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Mets Rumors

Mets Place Christian Scott On Injured List With UCL Sprain

By Darragh McDonald | July 24, 2024 at 3:02pm CDT

July 24: The Mets’ plan for Scott is to rest and rehab for the time being, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The hope is that he can return before season’s end. Given the timing of the injury, it’s sensible enough to try for the rest/rehab route even if surgery has been considered as an option. Surgery might knock Scott out until the end of the 2025 campaign anyhow, so the Mets will go with a non-surgical treatment in hopes that he can return late in the year and then have the offseason for further rest.

July 23: The Mets announced that right-hander Christian Scott has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right UCL sprain, retroactive to July 22. Left-hander Alex Young was recalled in a corresponding move.

At this point, it’s unclear how severe Scott’s sprain is or how long the Mets expect him to be out, but it’s a concerning development nonetheless. The ulnar collateral ligament is the one replaced in Tommy John surgery and a sprain, by definition, involves some degree of stretching or tearing.

That’s not to say that Scott is definitely going under the knife, as pitchers are sometimes able to return from a UCL sprain via non-surgical means. For a recent and perhaps best-case example, Mason Miller of the Athletics was diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain in May of last year. He missed a few months of the season but was back with the club by September and has been one of the best relievers in baseball here in 2024.

But avoiding the scalpel can also be a temporary measure, as seen in the case of Kyle Bradish of the Orioles. He was diagnosed with a UCL sprain in Spring Training this year but was reinstated from the IL by early May. But after eight starts with the O’s, he was back on the IL and then required Tommy John surgery.

Further updates will reveal more about Scott’s absence but, as mentioned, it’s not good news either way. The young pitcher’s stock has been skyrocketing over the past two years, as he posted a 2.57 ERA in the minors last year. Across 87 2/3 innings at three different levels, he struck out 31.9% of batters and walked just 3.6%.

He’s continued pitching well in the minors this year and has also made his major league debut. His first nine starts at the big league level haven’t been outstanding, as he has a 4.56 ERA and a 19.8% strikeout rate, but that’s a fairly small sample size and he’s obviously still just getting his feet wet in the majors.

The Mets were undoubtedly hoping that he would continue his development, putting up better numbers as he went along, but that will be on pause for an undetermined amount of time. Even losing him for just a few months will take him out of the club’s rotation plans for the stretch run. The Mets are currently 51-48 and clinging to the final Wild Card spot in the National League. As they look to keep that spot, they will do so without Scott in their rotation mix for now.

Kodai Senga is expected to come off the IL this week, joining the rotation alongside Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino and David Peterson. The club also has Tylor Megill on optional assignment and José Buttó and Adrian Houser currently in the big league bullpen. It was reported a few weeks ago that the club had enough healthy rotation options that they were considering trading someone from that group while still trying to compete this year. Reporting from this week threw some cold water on that and this news about Scott perhaps makes that even less likely, though the club at least has a number of solid rotation options to press forward even if their trade options have been diminished.

On top of the immediate impact of subtracting from the club’s rotation depth, it’s less than ideal for a developing starter to be missing significant time. That’s true even if it’s just a few months but it would obviously be even more true if Scott ends up requiring surgery and perhaps missing all of 2025.

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New York Mets Newsstand Alex Young Christian Scott

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Mets Sign Jackie Bradley Jr. To Minor League Deal

By Leo Morgenstern | July 23, 2024 at 2:15pm CDT

The Mets have reportedly agreed to a minor league deal with veteran outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. Sean W. Alcide was the first to report the news, which was later confirmed by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Bradley, who had been playing for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, will report to Triple-A Syracuse.

