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Zack Wheeler Diagnosed With Flexor Strain

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5:47pm: Wheeler has a mild flexor strain, Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to tweet. He won’t throw for two more weeks, which would make a return this season appear to be rather unlikely since he’ll still require a full ramp-up from that point. Of course, if the Mets make it into the post-season then Wheeler could theoretically be in play, but it remains to be seen how the organization will approach things given his somewhat uneven TJ recovery and future importance to the team.

3:41pm: Mets righty Zack Wheeler visited Dr. James Andrews recently after experiencing discomfort in his right elbow, which carries a newly-installed ulnar collateral ligament. Fortunately, the examination revealed “nothing devastating” about the 26-year-old’s arm health, per ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin (Twitter link).

While it seems that we’ll need to await further details on just what Andrews advised, the preliminary news suggests that the scariest possibilities aren’t on the table at this point. Perhaps the worst outcome would be the need for another new UCL, but while that always remains a threat to any pitcher, it appears that Wheeler doesn’t have cause to fear a re-started recovery process.

At the same time, there still doesn’t appear to be much hope that Wheeler will make it back to the big league mound this year. Given the starts and stops he has experienced already, the more likely scenario might involve some fall or winter appearances in hopes that he can ramp back up next spring.

Wheeler owns a 3.50 ERA in 285 1/3 career innings, making him one of the more promising young starters in baseball. But he hasn’t thrown a big league frame since 2014, despite once seeming on track to return in the middle of the current campaign.

Mets Not Showing Interest In Carlos Gomez Trade

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While Mets GM Sandy Alderson said last week that the Mets would keep an open mind regarding Carlos Gomez after Gomez was designated for assignment by the Astros, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin now reports (via Twitter) that the team has yet to show interest in a Gomez trade. Furthermore, he suggests that their thinking may not change even if Gomez becomes a free agent. The Mets, he notes, will get Justin Ruggiano back from the disabled list at some point this week, giving manager Terry Collins a right-handed option in the outfield.

Since Gomez’s DFA, the Mets have been linked to him on a few occasions, but Rubin’s report would suggest that New York’s interest in its former top prospect has been somewhat overstated. The Mets did come close to acquiring Gomez shortly before the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline, of course, though that trade fell through, prompting Alderson and his lieutenants to pivot to Yoenis Cespedes.

On paper, Gomez does seem like a reasonable roll of the dice for the Mets, who currently have Ruggiano, Cespedes and Juan Lagares all on the disabled list. The latter of that trio is possibly out for the remainder of the season following thumb surgery to repair a torn ligament in late July, and neither Ruggiano nor Cespedes is considered a plus option in center field from a defensive standpoint. But, with Gomez’s lackluster .210/.272/.322 slash this season and the Mets’ reported concerns about his hip last summer (plus a rib cage injury that sidelined him for a month earlier this year), there’s no guarantee that he’d ultimately serve as an upgrade.

The Marlins and Cardinals have also been linked to Gomez since he was designated on Wednesday of last week, with injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and Matt Holliday creating a need in the respective outfields of those two teams.

Managerial News & Rumors: Collins, Cash, Ventura

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Here’s the latest on the job security of a trio of big league managers…

  • The Mets have no plans to make a managerial change, a front office source tells Peter Botte of the New York Daily News.  There had been some whispers about Terry Collins’ job security in the wake of the club’s underwhelming season, though in fairness to Collins, he has been hampered by a lackluster offense and some key injuries (most notably to Matt Harvey and David Wright).  The Mets are 59-58 after today’s victory but they’re just two games behind Miami for the last NL wild card slot, and the Marlins got some bad injury news themselves today.
  • Rays owner Stuart Sternberg gave manager Kevin Cash a strong vote of confidence, telling Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times that there is “zero” chance of Cash’s job being in danger.  The Rays are just 127-151 under Cash, who is in the second year of a five-year deal to manage the club.  It was an unusually strong commitment for a first-time manager, yet it was a sign of the confidence Sternberg and team executives had in Cash.  Even in regards to the team’s recent struggles, “to go through these sort of times will only make [Cash] a better manager,” Sternberg said.  “We knew coming in, he was here as a long-, long-term guy….But he handled things extraordinarily. As I would expect he would. And it makes him even more valuable going forward.”
  • Robin Ventura wants to return as the White Sox manager in 2017, though he tells Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times that “you have to have somebody ask you to do it and all that. That’s stuff that happens after the season is over, if you get there.”  The Sox are on pace for the fourth straight losing season of Ventura’s tenure, and the skipper is in the last year of his contract.

