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Mets Designate Jorge López For Assignment

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The Mets have officially designated right-hander Jorge López for assignment, a move that was reported on yesterday. Left-hander Danny Young was recalled to take Lopez’s spot in a corresponding move.

The Mets have been in a rough patch lately, losing three in a row and eight of their last ten, and the frustration seemed to boil over with López yesterday. After allowing a home run to Shohei Ohtani, he was facing Freddie Freeman when a checked swing appeal to third resulted in a call of no swing. López seemingly said something to third base umpire Ramon De Jesus and was ejected. While making his way off the way off the field, he untucked his shirt and tossed his glove into the stands. Video shared on X by SNY.

After the game, López spoke to the media, though there was some confusion about what he said and what he intended. López, a native of Puerto Rico, spoke in English and some believed he called the Mets “the worst team in probably the whole f***ing MLB” while others heard him referring to himself as “the worst teammate” in the league. Later that night, it was reported that López would be designated for assignment.

Today, López seemed unhappy with the way things played out the night before. He posted on his Instagram stories this morning, stating that he was definitely saying “teammate” and sarcastically thanked the media for making the situation worse. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com posted on X this morning that López losing his roster spot had nothing to do with the team/teammate confusion, saying that López “embarrassed the organization with his actions and words, throwing his glove into the stands, lying about meeting with management and offering zero remorse.”

Reporters from López’s previous clubs have come to his defense today, trying to give larger context to the pitcher’s frustrations. Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Sun shared this story from 2022, when López was with the Orioles. The article discusses the recent death of López’s grandfather as well as López’s son Mikael, who has dealt with several autoimmune disorders since he was born and has spent much of his life in the hospital. Dan Hayes of The Athletic shared this story from last summer, when the Twins put López on the injured list for a mental health break. Boomer Esiason addressed the matter on his show today, as relayed by Awful Announcing on X, saying that he had been informed that Mikael is currently waiting for a transplant.

The extra information certainly makes it easier to understand how López reacted the way that he did, but it appears the Mets don’t consider that an acceptable excuse. Some observers have suggested that the Mets could have put López on the IL for mental health reasons, as the Twins did last year, but they have decided to take a different approach and have removed the righty from their roster.

The Mets will now have one week to trade López or pass him through waivers. In the latter scenario, López has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while holding onto the remainder of his $2MM salary, as a player with more than five years of major league service time.

He has logged 26 1/3 innings with the Mets this year, allowing 3.76 earned runs per nine innings. His 17.1% strikeout rate is subpar but his 9.9% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate are both around league average.

He had a breakout seasons as a reliever with the O’s in 2022. After years of fairly middling work as a starter, a move to the bullpen seemed to unlock something in the righty. In 48 1/3 innings with Baltimore, he had a 1.68 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 60% ground ball rate.

He was flipped to the Twins at that year’s deadline but his results have backed up since then. He had a 4.37 ERA with Minnesota after the deal in 2022, then had a 5.95 ERA in 2023, ending up bouncing to the Marlins and Orioles later in the year. The O’s cut him at the end of the year, which freed him up to sign with the Mets.

Brooks Raley Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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May 30: Raley underwent Tommy John surgery Wednesday and had an internal brace installed in his elbow as well, the team announced.

May 21: Mets reliever Brooks Raley will undergo Tommy John surgery next week, reports Tim Healey of Newsday. That’ll end his 2024 season and likely cost him at least the first half of the ’25 campaign.

It could also mark the end of Raley’s time in Queens. The 35-year-old southpaw (36 in June) is set to hit free agency next offseason. Raley is playing this season on a $6.5MM salary after the Mets exercised a club option at the start of last winter. That was an easy decision considering how well Raley pitched between 2022-23.

In 126 appearances over that stretch, he turned in a 2.74 earned run average behind a 26.8% strikeout rate. The Mets received some trade calls at last summer’s deadline (and quite likely again over the winter) but elected to hold onto him as their top left-handed setup option.

That’ll unfortunately go down as a mostly lost investment. Raley had an excellent start to the season, working seven scoreless innings with nine strikeouts over eight appearances. He landed on the injured list on April 21 with what ultimately proved to a season-ending injury. While the Mets initially diagnosed the issue as inflammation and projected a short-term absence, later testing revealed ligament damage.

Without Raley, the Mets are light on left-handed relievers. Jake Diekman is their clear top option. The 37-year-old has made 20 appearances and posted his typical blend of huge strikeout and walk tallies. Diekman has punched out 23 of his 70 opponents (nearly 33%) while issuing 14 walks (20%). He owns a 3.86 ERA across 16 1/3 innings. The veteran is an effective reliever overall, but he’s probably miscast as a team’s best left-hander.

