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Mets To Sign Neil Ramirez

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The Mets have agreed to a deal with free-agent righty Neil Ramirez, per Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter). Ramirez, who just hit the open market after rejecting an outright assignment, will receive a major league pact.

[Related: Updated New York Mets depth chart]

Ramirez, 27, opened the season with the Giants before being claimed off waivers by the Blue Jays. He was designated and outrighted before seeing any action with Toronto, though, and just went unclaimed the second time through the wire.

New York will need to place Ramirez on its active roster, as he’s out of minor league options and thus cannot be sent down without first clearing waivers. The club will evidently be banking on Ramirez’s peripherals turning around his results. He gave up 15 earned runs in 10 1/3 innings with San Francisco, but also managed an 18:4 K/BB ratio with a strong 12.6% swinging-strike rate while dealing with some clear evidence of bad luck (.500 BABIP; 33.0% strand rate). The right-hander once looked like a potential long-term piece in the Cubs’ bullpen after coming over from the Rangers organization as a PTBNL in the Matt Garza trade, but shoulder and triceps injuries have slowed his career.

Mets Notes: Rosario, Asdrubal, Injuries

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  • The Mets are considering a DL stint for shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, but even if he does land on the shelf, top prospect Amed Rosario isn’t a consideration for a callup, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. Mets assistant GM John Ricco told reporters that while the team is happy with Rosario’s performance in Triple-A, the general thought is that the 21-year-old still needs more time to round out his development. Also of note: Ricco refuted the notion that Cabrera has sustained a torn ligament in his thumb. “The ligament is not affected,” said Ricco. “It’s a joint. We have to see how he feels [Tuesday]. To his credit, he wants to keep fighting.” Cabrera himself, however, told Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News on Sunday that he had torn a ligament in his thumb.
  • Ackert also writes that Yoenis Cespedes is close to beginning a running program and could be a week to 10 days from returning to the Mets. Ricco stated that Cespedes will “have to ramp up a couple days” but has been getting at-bats in extended Spring Training already. She also reports that left-hander Steven Matz and right-hander Seth Lugo will both throw bullpen sessions tomorrow and go out on Class-A Advanced rehab assignments on Thursday.

Knocking Down The Door: Faria, Guzman, Moncada, Rosario, Sims

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This week’s installation of “Knocking Down The Door” includes two of the best middle infield prospects in baseball, a 22-year-old first baseman with a .404 OBP in Triple-A, and a pair of starting pitchers who combined for 23 strikeouts in their last start.

Jacob Faria, SP, Tampa Bay Rays (Triple-A Durham)

Despite not making it through the fifth inning in his latest start, the 23-year-old Faria has likely propelled himself to the top of the Rays’ “next in line” spot in the starting rotation. Striking out 13 hitters while recording 14 outs does tend to get a pitcher noticed, as will his overall numbers on the season (3.47 ERA, 3.7 BB/9, 14.4 K/9).

Coincidentally, there is a spot open after Blake Snell was optioned to Triple-A over the weekend. The Rays will certainly discuss whether Faria can have more success than the inconsistent and inefficient Snell, who has completed six innings only six times in 27 MLB starts. Prior to his 108-pitch, 4 2/3-inning outing on May 10th, Faria had back-to-back six-inning starts in which he threw 89 and 91 pitches, respectively, while allowing only two runs with one walk and 17 strikeouts. That should help his cause.

Rays Depth Chart

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Ronald Guzman, 1B, Texas Rangers (Triple-A Round Rock)

Mike Napoli’s four homers and two doubles over a 10-game span to start the month, as well as the team’s recent six-game win streak, should at least temporarily halt any talk of a lineup shakeup. However, Triple-A first baseman Ronald Guzman hasn’t slowed down one bit, and Napoli is still just 6 for his last 34 with with an overall season slash line of .165/225/.353. Even for a well-respected veteran with a strong track record, that’s not going to cut it for much longer.

The left-handed hitting Guzman struggled after a late-season promotion to Triple-A in 2016, but he’s having no such trouble this time around. After a multi-homer game on Sunday, the 22-year-old is slashing .343/.404/.518 with five homers, five doubles and two triples in 36 games with Triple-A Round Rock.