East News & Rumors: Marlins, Red Sox, Nats, Mets

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Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Saturday that the playoff-contending club hasn’t discussed signing Miami native and resident Alex Rodriguez, whom the Yankees released Saturday.“You’ve got to have a place to play. I know he hasn’t played in the field in a long time. I don’t know where he fits right now,” Mattingly told reporters, per the Associated Press. However, given the injury-forced absence of Justin Bour, Mattingly didn’t rule out the 41-year-old Rodriguez as a first base option for the Marlins. “There’s no reason he couldn’t play first. He has the ability to do a lot of things,” Mattingly stated. “We miss Justin a little bit over there at first. I don’t think we’ve been able to replace that. We’re always looking at ways of getting better in different areas.” The Marlins have been deploying right-handed hitters Miguel Rojas and Chris Johnson in a first base platoon with the lefty-swinging Derek Dietrich, though the former two have registered miserable batting lines this season. The same is true of Rodriguez – hence his release – but he’s only a year removed from hitting a tremendous .263/.394/.532 in 193 plate appearances against southpaws.

More regarding A-Rod and the majors’ two East divisions:

  • For his part, Rodriguez seems unsure if he wants to continue his career. After his final game with the Yankees on Friday, the 22-year veteran was reluctant to say he was done. “For all the things I’ve been through, to have a night like tonight, I don’t know what more I can ask for,” he said (Twitter link via David Lennon of Newsday). For what it’s worth, in a survey of 24 executives from around baseball, nearly half (11) told Jayson Stark of ESPN that Rodriguez would return either this season or in time for spring training next year.
  • On the heels of his Saturday release from the Nationals, free agent reliever Jonathan Papelbon would welcome a return to Boston, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI (Twitter link). Papelbon, whom the Red Sox selected in the fourth round of the 2003 draft, had a highly successful run with the club from 2005-11. During that seven-season, 429 1/3-inning span, the right-hander converted over 88 percent of save opportunities (219 of 248) and compiled a 2.33 ERA, 10.67 K/9 and 2.41 BB/9. He’s far less effective now, having lost a few miles per hour on his fastball and his job as Washington’s closer before it released him. However, Boston’s bullpen has posted a 4.14 second-half ERA – the sixth-highest figure in baseball – notes Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moreover, the Red Sox are without injured setup man Koji Uehara, and closer Craig Kimbrel has scuffled while dealing with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. Given their issues, Papelbon is “worth investigating,” Sox president Dave Dombrowski told reporters, including Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
  • Thanks to a clean MRI on Saturday, the Nationals will not place right fielder Bryce Harper on the disabled list, president and general manager Mike Rizzo said (via Alex Putterman of MLB.com). Harper hasn’t taken an at-bat since last Saturday because of a stiff neck, and manager Dusty Baker is wary of playing the 23-year-old in the event the team decides to place him on the DL retroactively. By playing him, Baker would reset the clock on a retroactive DL stint.
  • Left-hander Jon Niese is likely to return to the Mets’ rotation at the expense of Logan Verrett, whom the team pulled from its starting five after a disastrous Friday outing, according to Troy Provost-Heron of MLB.com. In an 8-6 loss to the Padres that dropped the Mets to below .500, Verrett yielded all eight runs on six hits (including four home runs) and three walks. Verrett has thrown 60 innings as a starter this year and recorded a 6.45 ERA, 6.15 K/9 and 4.8 BB/9. Niese was a capable option out of the Mets’ rotation from 2010-15, but he struggled this year with the Pirates after an offseason trade, leading Pittsburgh to deal him back to New York prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. Niese’s return to the Mets was going well until Thursday, when he gave up six earned runs on three hits and three walks in just an inning of work.

Cardinals, Mets Interested In Carlos Gomez

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8:56pm: The Mets aren’t giving off indications that they have serious interest in Gomez, Marc Carig of Newsday tweets. Though GM Sandy Alderson has “left [the] door open,” says Carig, his comments “sounded like diplomacy” rather than the prelude to a move on the veteran outfielder.