Josh Walker has been on and off the active roster throughout the season. He’s currently in a middle relief role. Danny Young is on optional assignment to Triple-A Syracuse. Tyler Jay saw a bit of MLB time early in the season and remains in the organization after being outrighted from the 40-man roster a month ago. The Mets could welcome swingman David Peterson back from the 60-day injured list as soon as next week. Whether he’ll work from the bullpen or grab a rotation spot — likely in place of the struggling Adrian Houser — is still to be determined.

Raley has spent the last month on the 15-day IL. The Mets can move him to the 60-day at any time that they need to open a spot on the 40-man roster (though they already have two vacancies in that regard). His camp will presumably look for a two-year deal when he hits the open market, likely with a low base salary in the first season.

Mets To Designate Jorge Lopez For Assignment

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The Mets are designating reliever Jorge López for assignment, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (X link). The move comes after the right-hander tossed his glove into the stands following a rough outing this afternoon against the Dodgers. After the game, López said he didn’t regret the incident and called the Mets “the worst team in probably the whole f***ing MLB” (video provided on X by SNY).

López, a native of Puerto Rico, conducted his postgame media scrum in English. While it was initially unclear whether he intended to call the Mets “the worst team” in the league or if called himself “the worst teammate,” he answered “probably” to a follow-up question when asked whether he called the Mets “the worst team.” MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that López subsequently indicated he intended to criticize both himself and the club — calling himself the worst teammate on the league’s worst team.

The Mets may very well have been prepared to move on from López even before his comments. Called on to pitch in the eighth inning with the team trailing 5-3, he surrendered a double to Miguel Vargas that scored a pair of inherited runners. López retired Mookie Betts before serving up a two-run homer to Shohei Ohtani. He was ejected during the next at-bat after arguing with third base umpire Ramon De Jesus on a check swing. López flipped his glove over the protective netting on his way off the field. After the game, manager Carlos Mendoza called López’s behavior “not acceptable” and said the team would address it internally (video from SNY).

A veteran of nine MLB seasons, López inked a $2MM free agent deal with the Mets in December. This afternoon notwithstanding, he had serviceable run prevention numbers. In 26 1/3 innings, he turned in a 3.76 earned run average. López only punched out 17.2% of opponents while walking nearly 10% of batters faced. While he probably wouldn’t have been cut loose if not for today’s glove toss and postgame comments, it wasn’t a resoundingly impressive performance either.

López was an All-Star with the Orioles back in 2022, when he turned in a 1.68 ERA with 19 saves in 48 1/3 frames for Baltimore. The O’s controversially traded him to the Twins at the deadline. López’s production plummeted after the deal, as he turned in a 4.81 ERA in Minnesota. He continued to struggle after being swapped to the Marlins last summer and in a late-season return to Baltimore.

The Mets are riding a three-game losing streak and have dropped 19 of 26 this month. They’re a season-worst 11 games below .500 and ahead of only the Rockies and Marlins in the National League. The bullpen entered play today with a 4.42 ERA in May, ranking 21st in MLB. They lost the struggling Edwin Díaz to the injured list before the game. Adam Ottavino, Reed Garrett and Jake Diekman are taking high-leverage work.

Mets Place Edwin Díaz On Injured List With Shoulder Impingement

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The Mets announced today that right-hander Edwin Díaz has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Left-hander Josh Walker has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.

It’s been a trying time for Díaz, to say the least. He missed all of 2023 after tearing the right patellar tendon in his right knee during the World Baseball Classic. He and the Mets were undoubtedly hoping for him to be healthy and back in form this year, but it hasn’t played out that way.

He has pitched 20 innings for the Mets this year, allowing 12 earned runs, a rate of 5.40 per nine. His 35.3% strikeout rate is still quite strong but a big drop from the absurd 50.2% rate he had in 2022. He’s allowed five home runs already this year, almost as many as the eight combined homers he allowed in the three seasons from 2020 to 2022. That’s why his 4.58 FIP and 2.27 SIERA are far apart, as the former assigns home runs as the fault of the pitcher whereas the latter normalizes home run rate.

Perhaps this year’s struggles have been a small sample blip caused by a clustering of some home runs, but Díaz won’t have a chance to even things out for a while. Whether the shoulder issue has been bothering him for a while or just recently cropped up isn’t known. The club also hasn’t provided any information about how long they expect the righty to be out, with the IL placement coming just minutes before today’s game.