Rangers Depth Chart

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Yoan Moncada, 2B, Chicago White Sox (Triple-A Charlotte)

The White Sox could have a lineup spot available after optioning designated hitter Cody Asche to the minors today. The corresponding move is a reliever, but that could be temporary with the team possibly calling up another position player in the near future. A pair of candidates, Nick Delmonico, a Knocking Down The Door pick from three weeks ago, and Danny Hayes, haven’t hit much this month and Triple-A Charlotte’s two most productive hitters, Kevan Smith and Willy Garcia, are already in the Majors. Would they promote top prospect Moncada just days after general manager Rich Hahn shot down the idea? It wouldn’t be the first time a team has misled the media on a player move or simply just changed their mind.

The 21-year-old Moncada is still striking out at an alarming rate (42 K in 153 PAs) and was overwhelmed in a late-season stint with the Red Sox in 2016. But he’s also putting up huge numbers in Triple-A (.333/.405/.511 with six homers, four doubles and 10 stolen bases) and his plate discipline has improved drastically this month. He had 10 walks and 30 strikeouts in April; he has seven walks and 12 strikeouts in May.

At this point, Moncada’s free agency has already been pushed back another season—he won’t be eligible until after the 2023 campaign, at the earliest. Calling him up now, or in the near future, would allow him to gain some valuable experience while possibly providing an offensive spark for a team that has probably been more competitive than many expected.

White Sox Depth Chart

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Amed Rosario, SS, New York Mets (Triple-A Las Vegas)

Amed Rosario (featured)

Asdrubal Cabrera’s torn thumb ligament could send him to the disabled list at some point, maybe even today, which could prompt Rosario’s immediate call-up. Let’s be clear, though. The 21-year-old shortstop has done everything in his power to warrant the promotion and a good argument could be made even if Cabrera was healthy.

After all, the defensive-savvy Rosario is knocking the cover off of the ball in his first Triple-A stint—.359/.401/.493 with two homers and 11 doubles—and this struggling Mets team could use all the help it can get.

Mets Depth Chart

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Lucas Sims, SP, Atlanta Braves (Triple-A Gwinnett)

The Braves’ successful finish to the 2016 season—they won 35 of their last 62 games—had some fans thinking playoffs in 2017. Instead of taking a chance on their unproven young pitching prospects to fill out the MLB rotation, the Braves added three veteran starters over the offseason: Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey and Jaime Garcia. This was not a bad decision, as they didn’t break the bank for free agents Colon or Dickey and they give up elite prospects to acquire Garcia. However, things are going poorly. The Braves are 13-21 and 9.5 games behind the 1st place Nationals — and we could still see a youth movement in Atlanta before long.

Sims, the 21st overall pick in the 2012 draft, is leading the charge. The 23-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.16 after tossing two-hit ball over 6 2/3 scoreless innings with a walk and 10 strikeouts in his last start. In 50 Triple-A innings last season, he had a 7.56 ERA with 10.1 H/9, 6.7 BB/9 and 10.4 K/9. In 41 2/3 innings in 2017, the right-hander has a 5.4 H/9, 1.9 BB/9 and 9.1 K/9. That’s what’s called “making the proper adjustments”.

Braves Depth Chart

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“Knocking Down the Door” is a weekly feature that identifies minor leaguers who are making a case for a big league promotion.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Asdrubal Cabrera Has Torn Ligament In Left Thumb

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  • Asdrubal Cabrera tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News that he is suffering from a torn ligament in his left thumb, and a DL stint could be possible if the thumb isn’t feeling better tomorrow.  The Mets shortstop has been bothered by the injury for the last week, and while an MRI taken last week reportedly showed no ligament damage, Cabrera said he was told there was a tear.  Cabrera continued to play (through mostly in pinch-hitting roles) over the past week, so it is possible his injury could have worsened.  As Ackert notes, the Mets can hardly afford to lose Cabrera with so many other stars already on the disabled list.  If Cabrera did require some DL time, it will renew calls for the Mets to promote top prospect Amed Rosario, though the team reportedly doesn’t want to rush the youngster to the big leagues.