12:40pm: ESPN’s Mark Saxon tweets that the Cardinals are indeed looking into Gomez, and his ability to play center field is a big draw for them. However, he notes that St. Louis could be outbid by the Mets. Saxon adds in a second tweet that Gomez is expected to be traded rather than waived and released. Shortly after Gomez’s DFA earlier this week, the Mets were said to be “open” to reacquiring him. Gomez came up through the Mets’ farm system and was lauded as one of the game’s top prospects before he was traded to the Twins as part of the Johan Santana package.

11:00am: The Cardinals will explore the possibility of adding recently designated center fielder Carlos Gomez, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (on Twitter). According to Goold, they’ll try to ascertain the reasons for his sudden decline and determine whether they believe he can rediscover his form and help the 2016 club. Adding onto that, Goold said in an appearance on the Ryan Kelley Morning Show on 105.7 FM / 920 AM in St. Louis that the Cards have “legitimate curiosity” in Gomez and were intrigued by him even before last night, when left fielder Matt Holliday suffered a fractured thumb that could cost him much of the remaining season.

Gomez was a big-name addition for the Astros last July, when Houston parted with four prospects to pry Gomez and right-hander Mike Fiers away from the Brewers. However, there were some medical concerns about Gomez at the time — a trade to the Mets was reportedly nixed in part due to concerns surrounding Gomez’s hip — and he performed dreadfully in the calendar year for which he donned an Astros uniform. The 30-year-old batted just .221/.277/.342 in 126 games for the Astros — a far cry from the terrific .278/.342/.475 batting line he compiled from Opening Day 2013 until the time of said trade. Gomez remains a base-stealing threat, but even defensive metrics have soured on his once-elite skill set in center field. Of course, he missed time in 2015 with a hamstring injury, played through alleged hip issues last season and spent more than a month on the DL in 2016 after injuring his rib cage while laying out to make a diving catch. Any and all of those issues could contribute to a decline in his defensive prowess in the outfield.

For the Cardinals, center field has been a revolving door for quite some time. Last year saw Jon Jay and Peter Bourjos deliver underwhelming performances before Randal Grichuk looked to seize the job, but Grichuk has taken a significant step back in 2016 and has been optioned to the minors on multiple occasions (though he’s back in the Majors now). Beyond Grichuk, the Cards have trotted out Tommy Pham, Jeremy Hazelbaker and even displaced second baseman Kolten Wong as they look to find a dependable everyday solution.

While Gomez is far from a certainty to fill that need, he could add an option with significant upside if he is ultimately released. That fate could very well be his outcome, as Gomez is owed $2.51MM through season’s end, and any claiming team would be on the hook for that sum. (And, while a trade is certainly another possibility, one can imagine that the recent data breach issues between the two teams in question here might create a reluctance to enter into such negotiations.)

Zack Wheeler To Visit Dr. Andrews After Elbow Discomfort

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Mets righty Zack Wheeler is set for a visit to orthopedist Dr. James Andrews after experiencing discomfort in his surgically-repaired right elbow, Mike Puma of the New York Post was among those to tweet. It seems that the flare-up occurred after his most recent rehab outing.

Though it’s still far from clear whether Wheeler has a new injury with which to contend, the news makes it tough to imagine that he’ll return to New York this season. The prized 26-year-old had seemed primed to make a late-season return from Tommy John surgery, potentially giving the Mets a boost down the stretch.

At this point, the greater concern lies in the long run. Wheeler last pitched in the majors in 2014, when he wrapped up a stellar campaign for the Mets. He had been brought back slowly from his UCL replacement procedure, but attempts to ramp things up toward a major league return have not gone according to plan. Now, a dreaded trip to the famed Dr. Andrews may help to ascertain whether there’s a new problem to contend with.

The expectation has long been that Wheeler would constitute a major part of a loaded Mets pitching staff full of frontline starters. But while Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom have continued to thrive, though the former has pitched through a bone spur, but some cracks have formed elsewhere. Though Steven Matz has been productive in his first full MLB campaign, he has dealt with some inconsistency while battling his own elbow bone spur. And Matt Harvey has undergone a shocking downfall, struggling badly before undergoing season-ending surgery.

Wheeler certainly deserves mention in that company. Over his first 285 1/3 innings at the big league level, from 2013-14, Wheeler owns a 3.50 ERA with 8.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. Returning to that form may once have seemed a foregone conclusion, given the prevalence of Tommy John surgery, but the fact is that the surgery isn’t always successful. Indeed, as MLBTR contributor Bradley Woodrum has explained, a prior TJ procedure “strongly predicts a second surgery.”

