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New York Notes: Belt, Martinez, Cole

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Veteran slugger Brandon Belt’s free agency has surprisingly dragged into the regular season, with the soon to be 36-year-old reportedly “baffled” by the lack of offers he’s received to this point. The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly provided additional details on Belt’s free agency recently, noting that the Mets were the only club to offer Belt a guaranteed contract this winter, though he added that the deal was “almost entirely” incentives-based.

Belt is coming off an excellent season with the Blue Jays that saw him slash .254/.369/.490 with 404 trips to the plate. That included a fantastic 146 wRC+ against right-handed pitching, the eleventh-best figure among all qualified hitters last year which trailed only Shohei Ohtani among this winter’s free agents. The performance was more or less par for the course for Belt, who’s hit .258/.369/.503 since the start of the 2020 season and is a career .261/.357/.460 hitter for his career. That type of production certainly would’ve made sense for the Mets, though the club ultimately landed slugger J.D. Martinez on a one-year deal to plug the hole in the lineup at DH.

With that said, it’s somewhat surprising that the Mets were the only club to offer Belt a big league deal this winter. The only player on MLBTR’s annual Top 50 free agents list still unsigned, Belt was predicted for a one-year, $15MM deal this winter. That would’ve been a small bump over the one-year, $9.3MM deal he landed with Toronto prior to 2023 on the heels of a below-average showing at the plate during his final season with the Giants. Belt recently indicated that he still hopes to play in 2024, but also noted that he doesn’t want to settle for a minor league contract after his strong season last year.

More from the New York teams…

  • Sticking with the Mets, Martinez was expected to make his debut with the club during this week’s series against the Braves, but that plan appears to have been scuttled. As relayed by MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Martinez is dealing with “general body soreness” and is not yet ready for his big league debut. Now, DiComo reports that the plan is for Martinez to take the next two days off and return to minor league action on Tuesday, with Friday as the earliest Martinez could make his big league Mets debut. The 36-year-old slugger slashed an impressive .271/.321/.572 with 33 home runs in 113 games with the Dodgers last year and figures to provide a major boost to the big league lineup, which ranks 28th in the majors with a 64 wRC+ so far in the young 2024 campaign.
  • Looking toward the Bronx, Yankees fans received positive news regarding ace right-hander Gerrit Cole this morning, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) that Cole is nearing the beginnings of a throwing program. Cole started the season on the injured list while rehabbing nerve inflammation on his elbow, and now is expected to begin playing catch as soon as tomorrow. Cole, 33, is the reigning AL Cy Young award winner and a six-time All Star who pitched to a sterling 2.63 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate in 209 innings of work. If the right-hander can make a relatively speedy return from his rehab, it would surely provide a major boost to the Yankees as they look to return to the postseason.

Pat Zachry Passes Away

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Ten-year Major League veteran and NL co-Rookie of the Year Pat Zachry passed away on Thursday at age 71, as reported by multiple outlets.  Such former teammates as Johnny Bench and Doug Flynn were among the many to pay tribute to the right-hander, with Bench describing Zachry as “one of the great characters and an unbelievable teammate,” while Flynn said “you couldn’t find a better teammate than Zach.  We will all miss him dearly.”

A native of Richmond, Texas, Zachry was a 19th-round pick for the Reds in the 1970 draft.  He debuted in the majors six years later, and immediately became part of one of baseball’s great teams — the “Big Red Machine” followed up their World Series title in 1975 with another championship in 1976, and Zachry played an important role.  The righty posted a 2.74 ERA over 204 innings in his rookie season, and then a 3.09 ERA over two postseason starts (both wins) as Cincinnati swept its way through the playoffs.  Zachry and the Padres’ Butch Metzger finished in a tie vote for NL Rookie of the Year honors, which is still the only time the NL ROY has ever been split between multiple players.

Injuries slowed Zachry’s start to the 1977 season, and he found himself leaving the Reds altogether in June of that year when Cincinnati dealt Zachry, infielder Flynn, and outfielders Steve Henderson and Dan Norman to the Mets in exchange for the legendary Tom Seaver.  Needless to say, the trade didn’t go over well in New York, and the Mets’ twin deals of Seaver and Dave Kingman on the same day became known as the “Midnight Massacre” for the struggling team.  The trade had the side effect of bonding the four ex-Reds — as Flynn put it, “we just stuck together” in the aftermath of the deal, since “none of us knew we could ever replace Tom.”