Steven Matz, Seth Lugo Nearing 2017 Debuts

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  • Both left-hander Steven Matz and right-hander Seth Lugo threw 30 pitches in an extended spring training game Saturday and could return to the Mets by late May or early June, manager Terry Collins indicated (via MetsBlog). Matz has dealt with an elbow issue that has prevented him from pitching this season, while a partially torn UCL has sidelined Lugo. The two were quality starters last year for the Mets, whose rotation has declined significantly this season for both injury- and performance-related reasons.

Jeurys Familia Undergoes Surgery, Out 3-4 Months

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SATURDAY: Familia will be able to resume throwing in six weeks and could return to competitive pitching in three to four months, the Mets announced Saturday (Twitter link via Carig).

FRIDAY: Mets closer Jeurys Familia underwent surgery this afternoon, GM Sandy Alderson told reporters including Mike Puma of the New York Post (links via Twitter) and Marc Carig of Newsday (Twitter links). The club announced yesterday that surgery was possible after Familia was diagnosed with an arterial clot in his right shoulder.

The procedure to deal with the clot is expected to cost Familia several months of action — possibly keeping him out for the rest of the season. While thoracic outlet syndrome wasn’t implicated, the procedure evidently comes with a rather lengthy recovery timeline, as had seemed to be the case when the news broke yesterday.

Obviously, the injury came as quite a surprise given that Familia pitched on Wednesday night without apparent issue (results aside). Alderson explains that the closer advised the organization for the first time before the game that he was experiencing some symptoms, but he was cleared to throw because they were not significant. Evidently, a closer look after Familia’s appearance led to the preliminary diagnosis and a quick turnaround to surgery.

With the loss of Familia, the Mets are now staring at lengthy absences from their best reliever and their best starter, Noah Syndergaard. While there’s talent on hand to step into those roles — Addison Reed is more than capable of closing, while Jacob deGrom is an ace in his own right — the bigger issues arise further down the line. In this case, the club will no longer be able to turn the ball over to the bullpen with the expectation of consecutive shut-down innings (or more, in some cases, given Familia’s multi-inning capabilities).

Mets In Need Of Relief Help

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  • The injury-riddled Mets could use relief help, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. Jeurys Familia’s injury is just the latest for a Mets team that has had more than its fair share, and the team doesn’t have reinforcements on the way from Triple-A. Ackert mentions White Sox closer David Robertson as a potential possibility, but notes that Robertson can block a potential trade to the Mets as part of his limited no-trade clause. Besides, as she points out, significant trades rarely happen this early in the season.

Jeurys Familia Diagnosed With Arterial Clot In Shoulder

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Mets closer Jeurys Familia has been diagnosed with an “arterial clot” in his right shoulder, per a club announcement. He’ll head for a visit with Dr. Robert Thompson, with a surgical option considered possible.

Obviously, we don’t yet know whether surgery is likely. But it seems squarely on the table given that the team noted that possibility in the announcement — a rather unusual step when the treatment course has yet to be finalized. Dr. Thompson, a noted expert in thoracic outlet syndrome and other vascular issues, recently operated on Mets starter Matt Harvey, as Anthony DiComo of MLB.com notes on Twitter.

Familia, 27, has exhibited worrying walk issues since being activated from a suspension to start the year. Over 9 1/3 frames, he has issued eight free passes. On the other hand, he’s working in the zone at a rate (41.1%) that’s nearly identical to his career average, so it isn’t as if he’s just constantly wild. In addition to the walks, though, Familia is showing a drop in swinging strikes while drawing less chases on ball out of the zone, perhaps suggesting he’s struggling to hit his spots.

The results have generally been plenty acceptable, at least until last night’s (fielding-error-aided) meltdown. Before coughing up three earned runs while recording just a single out yesterday, Familia had allowed only one earned run on five hits through his nine frames on the season. And his average fastball velocity sits at or above his career levels (97.2 mph average four-seamer; 96.5 mph average sinker).

Whatever the precise issues, we’ll now wait to hear just how long an absence the club expects. At least some absence seems all but a foregone conclusion, with surgery potential requiring a lengthy layoff. The Mets can scarcely afford to lose Familia for a long stretch — especially with other key players already shelved on the DL. Addison Reed does represent about as good a replacement option as could be hoped for in the closer’s role, though the club will nonetheless be without a premium relief arm at the back of the bullpen for whatever stretch Familia is out.