Mets “Open” To Adding Carlos Gomez

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The Mets nearly acquired center fielder Carlos Gomez from the Brewers prior to last summer’s trade deadline, but New York backed out thanks to concerns over Gomez’s hip. Gomez ended up with the Astros, who designated him for assignment Wednesday after he hit a shockingly ineffective .221/.277/.342 with nine home runs in 486 plate appearances dating back to last year’s trade.

Now that Gomez will likely be available for the prorated league minimum soon, the Mets could once again have interest in the services of a player whose professional career began when they signed him as a 16-year-old in 2002.

“We always have an open mind,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told Howie Kussoy of the New York Post.

Despite his woes at the plate, the 30-year-old Gomez remains a threat on the bases and would add some speed to the Mets, who have the third-fewest steals in the majors (27) and have been among the worst base-running teams in the sport this year, according to FanGraphs. He’d also provide another option in center field to a club in need of one at the moment. With Juan Lagares recovering from thumb surgery, the Mets’ primary choices in center are Yoenis Cespedes, Alejandro De Aza, Michael Conforto and Curtis Granderson. Those are all less-than-ideal fits, as Cespedes – who has spent the lion’s share of the season in center – would much rather play left field; De Aza is amid a miserable year; Conforto has little experience in center; and Granderson, 35, is a defensive liability. Unfortunately, Gomez has endured an uncharacteristically subpar season in the field, posting negative figures in Defensive Runs Saved (minus-6) and UZR/150 (minus-4.7).

Offensively, the right-handed hitting Gomez could conceivably serve in a platoon with the lefty-swinging Conforto, who has hit a terrible .133/.185/.150 against southpaws since his promotion to the majors last season. That’s over an admittedly microscopic sample size of 65 plate appearances, though, and the only way the 23-year-old Conforto will eventually become an everyday player is by adjusting to same-handed pitchers. For his part, Gomez (.221/.275/.326 in 95 PAs) hasn’t inspired versus lefties this year, either. Nevertheless, at 57-55 and two games out of a Wild Card spot, the reigning National League Champions haven’t ruled out reuniting with Gomez.

Mets Plan To Discuss Extension With Neil Walker

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Neil Walker was acquired as a one-year rental this offseason, but Mets GM Sandy Alderson plans to discuss a long-term contract with Walker’s representatives at Excel Sports Management, per Roger Rubin at ESPN.com. “I have not had any conversations with his agent at this point,” said Alderson. “I expect that there will be some conversations before the end of the season. He’s been a terrific player for us on the field. He’s been excellent in the clubhouse.”

The on-field and clubhouse results for Walker have to be encouraging for the Mets, who in retrospect got the better of the trade that swapped Walker for lefty Jon Niese (who has since been reacquired), but the Mets now have extra incentive to explore a long-term arrangement with Walker after dealing presumptive second baseman of the future Dilson Herrera to the Reds in last Monday’s deadline deal to acquire Jay Bruce.

The 30-year-old Walker is hitting .268/.330/.449 with 19 homers (already the second-highest total of any season in his career), playing average to above-average defense at second base depending on your defensive metric of choice. On a thin free agent market, he’s be one of the most appealing bats available, as evidenced by the fact that he’s been hovering around the back end of the top 10 on MLBTR’s Free Agent Power Rankings for much of the season. A four-year deal seems like a reasonable expectation for Walker on the open market, given his strong year-to-year results at the plate, though there’s been no indication of any kind of asking price. It seems unlikely that with free agency now fewer than three months away, Walker would be open to much of a discount, especially considering the fact that the free agent market is especially thin at second base.

The other question facing the Mets is how well Walker will fit into the club’s payroll next season. Yoenis Cespedes seems likely to opt out of the remaining two years on his contract in pursuit of a larger deal, and one can imagine that the Mets will have interest in retaining him. Bartolo Colon and Alejandro De Aza, too, are each coming off the books. However, there are also numerous payroll increases facing the Mets. Bruce’s $13.5MM option figures to be exercised, while Jeurys Familia and Addison Reed are due for substantial raises on their respective salaries of $4.1MM and $5.3MM. Jacob deGrom, meanwhile, is in line for one of the richest paydays ever for a first-time arbitration-eligible player.

While there are certainly obstacles to Walker himself sounds open to the idea. The second baseman spoke to Rubin about the possibility of forgoing free agency and called the notion a “double-edged sword” but also acknowledging that the idea of an extension at the very least intrigues him. “…when you look at the big picture and you look at what’s going on here and you look at how I fit in here and how happy I’ve been … this is a really good fit for me.”