Zachry ended up pitching with the Mets through to the end of the 1983 season, posting a 3.63 ERA over his 135 appearances (113 of them starts) and 741 2/3 innings for the team.  His tenure was highlighted by an All-Star selection in 1978, though that season was cut short for Zachry when he broke his foot while accidentally kicking at his helmet in frustration in the dugout, and instead hitting the dugout steps.

Zachry posted a 3.52 ERA over 1177 1/3 career innings with the Reds, Mets, Dodgers, and Phillies.  Turning to relief pitching at the back end of his career, he had an impressive 2.49 ERA over 61 1/3 innings for Los Angeles in 1983, coming out of the pen for 39 of his 40 games that season.

We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to Zachry’s family, friends, and teammates.

Mets Designate Michael Tonkin For Assignment

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The Mets have made their signing of right-hander Julio Teheran official today, announcing the move today. Fellow righty Michael Tonkin designated for assignment as the corresponding move, with Anthony DiComo of MLB.com among those to relay the move.

Tonkin, 34, was signed by the Mets to a major league deal in December. That pact came with a modest guarantee of $1MM, just a bit north of the $740K league minimum. One week into the season, the Mets have already used their bullpen a lot, with Tonkin tossing four innings over three appearances. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk, striking out three.

Just about everyone in the Mets’ bullpen was used in yesterday’s doubleheader and most of them can’t be optioned to the minors, giving them little flexibility back there. They also needed a 40-man roster spot for Teheran, who was signed to bolster the rotation after the recent injuries to Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill. Those two factors have seemingly nudged Tonkin off the club and into the DFA gulf.

The Mets will now have one week to trade Tonkin or pass him through waivers. He’s coming off a solid bounceback season in 2023 after a bit of a journey in the wilderness. He pitched for the Twins from 2013 to 2017, then spent a few years traveling to pitch in Japan, Mexico, the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and various minor league clubs.

He resurfaced with Atlanta last year and tossed 80 innings over 45 relief appearances with a 4.28 earned run average. He struck out 23.1% of batters faced in that time while giving out walks at a 7.1% clip. If any club is interested in adding a well-traveled veteran to their bullpen, Tonkin should be available to them in the next few days.

If Tonkin were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment as a player with more than three years of major league service time. However, he lacks the five years of service necessary to both elect free agency and retain his salary, so perhaps he would decide to report to Triple-A and keep that $1MM flowing if that scenario comes to pass.

Mets To Sign Julio Teheran

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1:23pm: It’s a one-year, $2.5MM deal for Teheran that comes with an additional $450K available in incentives, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports. With six days of the season already elapsed, that’d come out to $2.419MM in prorated, guaranteed money for Teheran (assuming the deal becomes official today). The Mets are in the fourth and final tier of luxury penalization and are in their third straight year of penalization, meaning they’re paying a 110% tax on any dollars spent. That’s about $2.661MM in taxes, bringing the total tab on Teheran to about $5.08MM for the Mets.

12:50pm: The Mets have agreed to a deal with free agent righty Julio Teheran, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The Mato Sports Management client opted out of a minor league deal with the Orioles late in camp and has been exploring the market for new opportunities. It’s a big league deal for Teheran, per SNY’s Andy Martino, who reported earlier in the week that the Mets were in talks with the veteran right-hander.

After barely seeing the big leagues in 2021-22, the 33-year-old had a somewhat resurgent year with the 2023 Brewers — where current Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns previously ran baseball operations (and served in an advisory capacity last year). The former Braves top prospect tossed 71 2/3 innings with a 4.40 ERA in Milwaukee, striking out just 17.4% of his opponents but offsetting that lackluster mark with a sterling 4.5% walk rate.

Formerly one of the game’s top-ranked prospects, Teheran broke into the majors and hit the ground running in Atlanta. From 2013-14, he posted a 3.03 ERA in 63 starts. Over a seven-year period in Atlanta, spanning 2013-19, Teheran worked to an overall 3.64 ERA in 1334 innings. He’s never missed bats at an especially premium level, but Teheran has long had strong command and, at least earlier in his career, excelled at avoiding hard contact.

That said, last year’s showing in Milwaukee was the first time Teheran has had any consistent success since making 33 starts with a 3.81 ERA for the 2019 Braves. He signed a one-year deal in Anaheim prior to the 2020 season but was shelled for an ERA north of 10.00 in his 31 1/3 frames.

The Mets’ rotation has been hit hard by injuries early on. Kodai Senga suffered a shoulder strain early in spring training, leading to a nearly month-long shutdown. (He’s since resumed throwing.) That injury pushed Tylor Megill into the starting rotation, but he suffered a shoulder strain on his own in his first start of the season and is now on the injured list and in the midst of a weeklong shutdown period himself.

