the deadline and/or in the offseason, posits Zolecki, who suggests that Franco could be dealt thereafter. For now, even though Franco’s not accustomed to a part-time role, the 25-year-old tells Zolecki that he’s trying to make the best of it. Regardless of whether Franco sticks with the Phillies, the career .247/.299/.425 hitter has two more arbitration-eligible seasons remaining after this one.
Mets Could Demote Michael Conforto
Mets outfielder Michael Conforto looked like one of the brightest young stars in baseball last season, his age-24 campaign, when he slashed .279/.384/.555 with 27 home runs and racked up 4.3 fWAR. Conforto piled up those stellar numbers over just 440 plate appearances before undergoing season-ending left shoulder surgery in early September, and because of that injury, the Mets went into the winter unsure of what he’d provide in 2018.
To Conforto’s credit, he worked his way back to the Mets’ lineup a few weeks earlier than expected, making his season debut on April 5. At that point, New York was amid a red-hot start that would see the team collect 11 wins in its first 12 games. Two months later, the Mets are a lowly 27-34, owners of the third-worst record in the National League and the NL’s second-worst offense by runs scored (235).
Even though he owns the majors’ 11th-best walk percentage (15.1), Conforto hasn’t really been part of the solution, having hit an uninspiring .219/.340/.365 line with seven homers in 212 PAs. The Mets even pinch-hit for him in the ninth inning of a one-run loss to the Yankees on Saturday, electing to sit the left-handed Conforto in favor of the righty-swinging Devin Mesoraco with southpaw Aroldis Chapman on the mound.
Unfortunately for Conforto, there may be a more significant demotion on the way if he doesn’t turn his season around soon. The Mets have considered sending Conforto to Triple-A Las Vegas to work through his issues, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. The likelihood of that has decreased over the past day, Sherman notes, given that fellow outfielder Yoenis Cespedes suffered a setback in his injury rehab on Saturday. Had Cespedes remained on track, New York may well have optioned Conforto upon the veteran’s return. For his part, Conforto – whom the Mets previously sent to the minors during a disappointing 2016 – doesn’t believe he’d benefit from another trip to Vegas.
“Triple-A is not an answer. I’ve been through that,” he said. “I have done all I can do down there. I play at this level, that’s it.”
While Conforto understandably wants to remain in the majors, the Mets may have an outfield logjam on their hands when Cespedes does come back. He and the emergent Brandon Nimmo will be guaranteed starting jobs, manager Mickey Callaway informed Sherman, leaving one everyday spot for the struggling Jay Bruce (in the first season of a three-year, $39MM contract) and Conforto. Both players are lefty hitters, so the Mets wouldn’t be able to simply platoon them, and Conforto has options remaining. As such, the Mets may send him down so he’ll continue receiving consistent at-bats.
In another scenario, Sherman points out that Bruce and/or Cespedes could see time at first, which would perhaps spell the end of the Adrian Gonzalez era. The Mets brought Gonzalez in over the winter as a league-minimum free agent, but it hasn’t worked to this point. They’re mulling how much longer they want to go with Gonzalez, Jose Reyes and Jose Bautista – three mid-30-somethings whose best days appear long gone. Moving on from some or all of that group instead of demoting Conforto would seem to make more sense for a New York club that doesn’t look as if it’s going to contend this season, though it seems Conforto’s going to have to make a case for a roster spot as the team awaits Cespedes’ return.
While Conforto’s bottom-line production has declined this year, his underlying numbers have also worsened. After running up a .385 expected weighted on-base average a year ago, he’s at .332 this season. That’s still above the .321 league average, though it’s not the borderline elite figure he posted in 2017, when he averaged a 95.2 mph exit velocity on fly balls/line drives and made 95 mph-plus contact on 43.2 percent of batted balls. This season, Conforto has posted a 92.3 mph mean on flies/liners and seen his rate of 95 mph-plus contact drop to 32.8. Further, Conforto’s line drive rate has dropped off considerably since 2017 (from 24.4 percent to 17.7), while both his groundball percentage (37.8 to 41.9) and infield fly rate (10.1 percent to 14.0) have increased to discouraging degrees.
All of the above has helped add up to Conforto’s subpar start and may lead to a minor league demotion sometime soon. For now, he and his team, losers of eight straight (all at home), are left to dig out of a deep hole. Having scored just 10 runs this month, during which Conforto has batted .080/.207/.200 in 29 PAs, the Mets sit 8.5 games out in both their division and a crowded NL wild-card race.
East Notes: Yankees, H. Harvey, Soroka, Cespedes
It turns out top prospect Justus Sheffield might not be the next minor league pitcher in line to join the Yankees‘ rotation, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports in his latest video that the club nearly promoted 23-year-old Jonathan Loaisiga for a spot start during a doubleheader, until rain altered their schedule. Rosenthal notes that Loaisiga had never pitched above Low-A ball until this season. It seems like he’s met little resistance this year, though, as he’s posted a 3.13 ERA this season while striking out 10.96 batters per nine against an equally impressive 1.17 walks per nine. Of course, plenty could change by the next time the Yankees need another starter. It’s certainly worth noting that promoting Sheffield last Monday might have improved his chances of making the Super Two cut, had he impressed enough to stick in the rotation from there on out. There will certainly be some entertaining suspense surrounding this situation from here forward.
Other items fresh off the East coast…
- Orioles prospect Hunter Harvey was scratched from his most recent Double-A start due to a shoulder injury, Dan Connoly of baltimorebaseball.com reports. Harvey’s dealt with plenty of injury issues in his career already, and this latest case (described as “posterior shoulder instability) has left him on an unknown timetable to return to the rotation. Harvey also had Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow in 2016. Even when on the field, he hasn’t been particularly impressive this year. His 5.57 ERA across 32 1/3 innings on the season is an eyesore.
- Rookie Mike Soroka is set to come off the DL and start Wednesday for the Braves, reports David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. O’Brien adds that manager Brian Snitker plans to hold Soroka to a pitch count of 85-90. Soroka is widely considered to be one of the best right-handed pitching prospects in the game, and he’s backed that up by pitching to a 2.77 FIP in three starts this season while striking out more than a batter per inning.
- Injury news isn’t looking so good for a division rival, however, as the Mets‘ Yoenis Cespedes reportedly left his rehab start tonight with tightness in his right quad. He’ll be re-evaluated tomorrow, but even a small setback is certainly discouraging; Cespedes has been riddled with injuries since signing a four-year, $110MM pact with New York following the 2016 season.
Minor MLB Transactions: 6/9/18
The latest minor moves from around baseball:
- Mets left-hander Buddy Baumann and infielder Phillip Evans cleared waivers and will be assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas, Tim Healey of Newsday tweets. The club designated both players for assignment earlier this week. The 30-year-old Baumann allowed 10 earned runs on nine hits and seven walks during 3 1/3 disastrous innings with the Mets this season prior to his designation. Evans, 25, has collected one hit in nine MLB plate appearances this year. Over a much larger sample size (165 PAs) at the Triple-A level this season, he has slashed .255/.321/.544 hitter with 12 home runs.