Mets Make Two Waiver Claims; Place D’Arnaud, Flores, Three Others On Revocable Waivers

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The Mets have made waiver claims on two unknown players, Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports, though they haven’t been able to work out a trade with either player’s team.  One of the players is a relief pitcher, which isn’t surprising given how the Mets were unable to land a desired bullpen upgrade prior to the August 1 trade deadline.  Teams have 48.5 hours to work out a trade once a player is claimed, and it is unclear if that deadline has already in the case of either player claimed by the Mets, or if the club still has time to work something out.  The fact that trades were being discussed between the two sides implies that the Amazins had at least some interest in the players, and the claims weren’t made just to block a rival club.

In other Mets waiver news, Ackert hears from an industry source that the club has also placed five players on revocable waivers: catcher Travis d’Arnaud, infielder Wilmer Flores, utilityman Ty Kelly and relievers Erik Goeddel and Josh Edgin.  The New York Post’s Mike Puma reports (Twitter link) that the Mets will eventually put their entire roster on waivers throughout August, a procedural move commonly used by several teams so they can either gauge the market for several players or keep hidden the identities of the players they’re actually interested in trading.  As a team can pull back any claimed player, it costs the Mets nothing to put their entire club on the waiver wire.

Still, d’Arnaud’s presence in the first wave of Mets waiver placements is notable given that the catcher has already been linked to one high-profile trade rumor prior to the deadline.  New York reportedly offered d’Arnaud to the Brewers both straight-up and as part of a trade package for Jonathan Lucroy, prior to Lucroy eventually being dealt to the Rangers.  D’Arnaud has shown glimpses of his hitting potential when healthy, though those instances have been rather few and far between, as d’Arnaud has been plagued by multiple injuries over his brief MLB career.  While it’s understandable that the Mets would be interested in parting with d’Arnaud for a proven star like Lucroy, it’s fair to wonder if the Mets are considering parting ways with d’Arnaud entirely since he can’t seem to stay healthy.

NL East News & Rumors: Ichiro, Prado, Walker, Phillies

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Ichiro Suzuki joined the 3000-hit club today, as the Marlins outfielder collected his milestone hit in the form of a seventh-inning triple during Miami’s 10-7 win over the Rockies.  Suzuki became the 30th player in MLB history to collect 3000 hits, though of course, Ichiro is now up to 4278 career hits counting his storied career in Japan.  At age 42, Ichiro has shown no inclination to retire, so he should be able to climb several more steps up the all-time hit leaderboard before he finally hangs up the cleats.  Congratulations to one of baseball’s legends as we check out some notes from around the NL East…

  • The Marlins have yet to make Martin Prado a contract offer but they’re expected to do so after the season, a team source tells Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.  The 32-year-old has hit well in his walk year, carrying a .318/.372/.422 slash line over 452 plate appearances into today’s action.  Prado has long been regarded as a clubhouse leader in Miami and he has also won the respect of Don Mattingly in the skipper’s first season running the Marlins.  If Prado leaves in free agency, the Marlins do have a ready-made internal replacement for third base in Derek Dietrich.
  • The Mets have yet to approach Neil Walker about a new contract, the free agent second baseman tells Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News, though Walker is quite open to remaining with the team.  “When I say I am excited about the future here, I don’t just mean what I think we can still do this season,” Walker said.  “I like the players we have here, I like what I think we are building for this season and for years to come.  I’d like to be a part of it, yeah.”  A team source tells Ackert that the Mets will “make a good run” at re-signing Walker, and GM Sandy Alderson said earlier this week that the club would talk to Walker, especially given how Dilson Herrera’s trade shakes up the Mets’ middle infield plans.  Ackert, for her part, believes re-signing Walker would bring some much-needed stability to a Mets infield that has big injury question marks in David Wright and Lucas Duda.
  • Hector Neris and Edubray Ramos will see a lot of action over the last two months of the season and the relievers could be trade chips for the Phillies this winter, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.  The Phils scored one major trade haul for Ken Giles last winter, and if Neris and/or Ramos both continue their impressive performance, they could also bring back a solid return.  As Phillies GM Matt Klentak noted about the trade deadline, “the industry is shifting.  They’re paying a lot for elite bullpen arms.  We learned that a little bit last offseason ourselves, and I think that’s been reinforced through some of the trades this year.”
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