Bradley has not played in affiliated ball since he was released by the Royals last June. He went 14-for-105 (.133) with a .397 OPS over 43 games that season. His always-excellent outfield defense (1.000 fielding percentage, 4 OAA) was not enough to make up for his lifeless bat, even on a Royals club that ranked among the worst offensive teams in the league. However, Bradley has shown signs of life for the Ducks, with whom he went 66-for-165 (.400) with 12 home runs and 28 extra-base hits in 40 games. As Will Sammon of The Athletic pointed out, he was in the middle of a 28-game hitting streak, the longest in Ducks history. Needless to say, Bradley wasn’t facing MLB-caliber pitching in the Atlantic League, but his strong performance was enough to entice New York.

The Mets already have a full-time center fielder, Harrison Bader, and a star corner outfielder capable of handling center, Brandon Nimmo. However, their outfield options are far less promising after those two names. Starling Marte has been on the injured list since June. While he was hitting relatively well over his first 66 games this year, his defense (-9 OAA, -9 DRS) has become a major liability. The four others who have played the outfield for the Mets this year, Tyrone Taylor, DJ Stewart, Jeff McNeil, and Ben Gamel, have combined for a .211/.291/.347 slash line. Only Stewart has a league-average batting line (100 wRC+), while only Taylor (1 OAA, 5 DRS) has positive defensive metrics. Considering that the only other outfielder on the team’s 40-man roster is 21-year-old Alex Ramírez at Double-A, it’s hardly surprising the Mets sought some additional outfield depth.

The Mets will be the fifth organization of Bradley’s career, after stints with the Red Sox, Brewers, Blue Jays, and Royals. He has a career .684 OPS and 82 wRC+ and has not been an above-average hitter since 2020; it is hard to imagine that will change in his age-34 campaign. However, if he is selected to the Mets roster at some point this season, the team can likely count on his elite glove and strong arm to provide defensive value in the outfield. As Bob Nightengale of USA Today points out, Bradley is 115 days away from reaching 10 years of MLB service. Not only is 10 years of service time a major milestone, but it is the point at which players fully qualify for the pension plan. He won’t reach that mark this season, but with a strong performance this year, Bradley could extend his MLB career into 2025.

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New York Mets Transactions Jackie Bradley Jr.

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Mets Reportedly Prefer To Add At Deadline

By Darragh McDonald | July 23, 2024 at 10:30am CDT

The trade deadline is now just a week away and several teams are still unsure how aggressively to buy or sell between now and then. Per a report from Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Mets are hoping to do some buying but the extent of their shopping will likely come down to what other clubs are making available.

The Mets had a disastrous season in 2023. Despite running the highest payroll in MLB history, they fell out of contention and wound up selling at the deadline. That included flipping marquee names like Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, eating salary in order to bring back greater prospects that bolstered their farm system.

Coming into 2024, they added to their roster but focused mainly on short-term deals, ideally improving their chances at competing in 2024 while leaving plenty of future flexibility intact. This year has had its ups and downs but they are currently 51-48 and in possession of the final Wild Card spot in the National League, so it makes sense that they would consider themselves buyers.

Hanging onto that playoff spot will be a challenge in a fairly crowded race. There are three clubs within a game of the Mets and seven within 4.5 games. Given that the club has been trying to restock its farm system and still isn’t a sure thing for the playoffs this year, they may prefer marginal adds that don’t involve significant prospect cost. Sammon reports that this is essentially how the club sees things, as they will be looking to make additions in ways that don’t hurt them in subsequent seasons, a similar mindset to their recent offseason.

Sammon uses the recent Phil Maton trade as an example, since the Mets took that contract off the Rays’ hands without having to surrender any prospect capital. Since the Mets have been willing to spend lavishly under owner Steve Cohen, taking on money in order to reduce prospect costs could logically be their preferred trading method. That’s in spite of the fact that they are paying a massive 110% tax on any further spending since they are a three-time payor of the competitive balance tax that is well above the highest tier.