Presumably, given that this is a big league deal and that Teheran got some work in with Baltimore during spring training, he’ll be an option to step into the fifth rotation spot in Queens. Teheran pitched 13 1/3 official innings with the Orioles in camp, holding opponents to five runs (3.38 ERA) on nine hits — albeit with a lackluster 10-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time (17.5% strikeout rate, 12.3% walk rate). If he indeed steps onto the starting staff, Teheran will be joined by Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser, Sean Manaea and Luis Severino.

Mets Place Tylor Megill on Injured List

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April 2: Megill will be shut down from throwing for five to seven days before being reevaluated, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. The right-hander said after his IL placement that he felt discomfort when throwing a curveball to begin the fourth inning of his season debut. That discomfort wasn’t as severe as the pain he felt when he suffered the 2022 shoulder strain that shelved him for multiple months.

April 1: The Mets announced Monday that they’ve placed righty Tylor Megill on the 15-day injured list after an MRI revealed a strain in his right shoulder. Megill exited his first start of the season after just four innings and 78 pitches. Right-hander Reed Garrett has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse in his place for the time being, though Garrett isn’t a rotation option. He’ll give the Mets a fresh arm in the bullpen for now, but they’ll likely make another move to bring up a starter once Megill’s spot in the rotation comes back up. The team has not yet announced the severity of Megill’s strain or a potential timetable for his return.

Megill, 28, moved into the rotation during spring training after Kodai Senga suffered a shoulder strain of his own. He’d been slated to be one of the team’s top depth options but opened the year in the starting five instead. Now, it seems that assignment will only last the one start. Megill two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts against the Brewers before incurring the injury. It’s not the first time he’s battled shoulder injuries in his career; a shoulder strain sent Megill to the 60-day injured list as recently as 2022.

Megill made 27 starts with the Mets in 2021-22, and while he wasn’t slated to open the 2023 season in the rotation, injuries thrust him onto last year’s starting staff and led him to make a career-high 25 starts. In that time, Megill worked to a 4.70 ERA with an 18.5% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. Those numbers roughly line up with his career marks. He’s pitched in parts of four MLB seasons, including his lone 2024 outing, and owns a 4.68 ERA 22.3% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 42.7% ground-ball rate.

With Megill shelved, the Mets’ four healthy starters are Jose Quintana, Sean Manaea, Adrian Houser and Luis Severino. In-house options to step into the vacated spot include left-hander Joey Lucchesi and righty Jose Butto — the latter of whom was the final member of the spring rotation competition won by Megill. The Mets also have prospects Mike Vasil, Dominic Hamel and Christian Scott all on the cusp of MLB readiness, but none of that trio is on the 40-man roster. Both Lucchesi and Butto are.

Mets Talking With Julio Teheran

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The Mets placed righty Tylor Megill on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain earlier this afternoon, and SNY’s Andy Martino reports that they’re open to pursuing external options to help bolster their depth while waiting on Megill and other injured arms to heal up. They’ve picked conversations back up with right-hander Julio Teheran, per Martino. The Mets also talked with Teheran before he signed a minor league deal to go to camp with the Orioles. He wound up opting out of that deal and, per Martino, has other teams currently showing interest in him at the moment.

The 33-year-old Teheran had a resurgence of sorts with the Brewers in 2023. He didn’t pitch in 2022, had just five innings in 2021 and had been rocked for a 10.05 ERA in 31 1/3 frames during the 2020 season. But Teheran wound up tossing 71 2/3 innings of serviceable 4.40 ERA ball for Milwaukee, fanning a well below-average 17.4% of his opponents but also issuing walks at just a 4.5% clip.

During his minor league days with the Braves, Teheran was considered one of the best prospects in the entire sport. Baseball America ranked him as the No. 5 prospect in all of baseball in both 2011 and 2012. He made good on that billing for several seasons early in his career, too. Teheran logged a 3.03 ERA in 63 starts from 2013-14 and logged a collective 3.64 ERA in 1334 innings from 2013-19 before falling into a swift decline.

Last year’s showing in Milwaukee was the first time Teheran has had any consistent success since making 33 starts with a 3.81 ERA for the 2019 Braves. He pitched 13 1/3 official innings with the Orioles this spring, holding opponents to five runs (3.38 ERA) on nine hits … but with a lackluster 10-to-7 K/BB ratio in that time (17.5% strikeout rate, 12.3% walk rate).