For now, the Mets will have to proceed without Díaz in their bullpen mix for the next couple of weeks at least. That could leave Adam Ottavino taking over the closer’s role, with pitchers like Jake Diekman, Jorge López and Reed Garrett in line for setup work.

In the long term, the Mets will obviously be motivated to getting Díaz back on track. He signed a five-year, $102MM deal going into the 2023 season and is therefore going to be a part of the club’s plans through 2027, with a club option for 2028 as well. Díaz will have the opportunity to opt-out after 2025 and 2026, though his health and performance would have to trend in a better direction between now and then for that to be a consideration.

Prior to missing the 2023 season, Díaz was one of the most dominant relievers in the sport. At the time, he re-signed with the Mets, he had a 2.93 ERA in 399 1/3 innings. That included a 2022 campaign in which he posted a 1.31 ERA with a 50.2% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 46.9% ground ball rate.

Mets Notes: Peterson, Infield, Lindor

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David Peterson will make his season debut tomorrow, as he’s listed as the Mets’ probable starter for their series finale against the Dodgers. New York will need to reinstate the left-hander from the 60-day injured list. They already have an opening on the 40-man roster, so they’ll only need to make an active roster transaction.

Peterson slots back into the starting five after undergoing a labrum repair in his left hip in November. The rehab process went smoothly and the southpaw makes his return from the IL not long after he’s first eligible. Peterson has made six minor league rehab starts, the last two of which came with Triple-A Syracuse. He built to 89 pitches in his most recent appearance. He shouldn’t have much issue logging something close to a standard workload out of the gate.

The Oregon product has spent parts of the last four seasons in the New York rotation. He started 21 of 27 games last season, setting a personal high with 111 innings. Peterson’s 5.03 earned run average wasn’t especially impressive, but he punched out 26% of opposing hitters. While he’s never had pinpoint command, he managed a 3.83 ERA behind a near-28% strikeout rate two seasons ago.

It looks as if the Mets will plug Peterson into a six-man rotation. Rookie Christian Scott has pitched well through his first four appearances and should remain in the starting staff. Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana are all locked into rotation spots, although Quintana hasn’t pitched all that well. Tylor Megill has been excellent in his pair of starts since coming back from a shoulder strain.

Peterson’s return should at least bump struggling Adrian Houser into a long relief role. The right-hander’s hold on a roster spot seems tenuous, as he has been rocked for a 7.34 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in his first 41 2/3 innings as a Met. Houser can’t be sent to the minor leagues without his consent, leaving the Mets to decide whether to move on entirely or hope to get him on track in the bullpen.

Reed Garrett and Josh Walker are the only members of the current MLB bullpen who have options. (Dedniel Nuñez was up for today’s doubleheader as the 27th man but will likely be returned to Syracuse tomorrow.) Garrett has been arguably their best reliever and certainly isn’t getting sent down. Walker has been on and off the active roster a few times already. He could be optioned, though doing so would leave Jake Diekman as the only left-hander in Carlos Mendoza’s ’pen.

That may not be the only roster decision facing the Mets in the next few days. New York has operated without a traditional backup middle infielder since they designated Joey Wendle for assignment two weeks ago. The Mets have carried both Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, dividing playing time for the youngsters at third base. With Pete Alonso and J.D. Martinez at first base and DH, respectively, there’s not much defensive value on Mendoza’s bench.

President of baseball operations David Stearns acknowledged this afternoon that arrangement isn’t a long-term solution (link via Will Sammon of the Athletic). That came before today’s doubleheader, in which Lindor injured his left index finger on a bunt attempt. The All-Star told Tim Healey of Newsday that x-rays came back negative (X link), but it stands to reason the Mets would prefer to have some kind of shortstop insurance for the coming days even if they expect Lindor to avoid the injured list.

Aside from McNeil and Lindor, prospect Luisangel Acuña is the only healthy middle infielder on the 40-man roster. The 22-year-old is hitting just .254/.301/.353 in Syracuse and seems to need more development time in Triple-A. It’s likelier the Mets would select the contract of a more experienced non-roster player if they decide to add to their bench. Jose Iglesias and the recently-acquired Pablo Reyes are possibilities.

Mets Acquire Pablo Reyes From Red Sox

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The Mets have acquired utilityman Pablo Reyes from the Red Sox in exchange for cash considerations, as announced via the MLB.com transactions wire.  Reyes was designated for assignment at the end of April but cleared waivers and was outrighted to Boston’s Triple-A affiliate.