Similar trades to address the bullpen may be forthcoming in the next week, with Sammon using Chad Green of the Blue Jays as a hypothetical example. The Jays picked up a club option for Green’s services that will pay him $21MM over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. They have now fallen out of contention and may have interest in ducking under the competitive balance tax, which could lead the two sides to line up on a trade that further bolsters the Mets’ bullpen and mostly provides the Jays with salary relief. Regardless of how the trades ultimately play out, upgrading the bullpen makes plenty of sense since Mets’ relievers have a collective 4.14 earned run average that placed them 19th in the league.

But as Sammon highlights, what the Mets do at the deadline will ultimately be determined by what’s available. All year long, the narrative around this summer’s deadline has focused on the lack of clear sellers. With the expanded playoffs, there are currently only six teams more than 7.5 games from a postseason spot. Per Sammon and other reports from around the baseball world, several clubs are still having various conversations and trying to figure out their plans of attack for the next week. Among the clubs that are firmly in the seller camp, some of them are rebuilding clubs that will likely be looking to maximize prospect hauls, such as the Marlins and White Sox.

One way or another, it seems the Mets will be making additions, even if they end up being modest. The flip side of that, of course, is that they don’t intend to be sellers. There were times earlier in the season when the Mets were struggling and it seemed possible that first baseman Pete Alonso could be made available. He is an impending free agent and it would make sense to make him available if the club were out of contention.

But since they have climbed back into a playoff spot, that doesn’t seem to be a possibility now. Sammon reports that the club is unlikely to trade Alonso, even if they suffer through a losing streak over the next week. That will mean leaving some trade value on the table but the Mets could recoup a bit of that by making Alonso a qualifying offer, though the pick would be fairly modest since CBT payors receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round.

Sammon also throws some cold water on the possibility of the Mets trading from their relatively strong rotation. It had been reported earlier this month that the Mets were considering selling a starting pitcher even if they stayed in the buyer camp, simply due to the number of viable starters they have on hand. Kodai Senga has been on the injured list all year but could be rejoining the club this week, entering a rotation mix that also consists of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Christian Scott, David Peterson, Jose Quintana and Tylor Megill, with José Buttó and Adrian Houser also on the roster but currently working out of the bullpen.

There would be some logic to trading someone from that group to upgrade another part of the roster and hoping that the depth would be strong enough to last through the season, but Sammon reports that the club will be reluctant to do so unless they get blown away by an offer. If such an offer were to be considered, Severino and Quintana would be the most logical candidates since they are impending free agents. Manaea could also return to the open market but he has a player option for 2025 that would complicate his trade candidacy.

Again, the external market forces figure to be playing a role here. As Sammon notes, a number of teams are looking for starting pitching and the lack of sellers might lead to the Mets getting some interesting offers that tempt them away from their preference for hanging onto the current group.

Sammon also adds that upgrading right field is another area the club could explore, with the caveat that it may be harder to accomplish that without giving up prospect talent. Starling Marte is having a solid season overall, with a line of .278/.328/.416 and 115 wRC+. But he’s now 35 years old and his health has become an increasing problem in recent years. He’s currently on the injured list with a bone bruise in his knee and the club has recently rotated Tyrone Taylor, DJ Stewart and Jeff McNeil through the position without any of them taking a firm hold of the job.

The list of possible trade candidates includes corner outfielders such as Taylor Ward, Randy Arozarena, Brent Rooker, Jesse Winker, Lane Thomas, Tommy Pham, Kevin Pillar and Miguel Andujar. But all of those guys are either still in their arbitration years or playing on modest free agent deals, meaning their current clubs would likely prioritize prospect-heavy returns as opposed to salary relief in any trade talks. Corner outfielders making notable salaries include George Springer, Mitch Haniger and old friend Michael Conforto, though it’s unclear if the Mets would be interested in taking on significant money to get any of those guys.