Twins Claim Adam Wilk From Mets

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The Twins announced that they’ve claimed left-hander Adam Wilk off waivers from the Mets. Wilk will join the Twins tomorrow, per the team’s press release, at which point Minnesota will announce a corresponding roster move. Minnesota does have an open 40-man spot that Wilk will fill, so only a 25-man roster move needs to be made tomorrow.

The 29-year-old Wilk made his first appearance in the Majors since 2015 and just his second since 2012 over the weekend when he made a spot start for the Mets. Wilk’s outing came under sub-optimal circumstances, to say the last, as Fred Kerber of the New York Post detailed. The lefty flew from Las Vegas to Albuquerque (with a stop in Denver) last Saturday, only to learn he was needed in the Majors, at which point he flew to Los Angeles and took a midnight flight to New York to start against the Marlins at 1pm. The results weren’t pretty, as Wilk was roughed up for five earned runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts in 3 2/3 frames.

In total, Wilk has just 30 Major League innings under his belt, but he could potentially get a start for Minnesota on Saturday, per MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger (Twitter link). His big league efforts have resulted in an unsightly 7.20 ERA, but Wilk has a more palatable 4.15 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 2.0 BB/9 in parts of six Triple-A seasons (663 innings). He’s also had some success in the hitter-friendly Korea Baseball Organization, having pitched to a 4.12 ERA with 70 strikeouts against 27 walks in 91 2/3 innings for the NC Dinos back in 2013.

Doug Fister Close To Signing; Mets Not Involved

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10:11am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Mets are not signing Fister. He characterizes the Angels as one of multiple “serious considerations” for Fister.

9:48am: Free-agent right-hander Doug Fister is close to signing with a yet-unreported team, per Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (Twitter link). Though Fister has had interest from both the AL and NL, he’s likely to land with a National League club, per Heyman. In a second tweet, Heyman notes that the D-backs are “in the mix” on Fister, adding that he hasn’t heard much tying him to the Mets as of late. SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets that the Mets, D-backs, Giants, Angels and Blue Jays have all been in the mix to varying extents.

From the listed teams, the Mets jump out as the club in most dire need of rotation reinforcements, as New York has lost Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz and Seth Lugo to injuries already, while right-handers Matt Harvey, Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler have all struggled thus far in 2017. The Mets are hopeful that Matz and Lugo will be able to return in late May or early June, though there’s no guarantee that either comes back at full strength just yet. And Wheeler, of course, is on an innings limit in 2017 after missing the entire 2015 and 2016 seasons due to Tommy John surgery.

The D-backs, of course, have had their own brush with injuries, having lost right-hander Shelby Miller for the season due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament that necessitated Tommy John surgery. Arizona, though, seemingly has better depth at the upper levels of its farm, with Braden Shipley, Anthony Banda and Zack Godley among the potential rotation options currently in Triple-A (to say nothing of right-hander Archie Bradley, who is currently in the Major League bullpen but could likely start if deemed necessary).

As for the Giants, they lost Madison Bumgarner for what will likely be most of the first half of the season, if not more, due to a controversial dirtbike accident that resulted in a shoulder injury. None of the Giants’ other starters — Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija, Matt Moore, Matt Cain or Ty Blach — has mustered an ERA south of 4.50 on the season. The Giants also traded one of their upper-level depth options, Clayton Blackburn, to the Rangers earlier this year. However, with Tyler Beede and Chris Stratton both in Triple-A, the Giants do possess some upper-level options should they decide to shuffle the rotation.

The Angels and Blue Jays, of course, both have plenty of cause to seek rotation help as well. However, Heyman seems to suggest that an AL club isn’t as likely, and that’s a logical line of thinking for Fister, who could likely post better numbers in the National League.

It should be noted that Fister is hardly a quick fix for any team’s rotation; the right-hander will almost certainly need a fair amount of time to ramp up before he’s ready to join a Major League rotation. And while he comes with plenty of name value, Fister’s fastball has been in the 86-87 mph range in recent seasons. Unsurprisingly, there’s been a corresponding dip in his effectiveness. Last year he proved a durable rotation piece for the Astros (32 starts) but logged just a 4.64 ERA with 5.7 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9 in 180 1/3 innings.

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