This marks the second time that Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns has acquired Reyes, as Reyes signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in January 2021 when Stearns was still in charge of Milwaukee’s front office.  Reyes played in 58 MLB games for the Brew Crew during the 2021-22 seasons before landing in Boston, with a brief stopover with the A’s sandwiched in between.

Reyes has hit .249/.309/.349 over 572 Major League plate appearances, suiting up in six of the last seven MLB seasons (an 80-game PED suspension kept Reyes off the field entirely in 2020).  A career-high 185 of those plate appearances came just last season, as Reyes got into 64 games with the Sox as part of the team’s revolving door at both middle infield positions.  Reyes hit .287/.339/.377 in those 185 PA, translating to a 93 wRC+ since Reyes’ lack of power undermined his solid batting average and on-base numbers.

Defensive versatility has been Reyes’ calling card moreso than his bat, as he has gotten at least a bit of action at every position on the diamond except catcher over the course of his Major League career.  However, he has exclusively played as an infielder (and occasional mop-up pitcher in blowouts) since the start of the 2022 season.  The Mets traded Zack Short to the Red Sox a few weeks ago and just released Joey Wendle earlier this week, so Reyes fills New York’s need for utility infield help.  Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil are locked into everyday duty in the middle infield roles while Brett Baty has seen most of the third base work despite struggling at the plate, and Mark Vientos has been hitting well in a bid to stick in the majors and cut into Baty’s playing time.

Since Reyes is out of minor league options, the Mets will have to keep him on the active roster unless they first designate him for assignment before trying to send him to Triple-A.  In the event that Reyes clears waivers and is then outrighted off the 40-man, he has the right to elect free agency rather than accept that assignment, since he has been previously outrighted in his career.

Mets Notes: Senga, Peterson, Houser, Alvarez

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Kodai Senga underwent an MRI on Friday and was diagnosed with triceps inflammation, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including Dan Martin of the New York Post).  Senga received a cortisone shot to deal with the issue and will be shut down from throwing for the next 3-5 days.

The news represents another setback for Senga, who has yet to pitch this season after suffering a moderate posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder during Spring Training.  Senga’s rehab process didn’t have any formal timeline attached, as the most recent reports indicated that he was first working on his mechanics before embarking on any clear ramp-up regiment.  Senga was supposed to toss a bullpen session on Friday before the triceps discomfort shelved that plan.

If there is any silver lining, Mendoza noted that Senga’s shoulder and elbow looked good in the MRI scan, so the triceps area seems to be the only concern at this point.  However, Senga and the Mets will now have to wait out this shutdown period before again re-evaluating the righty’s status.

Senga is already on the 60-day injured list and obviously won’t be activated when he hits the 60-day threshold this coming week, and it would now seem like he might not make his 2024 debut until perhaps after the All-Star break.  Assuming he emerges from this shutdown period feeling better, Senga’s rehab assignment will still take at least a month given that he has to essentially start his preparation from scratch after missing all of Spring Training.  From the Mets’ perspective, surely they weren’t going to take any risks with their ace righty’s health anyway, but there’s even less of a rush to get Senga back onto a big league mound since New York is 21-29 and doesn’t look like a contender.

An inconsistent rotation has been a big reason behind the Amazins’ lackluster record, as only five teams have a worse rotation ERA than the collective 4.59 posted by Mets starters.  Some potential help could be on the way since David Peterson is nearing the end of his 60-day IL stint, and he made his second and potentially final Triple-A rehab start last night. Peterson has a 2.79 ERA over 9 2/3 innings in those two rehab outings, tossing 81 pitches in his first start and then 89 pitches last night.

Peterson underwent hip surgery last November, necessitating a season-opening stint on the 60-day injured list given the procedure’s recovery timeline of 6-7 months.  It seems as though Peterson has gotten through his rehab in good form, so barring any last-minute health issues, the left-hander appears to be on track to be activated from the injured list this week.

Over four seasons and 333 innings for New York, Peterson has a 4.51 ERA while starting 64 of his 80 appearances.  While nobody expects Peterson to step in and be a savior for the struggling rotation, Peterson might at least represent an upgrade over Adrian Houser, who Mendoza said could be moved back to the bullpen.  Houser has a 7.88 ERA in 37 2/3 innings this season, starting his first six games before a shift to the relief corps, and was then inserted back into the rotation as the Mets moved to a six-man staff during a busy stretch of the schedule.  Things didn’t go smoothly for Houser in his return to starting duty, as he allowed six earned runs over five innings in the Mets’ 10-4 loss to the Guardians on May 21.