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New York Mets Pete Alonso

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Mets Designate Cole Sulser For Assignment

By Steve Adams | July 22, 2024 at 1:52pm CDT

The Mets have designated right-handed reliever Cole Sulser for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to catcher Logan Porter, whose previously reported split major league deal is now official. Porter, who still has multiple minor league option years remaining, has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

Sulser, 34, signed a minor league deal over the winter and pitched 4 2/3 innings for the Mets back in April and May. He allowed five runs on six hits and three walks with seven punchouts during that short stint. He’s spent the majority of the season in Triple-A, where he’s posted a sparkling 1.48 earned run average in 30 1/3 frames. Excellent as that mark has been, however, Sulser has also walked 13.2% of his opponents and benefited massively from a .182 average on balls in play. Even with a sharp 28.1% strikeout rate and huge 56.7% grounder rate, it’s fair to expect a good bit of ERA regression.

For one season with the Orioles, Sulser looked to have broken out as a quality big league reliever. He pitched 63 1/3 innings for Baltimore in 2021 and turned in a 2.70 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and 41.3% ground-ball rate. Traded to the Marlins alongside Tanner Scott the following offseason, Sulser hit an immediate wall. From 2022-24, he’s pitched 44 MLB innings between the Fish, D-backs and Mets but limped to a 5.93 ERA. He’s still fanned just over a quarter of his opponents, but Sulser has done so with an 11.3% walk rate and with immense susceptibility to home runs (1.84 HR/9). He’s also seen a heater that averaged 93.2 mph back in ’21 dip to an average of 91.9 mph this year (both figures via Statcast).

The Mets will either trade Sulser, release him or place him on outright waivers within the next five days. Waivers would be an additional 48-hour process from the point at which he’s placed. Within a week’s time, he’ll know the outcome of his DFA.

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New York Mets Transactions Cole Sulser Logan Porter

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Brewers Acquire Tyler Jay From Mets

By Nick Deeds | July 21, 2024 at 3:05pm CDT

The Mets have dealt left-hander Tyler Jay to the Brewers in exchange for minor league right-hander TJ Shook, per a club announcement. Jay had been designated for assignment by New York last week to make room for lefty Alex Young on the club’s 40-man roster. The Brewers had an open spot for Jay on their 40-man roster after designating Joel Kuhnel for assignment earlier today.

Jay, 30, was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Twins. Jay struggled to establish himself in the upper levels of the minors, however, and he departed affiliated ball following the canceled 2020 minor league season to pitch the 2022 campaign for the Frontier League’s Joliet Slammers. He pitched well in Indy Ball with a 3.53 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 79 innings of work between the 2022 and ’23 seasons. The lefty returned to affiliated ball on a minor league deal with the Mets partway through last year and after struggling in his Triple-A debut last year, looked solid in 41 1/3 innings of work as a multi-inning reliever at the level this year with a 2.40 ERA despite a relatively lackluster 18.6% strikeout rate.

That performance was strong enough to earn Jay his first taste of big league action with the Mets back in April. He looked good in two appearances with the Mets, allowing one run on five hits and a walk while striking out one in four innings of work, but was designated for assignment after a week in the majors to make room on the club’s roster for Michael Tonkin. Jay remained with the Mets following his outright assignment and continued to put up strong numbers at the Triple-A level, earning him another big league opportunity on July 1. That appearance went poorly, however, as Jay surrendered four runs (three earned) while recording just two outs against two hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. That was Jay’s only appearance of his second stint in New York, and his time with the organization now comes to an end with a career ERA of 7.71 at the big league level.

Now, Jay is headed to the Brewers where he figures to join a bullpen full of reclamation relief arms who have managed to put together strong results in Milwaukee. The club is currently relying on Bryan Hudson, Jared Koenig, Hoby Milner, and Rob Zastryzny as lefty relief options, and Jay figures to be the next man up behind that group from the left side while Kevin Herget acts as the top depth option behind the bullpen’s right-handed pitchers.