Notably, current Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns was still in the Brewers organization when they signed Teheran last summer, albeit in an advisory capacity rather than atop the baseball operations hierarchy, as he was from 2015-22. Still, there’s a connection, and we’ve seen Stearns bring in a handful of his former Brewers in his first year leading the Mets’ front office (e.g. Adrian Houser, Tyrone Taylor, Jorge Lopez). The Mets were also reported to have strong interest in former Brewers lefty Brent Suter as a free agent, but he opted to sign with his hometown Reds.

The Mets figure to be just one of several teams looking into Teheran. Already this season, we’ve seen the Yankees, Cubs, Astros, Twins, Rangers, Marlins and Red Sox incur injuries of note in the rotation. Any could make speculative sense for a low-cost veteran like Teheran.

East Notes: Caminero, Senzel, Megill

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After hitting his first Triple-A home run earlier in the game, Rays top prospect Junior Caminero was forced to make an early exit from Sunday afternoon’s contest against the Norfolk Tides. He injured his left quad while running to first. According to Kristie Ackert of the Tampa Bay Times, Caminero “limped the last few steps to first base and eventually needed to be helped off the field.”

Caminero is set for further evaluation tomorrow. The severity of his injury is not yet clear, but it is worrisome that he was unable to walk off the field without assistance. The 20-year-old infielder is a consensus top-10 prospect in the game. While he failed to earn a spot on Tampa Bay’s Opening Day roster, he was a likely candidate to earn a call-up mid-season after gaining some experience at Triple-A. The extent of his injury will surely play a role in how soon he can make an impact at the big league level.

The Rays are already low on infield depth early in the season. Shortstop Taylor Walls is currently out recovering from offseason hip surgery, while first/second/third baseman Jonathan Aranda broke a finger during spring training. In addition, utility player Amed Rosario made his first two starts in right field with outfielders Josh Lowe and Jonny DeLuca on the IL.

More news from around MLB’s East divisions…

  • The Nationals got some good news on Saturday, learning that third baseman Nick Senzel will not need surgery to repair his broken thumb (per Mark Zuckerman of MASN). That should mean he’ll return to play significantly sooner than he otherwise would. Senzel, 28, is no longer the top prospect he once was, but the Nationals were counting on him to keep third base warm this season on a one-year deal. Trey Lipscomb, 23, has done good work covering the hot corner over the past two days – he hit his first big league home run this afternoon – but presumably, the Nationals would rather the youngster get a little more seasoning in Triple-A. He was supposed to start there this season before Senzel’s injury rushed him to the show.
  • Mets right-hander Tylor Megill left his start early on Sunday, pitching just four innings against the Brewers. After the game, bench coach John Gibbons told reporters (including Joel Sherman of the New York Post) that Megill’s shoulder felt tender and he would need an MRI. Shoulder pain is particularly troubling for Megill, who spent three months on the IL in 2022 with a shoulder strain. Thus, the Mets will hope the MRI doesn’t reveal any serious damage. New York is already thin on starting pitching: Kodai Senga is nursing a shoulder injury of his own, while David Peterson will be out until late May after offseason hip surgery. Finally, Max Kranick, whom the Mets picked up as additional starting depth this winter, is on the IL with a hamstring strain.

Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Cardinals Among Teams Scouting Roki Sasaki

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Eight MLB teams sent representatives to watch NPB ace Roki Sasaki’s latest start, according to articles from Sports Hochi and Yahoo Japan, as relayed by Dylan Hernández of The Los Angeles Times and Andy Martino of SNY, respectively. Among those teams were the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and Cardinals.

Sasaki is just 22 years old and already one of the best pitchers in Japan. Over three NPB seasons, he has thrown 283 2/3 innings with 376 strikeouts and a 2.00 ERA. The ace made headlines last winter when he reportedly asked to be posted for MLB teams well ahead of the typical timeline – MLB does not allow players under 25 years old and with fewer than six professional seasons to sign anything more than a minor league contract. Ultimately, Sasaski re-signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines, temporarily putting a stop to any talk of his being posted. Still, he could make the same request this coming offseason. While he might be forfeiting a massive free agent payday if he is posted before his 25th birthday, he has made no secret of his desire to pitch in MLB.

It’s no surprise, then, that several MLB teams are showing interest in Sasaski. However, the two-time NPB All-Star might have already decided where he wants to pitch in 2025 and beyond. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, “several GMs” are under the impression that Sasaki “already has plans to sign with the Dodgers” during the 2024-25 offseason.