In another injury update, catcher Francisco Alvarez is expected to take batting practice today for the first time since undergoing thumb surgery back on April 23.  (MLB.com was among those to report the news.). Alvarez was given an eight-week recovery timeline, so it’s a good sign that he is already feeling better enough to face any sort of live pitching.  He has also been taking some pitches behind the plate, catching with a splint inside of his glove — a process that is likely to continue for at least some time after Alvarez returns to action.  The former top prospect was hitting .236/.288/.364 in 59 plate appearances prior to his torn thumb ligament, and this lengthy injury rehab has already drastically reduced what was supposed to be Alvarez’s second full Major League season.

Mets Claim Ty Adcock From Tigers

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The Mets announced that right-hander Ty Adcock has been claimed off waivers from the Tigers and been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. The righty had been designated for assignment by Detroit on the weekend. The Mets had a couple of open spots on their 40-man roster after Joey Wendle and Yohan Ramírez were both designated for assignment last week. This move will bring their count up to 39.

Adcock, 27, has been bouncing around the league this year. He started the season with the Mariners but was designated for assignment in early April and claimed by the Tigers, making this his second waiver claim and third organization of the year already.

Around those transactions, he has thrown 8 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level but with an 8.64 earned run average. He has struck out 25% of batters faced but some runs have been helped across the plate by a 13.6% walk rate, a .375 batting average on balls in play and a couple of home runs.

The Mets are clearly willing to overlook that ERA and are focusing more on the bigger picture. Adcock was drafted in 2019 but had his debut delayed by the minor leagues being canceled in 2020 and then Tommy John surgery in April of 2021. He made it back to the mound briefly in 2022 but last year was a sort of breakout for him.

Adcock tossed 20 2/3 innings on the farm in 2023 with a 1.74 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate. He also had a 3.45 ERA in 15 2/3 big league innings, averaging 96.6 miles per hour on his fastball in the process.

The Mets had a couple of open roster spots, as mentioned, and Adcock has a couple of option years remaining. Despite his shaky results this year, there’s little harm in sending him to Triple-A and seeing if he can get back into his 2023 form going forward.

MLBTR Podcast: The Likelihood Of A Juan Soto Extension, What’s In Store For Pete Alonso, And Corbin Carroll’s Struggles

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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 Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What do you think about a trade between the Tigers, who are desperate for hitting, and the Orioles, whose bullpen hasn’t been great? Detroit has a surplus of good relief pitchers, could they be trade partners? (21:05)
  • If Mason Miller were to be traded from the Athletics to another American League team and go on to win A.L. Rookie of the Year, would that team get an incentive draft pick? (26:30)
  • Say Shota Imanaga and Yoshinobu Yamamoto finish at the top of Rookie of the Year voting in the National League, will the Cubs and Dodgers get the draft compensation for having them in the majors the whole season? Considering they both signed MLB contracts, that seems antithetical to the new draft compensation for well performing rookies rule. (28:05)
  • Corbin Carroll? That’s pretty much the question: Corbin Carroll? Is there hope this season? How long can the Diamondbacks keep running him out there with no improvement in sight? I love the guy, I have as a keeper, and he was a big part of my plans for this season. Needless to say, it’s not going so well. (31:00)

Check out our past episodes!

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

Mets Release Joey Wendle

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The Mets have released veteran infielder Joey Wendle, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. He was designated for assignment last week.

The 34-year-old Wendle signed a one-year, $2MM deal with the Mets in free agency. President of baseball operations David Stearns was hoping to bring aboard a low-cost bench piece who could provide quality defense at multiple spots and bounce back with the bat after a rough showing with the Marlins in 2022-23. That didn’t prove to be the case. Wendle, after batting a combined .238/.274/.335 in his two seasons in Miami, gave the Mets a .222/.243/.250 slash (45 wRC+) in sparse playing time. The team only gave him 37 plate appearances over the course of 18 games.

At his best with the Rays, Wendle offered outstanding defensive versatility and a slightly better than league-average bat. From 2018-21, he slashed .274/.330/.414 (105 wRC+) while bouncing between second base, third base, shortstop and the outfield corners. He graded well at all of those positions, though his marks at second base were particularly strong.

Now that he’s once again a free agent, Wendle will be able to sign with any club. He’ll only be owed the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the active roster with a new team. The Mets will remain on the hook for the rest of this year’s $2MM salary, although any money he earns with another club will be subtracted from what the Mets owe him through season’s end. With three straight seasons of below-average offense, Wendle might have to settle for a minor league pact, but his versatility and broader track record should lead to some interest on that sort of contract.

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