In exchange for Jay’s services, the Brewers are parting ways with Shook, who they signed as an undrafted free agent back in 2020. The 26-year-old right-hander worked his way through the minor league system fairly quickly in his first few years in the organization but has stalled out a bit at the Double-A level in the years since then, having pitched there since partway through the 2022 season. In 242 career innings at the level, Shook has a 5.06 ERA despite a solid 24.2% strikeout rate thanks to an elevated 10% walk rate and a tendency towards allowing home runs. Things have improved slightly for Shook this year, however, as he’s posted a 4.90 ERA with a 27.4% strikeout rate against a more manageable 8.9% walk rate with just seven home runs allowed in 64 1/3 innings of work.

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Milwaukee Brewers New York Mets Transactions TJ Shook Tyler Jay

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Notable Draft Signings: 7/20/24

By Nick Deeds | July 20, 2024 at 11:02pm CDT

Saturday saw a smattering of players get inked to major bonuses, including Cardinals first-rounder JJ Wetherholt and Cubs first-rounder Cam Smith. A few more notable signings from the past day:

  • The Marlins agreed to a $2.8MM deal with second-rounder Carter Johnson, per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. That’s significantly higher than the $1.6MM slot value for the 56th overall pick, and comes on the heels of Miami signing their first-rounder to a deal that came in well below slot value yesterday. Johnson, a high school shortstop committed to Alabama, was ranked fairly highly across the board, with The Athletic’s Keith Law rating him as the 26th-best prospect in this year’s class on the high end while MLB Pipeline ranked him on the low end at 40th in the class. While evaluators suggest he has a good feel for hitting, he’s nearly universally expected to end up at second or third base long-term due in part to his large frame; he’s listed at 6’2”, 180 lbs.
  • The Mets agreed to a $2,031,700 deal with second-rounder Jonathan Santucci today, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis. The deal is full slot value for the 45th overall selection. Santucci is a college southpaw listed a 6’2”, 205 lbs. Evaluators seem fairly split on the Duke product, with Baseball America (#32) and MLB Pipeline (#37) both ranking the lefty within the top 40 prospects in this year’s draft while evaluators at Fangraphs (#50) as well as Law (#50) and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (#64) are much less bullish. As noted by Law in his writeup of Santucci, the lefty’s stuff is impressive but he’s missed considerable time throughout his college career due to an elbow fracture last spring and a rib injury that cost him a few starts this season. Given Santucci’s notable injury history, it’s not necessarily surprising that evaluators are split on the lefty, and Law adds that “His draft status is probably more a function of what teams see in his medical reports than what the scouts and analysts say.”
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2024 Amateur Draft Miami Marlins New York Mets Carter Johnson Jonathan Santucci

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Mets To Sign Logan Porter To Major League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | July 18, 2024 at 12:40pm CDT

The Mets and catcher Logan Porter are in agreement on a major league deal, according to Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 on X. The deal for the Gaeta Sports Management client is pending a physical. Porter has options and won’t necessarily be added to the active roster, but it appears he’ll get a 40-man spot. The Mets will need to open a spot there to make the move official.

Porter, 29, spent most of his career with the Royals until recently. An undrafted free agent signed by Kansas City in 2018, he got a brief look in the majors last year, getting into 13 games. He was non-tendered at season’s end and re-signed with the Royals on a minor league deal.

He was acquired by the Giants about a month ago in a cash deal, but he triggered an opt-out clause on Tuesday. The Giants could have kept him by adding him to their roster but it appears they let him go and now the Mets will be the ones to give him that roster spot.

Porter hit just .194/.324/.323 in the majors last year, though in a brief sample of 38 plate appearances. His work on the farm has been far more impressive, as he has slashed .277/.401/.466 in his 1,766 minor league plate appearances. That translates to a 131 wRC+, indicating he’s been 31% better than league average.

That includes a line of .293/.390/.500 and a 127 wRC+ this year, though in uneven fashion. He hit .319/.428/.575 with the Royals but then put up a line of .253/.329/.387 after being traded to the Giants. However, that latter line was in just 85 plate appearances and the overall work appears to have been good enough to interest his new club.