According to one general manager, “There’s no way he’s going anywhere else but the Dodgers. We all know it.” While that particular comment was spoken in no uncertain terms, it also sounds more like conjecture than insider knowledge. Indeed, this entire report may be more speculation on the part of the executives than anything else. After all, at least seven teams besides the Dodgers are actively scouting Sasaski, and they wouldn’t be doing so if they didn’t think they had a chance to secure his services in the future. Moreover, even if Sasaki truly does have his sights set on the Dodgers, the rest of the league will still have an opportunity to change his mind.

MLBTR Podcast: A Live Reaction To The Jordan Montgomery Signing, Ohtani’s Interpreter, And J.D. Martinez Joins The Mets

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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 Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Luis García Jr, Lance McCullers Jr, and Kendall Graveman of the Astros are likely out, at the very least, until mid-June.  How come none of these guys are on the 60-day injured list?  Do you seen the Astros moving them there and if so, when? (49:15)
  • Do you think it’s possible that the league begins to follow the Angels and Rangers footsteps and call up recent draft picks as soon as they show any signs of potential? Also, do you think it is at all possible that teams start to call up teenagers? (52:25)

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 Phil Bickford

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The Mets released right-hander Phil Bickford this afternoon, as is reflected on the transactions log on the hurler’s MLB.com player profile.

Bickford, 28, was drafted in the first round twice during his days as an amateur; he was first picked tenth overall by the Blue Jays in the 2013 draft before ultimately signing with the Giants after being selected 18th overall in 2015. Bickford was shipped to the Brewers in a deal that landed the Giants southpaw Will Smith just one year after being drafted. He’d remain in the Brewers’ farm system until 2020, when he made his big league debut with a single appearance that saw him give up four runs in one inning of work. Bickford’s struggles in Milwaukee continued the following season as he once again received a call-up that lasted just one inning, this time allowing two runs on two hits, a walk, and a hit batsmen.

The right-hander would leave Milwaukee with a career 27.00 ERA at the big league level, but upon being claimed off waivers by the Dodgers in May of 2021 quickly began to turn his career around. The right-hander finished the 2021 campaign with a fantastic 2.50 ERA and a solid 3.57 FIP in 56 appearances with Los Angeles. That standout performance earned him a more permanent role in the club’s bullpen, though he’d come back down to Earth somewhat over the next two seasons with a rather pedestrian 4.84 ERA and 4.36 FIP in 121 appearances.

Just before the trade deadline last year, Bickford found himself shipped to the Mets alongside southpaw Adam Kolarek. Bickford entered his first offseason as a Met eligible for arbitration as a Super Two player, and New York tendered the righty a contract early in the season amid questions regarding the club’s bullpen depth. The sides were unable to reach an agreement prior to the deadline to exchange arbitration figures back in January, leaving them in line for a hearing the following month. Bickford’s camp submitted a $900K figure, while the Mets countered at $815K.

While Bickford ultimately won that case, going to an arbitration hearing in the first place meant that his salary for the 2024 season wasn’t fully guaranteed. The Mets cut Bickford from their 40-man roster last week and have now released the righty rather than assigning him outright to the minor leagues. As a consequence, Tim Healey of Newsday notes that the club now only owes Bickford 45 days of termination pay, which he adds works out to $217K. Not only will that save the club $683K in salary that would have been paid to Bickford this season, but when the club is taxed at a 110% rate on all spending beyond the highest luxury tax threshold of $297MM at the end of the season, they’ll have saved just over $700K in taxes thanks to their decision to cut Bickford as well, bringing the total savings to nearly $1.5MM.

It’s a similar situation to the one former Giants infielder J.D. Davis faced earlier this month when he was squeezed off the roster by the club’s signing of third baseman Matt Chapman. The Davis move stirred up controversy around the sport, and it’s unclear whether or not the veteran infielder will file a grievance against the Giants over the situation. That being said, Bickford’s case for pursuing a similar course of action may not be as strong as Davis’s. While the current CBA states that players can be cut “for failure to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability” if their contract was awarded via an arbitration hearing, neither Bickford’s 5.79 ERA across 4 2/3 innings of work this spring nor his 4.62 ERA in 25 appearances with the club down the stretch last year make a bulletproof argument for his abilities as a big league regular.

Looking ahead, Bickfor will now hit the free agent market for the first time in his career and figures to receive plenty of interest thanks to his solid work over three seasons with the Dodgers, though his overall lack of results at the big league level could leave him limited to only minor league offers. Meanwhile, the Mets will enter the season with the likes of Jorge Lopez, Drew Smith, and Michael Tonkin to cover the middle innings for their bullpen, with the likes of right-hander Shintaro Fujinami and lefty Josh Walker among the club’s depth options.

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