The Mets currently have a tandem of Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens handling their catching duties at the major league level. Alvarez was one of the top prospects in baseball not too long ago and has handled himself well in the majors thus far, having hit .231/.305/.450 in his career for a 110 wRC+ with strong defensive grades as well. Torrens joined the club six weeks ago and has been killing it in that time, with a line of .283/.333/.547 and 149 wRC+ since becoming a Met. That’s far better than his career line of .231/.292/.367 but the Mets will probably ride the hot hand for as long as they can.

But those two are the only catchers on the 40-man roster. Once Porter’s deal becomes official, they will have some optionable depth on hand if either Alvarez or Torrens suffer an injury. Porter has a full slate of options and only a handful of service days, meaning he could be a long-term piece for the Mets if he holds onto his roster spot. Porter also has some first base and third base experience, which could help him carve out a utility role at some point down the line as long as he keeps hitting.

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New York Mets San Francisco Giants Transactions Logan Porter

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MLBTR Podcast: Top Trade Candidates, Hunter Harvey To KC And The Current State Of The Rays And Mets

By Darragh McDonald | July 17, 2024 at 11:50pm CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

  • MLBTR’s list of the Top 50 Trade Candidates For The 2024 Trade Deadline (2:20)
  • The Royals acquire Hunter Harvey from the Nationals (5:45)
  • The Mets acquire Phil Maton from the Rays (14:55)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • The Cubs are such an interesting case right now. They’re not performing well, but they’re also not built to sell. They’ve got a lot of players slated to return from the IL in the next few weeks and they’ve got an easy strength of schedule after the deadline. They’ve got a strong farm system and some positional surpluses that they could deal from, but they’re up against the tax that they’ve self-imposed as a hard cap. They’re not too far from playoff contention but they’ve got a bunch of teams ahead of them. What should they do? (27:15)
  • With the trade deadline approaching fast and the Tigers’ recent play, could they be potential buyers if they continue this trend up to the deadline? (34:25)
  • If the White Sox trade Luis Robert Jr., Garrett Crochet, Erick Fedde and Michael Kopech, just how improved could they expect to be? (40:40)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Brewers’ Pitching Needs, Marlins Rumors And The Nats Prepare To Sell – listen here
  • The Rays Could Deal Starters, Garrett Crochet, James Wood And Free Agent Power Rankings – listen here
  • Injured Trade Candidates, The Cristopher Sánchez Extension And Blue Jays’ Woes – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

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Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals MLB Trade Rumors Podcast New York Mets Tampa Bay Rays Washington Nationals Hunter Harvey Phil Maton

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Mets Claim Alex Young, Designate Tyler Jay

By Steve Adams | July 17, 2024 at 1:06pm CDT

The Mets announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed left-hander Alex Young off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. Fellow lefty Tyler Jay was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

It’s a quick turnaround for Young, whom the Giants acquired just last week in the trade that sent outfielder Austin Slater and cash to the Reds. San Francisco seemingly hoped to pass Young through waivers and retain the southpaw as a depth option, but the Mets didn’t allow that to happen and will keep Young on their 40-man roster for the time being. The unusual sequence leaves the Giants with no return of which to speak for Slater, a 2014 eighth-rounder who’s been a solid role player for them over the years before struggling to career-worst results at the plate in 2024.

Young, 30, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons — including a brief two-inning stint with Cincinnati earlier this season. The former second-round pick has a career 4.40 earned run average in 264 big league innings and has fanned 19.5% of his opponents against an 8.5% walk rate. Though he debuted as a starter with the 2019 Diamondbacks, Young has worked primarily as a reliever since that time and hasn’t started a game since 2022.

Young didn’t allow a run in his two innings with the Reds this season, and he’s been excellent in 24 2/3 Triple-A frames as well, logging a tidy 2.19 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate between the affiliates for the Reds and Giants. The southpaw has a shaky 4.99 ERA in 209 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, although that’s skewed by a pair of dismal debut campaigns in Triple-A with the D-backs in 2018-19. He’s pitched well at the top minor league level in each of the past three seasons now.

This is Young’s final minor league option year. The Mets can shuttle him between Syracuse and Queens for the remainder of the season, but Young would need to stick on the big league roster in 2025 and beyond. He crossed four years of big league service time earlier this season while on the 60-day injured list with a back issue, meaning he can be controlled for another two seasons, through the 2026 campaign, if he makes a good impression on his new club.

For Jay, this will be the second time this season the Mets have designated him for assignment. He was also DFA’ed after making his big league debut back in April. He stuck with the organization after clearing outright waivers.

The 30-year-old Jay was the No. 6 overall draft pick out of Illinois back in 2015 and for years ranked as one of the more promising arms in the Twins’ system. He dealt with repeated shoulder and neck injuries throughout his time in Minnesota’s system, however, and eventually underwent thoracic outlet surgery. He was out of affiliated ball at one point, before parlaying a showing with the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League into a minor league look with the Mets.

Jay has only pitched 4 2/3 big league innings for the Mets this season. He’s surrendered four runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts in that time. He’s spent the remainder of the season in Syracuse, working to a strong 2.40 ERA with a below-average 18.6% strikeout rate but a sensational 2.5% walk rate. The Mets will either trade Jay or place him on outright waivers in the next five days. Waivers would then be an additional 48-hour process. If he goes unclaimed, Jay will have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, as is the case for any player who’s been outrighted multiple times in his career.

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New York Mets San Francisco Giants Transactions Alex Young Tyler Jay

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Twins Acquire Rylan Bannon From Mets

By Steve Adams | July 16, 2024 at 12:58pm CDT

The Twins have acquired infielder Rylan Bannon from the Mets, per their transaction log at MLB.com. The return isn’t specified, though it’s typical for midseason trades of non-40-man players of this ilk to send cash the other direction. Speculatively speaking, Bannon may have had an out clause in his deal with the Mets; he was hitting well in Triple-A Syracuse prior to this swap.

Bannon, 28, has played in parts of two big league seasons, spending time with the Orioles, Braves and Astros. Despite having suited up for three clubs in 2022-23, he’s tallied only 21 plate appearances at the MLB level and gone 2-for-20 with a walk and eight strikeouts.

A seventh-round pick by the Dodgers back in 2017, Bannon was one of five players the Dodgers traded to Baltimore in the 2018 Manny Machado deal and for a few years looks as though he could have a role with the O’s in the majors. Bannon ranked among the Orioles’ top 30 prospects at MLB.com from 2019-21, sitting between 18th and 23rd on their list along the way. He’s had an inconsistent but at-times productive track record in the upper minors.

That minor league track record includes a strong three-month stint with the Mets organization to begin the 2024 season. Bannon appeared in 79 games and tallied 342 plate appearances with the Mets’ Syracuse affiliate, batting .254/.392/.475 with 15 homers, seven steals and a gaudy 17.5% walk rate. He played second base, third base, shortstop and both outfield corners during his time in the Mets’ system but ultimately didn’t receive a call to the majors.

The Twins have a crowded but increasingly banged-up infield mix, so it’s not a shock to see them adding some more depth. Third baseman Royce Lewis is on the shelf with an adductor strain, and Minnesota placed Jose Miranda on the injured list with a back issue just prior to the break. Neither player is expected to be in for an especially lengthy IL stint. The Twins selected the contract of infielder Diego Castillo just before the break when Miranda hit the injured list.

Carlos Correa, in the midst of his best season since signing with the Twins, is skipping the All-Star Game due to an ongoing bout of plantar fasciitis. There’s no indication yet that Correa will head to the injured list, and the Twins still have top prospect Brooks Lee to slot in at third base and All-Star utilityman Willi Castro as an option at second base. If Correa does require a stint on the 10-day IL, Edouard Julien could be recalled from St. Paul, with Castro or Lee taking over at shortstop.

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Minnesota Twins New York Mets Transactions Rylan Bannon

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