Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets Rumors

Mets Designate Abraham Almonte For Assignment

By | at

The Mets announced four roster moves in between games of their double-header with the Braves today, including the news that outfielder Abraham Almonte has been designated for assignment.  Right-hander Denyi Reyes was optioned to Triple-A, while righty Tyson Miller was called up from Triple-A and outfielder Tim Locastro was reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Almonte signed a minor league deal with New York during the offseason, but he didn’t make his 2023 debut until four days ago, after the Mets selected his contract to the active roster.  With his appearance in the first game of the Atlanta double-header, Almonte’s tenure with the Mets could be over after four games, and one hit over 12 plate appearances.

The four-game cup of coffee at least ensured an 11th consecutive MLB season for Almonte, an Immaculate Grid favorite who has seen action with eight different Major League clubs.  The switch-hitter has a career .235/.302/.374 slash line over 1371 PA, as Almonte is known most for his outfield versatility than his prowess at the plate, though his glovework has allowed him to find backup or part-time roles for over a decade.

Assuming he clears waivers, Almonte has the right to elect free agency in the event an outright assignment, since he has been outrighed before in his career.  The Mets could also choose to release Almonte entirely, if they prefer to use younger players down the stretch rather than keep a veteran around at Triple-A.

Locastro returns after undergoing thumb surgery in May, and his thumb injury occurred during a rehab assignment when Locastro was already on the injured list recovering from back spasms.  The lengthy absence has limited Locastro to just 11 games, and he looks to get some outfield work while the Mets try to fill the void left by deadline trades and Starling Marte’s IL stint.

Mets Designate Jimmy Yacabonis For Assignment

By | at

The Mets have announced to reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that right-hander Jimmy Yacabonis has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to Denyi Reyes, whose selection was reported yesterday.

Yacabonis, 31, began the year with the Mets on a minor league deal. This is the second time he has been designated for assignment by the club this year, as he was also on the roster from mid-April until late May, though he spent most of that time on the IL with a left quad strain. His first DFA resulted in him clearing waivers and accepting an outright assignment, which got him back onto the roster a week ago.

Between those two stints, he’s tossed 13 2/3 innings over seven outings, allowing 6.59 earned runs per nine frames. In last night’s 7-0 loss to Atlanta, he tossed 3 2/3 innings in relief of starter Tylor Megill, allowing one earned run. Though manager Buck Showalter was appreciative of that performance, it likely made him unavailable for today’s doubleheader. Since he’s out of options, he’s been squeezed off the roster and into DFA limbo for a second time this year.

The Mets will now have a week to put him on waivers. The last time this happened, he cleared and stuck around, which could perhaps play out again. Though it’s also possible some new job openings have opened up after various trades were made prior to the recent deadline. Yacabonis has a career ERA of 6.08 in 131 2/3 innings dating back to 2017. Though he’s out of options, he has less than two years of service time and could be theoretically retained for future seasons without a huge cost.

Mets To Select Denyi Reyes

By | at

The Mets will start right-hander Denyi Reyes in the first game of tomorrow’s doubleheader with Atlanta, the team informed reporters (including Tim Healey of Newsday). Since Reyes isn’t on the 40-man roster, New York will officially select his contract before the game.

Reyes made six appearances for New York earlier this season. An offseason minor league pickup, he made it to majors by the first week of the year. Reyes was on and off the active roster for the next couple months before being designated for assignment on July 4 and subsequently waived.

The 6’4″ hurler has allowed five runs in 7 1/3 innings over his big league work thus far. He has started 13 of 15 outings for Triple-A Syracuse, pitching to a 5.77 ERA through 64 innings. A sky-high 2.39 homers per nine innings has been the main culprit for the lackluster run prevention, although his 17.7% strikeout rate is a few points below average.

Reyes is a solid strike-thrower who’s capable of working multiple innings either out of the rotation or long relief. The Mets are headed into day two of a stretch of 14 games in 13 days. New York has a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction to accommodate his promotion.

José Bautista To Officially Retire

By | at

José Bautista hasn’t played in a big league game since 2018 but had never officially retired in the years after his last appearance. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet was among those to report today that Bautista will sign a one-day contract with Toronto to officially retire as a Blue Jay, as part of the ceremony wherein he will be added to the club’s Level of Excellence on Saturday.

Bautista, now 42, didn’t have the typical path to baseball stardom as he wasn’t a high draft pick or top prospect. The Pirates selected him in the 20th round of the draft in 2000 and he would get some modest attention from prospect evaluators after that, with Baseball America ranking him #14 in the system in 2002 and #7 in 2003.

In 2004, he had an especially unusual season, getting selected by the Orioles in the Rule 5 draft. As the season wore on, he was claimed off waivers by the Devil Rays, then was subsequently traded to the Royals, Mets and back to the Pirates. He would stick with the Pirates for a few years, mostly as a third baseman but also playing some outfield. He showed glimpses of his potential at the plate, hitting 16 home runs in 2006, 15 the year after and another 15 in 2008.

That 2008 season saw him traded to the Blue Jays in August for a player to be named later, which was eventually revealed as Robinzon Díaz. A fairly forgettable transaction at the time, it would later prove to be the start of the defining era of Bautista’s career.

His first full season as a Blue Jay wasn’t especially noteworthy, as Bautista hit 13 home runs in 2009, though there were a few developments that would prove to be important in later years. He began incorporating a leg kick into his swing and also started to spend more time in right field, with his strong throwing arm a good fit for that spot.

In 2010, at the age of 29, Bautista broke out in stunning fashion. He launched 54 home runs for the Jays that year, setting a new single season record for the franchise. He also showed a keen eye at the plate, drawing walks in 14.6% of his plate appearances. His .260/.378/.617 batting line amounted to a wRC+ of 165, indicating he was 65% better than the league average hitter. The Jays decided to bank on that breakout, giving Bautista a five-year, $65MM extension that covered his final arbitration season and four free agent years, with a club option for 2016.

He followed that up with an even better season overall. His home run tally dropped to 43 in 2011, but his patient approach allowed him to take advantage of pitchers giving him less to hit. He was walked in 20.2% of his trips to the plate in 2011, leading to a .302/.447/.608 slash line. His 180 wRC+ was the best in the majors that year and would eventually prove to be his personal best as well. He was considered to be worth 8.1 wins above replacement by FanGraphs and 8.4 by Baseball Reference. He came in third in AL MVP voting behind Justin Verlander and Jacoby Ellsbury.

His production would continue in fairly similar fashion for years to come, defined by both his power output and on-base abilities. From 2012 to 2016, he hit between 22 and 40 home runs each year with his walk rate never finishing below 13.1%. Despite that excellent production, and that of another late-blooming star in Edwin Encarnación, the Jays struggled to push too far beyond .500 in most of those seasons.

The 2015 season finally changed that, with the Jays aggressively bolstering the roster by adding Josh Donaldson, Russell Martin and others in the offseason. The trade deadline saw further aggression, with the club adding a batch of players headlined by Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. The moves paid off when the Jays surged in the final months of the season and finished 93-69, winning the American League East and cracking the postseason for the first time since 1993.

Bautista’s first opportunity to play in the playoffs would lead to a singular moment and image that are now cemented in the minds of millions of baseball fans. The Jays squared off against the Rangers in the Wild Card series, which had a best-of-five format at that time. The Jays lost the first two games but rallied to tie it up and force a fifth contest.

In the deciding game, the Jays fell behind in the top of the seventh 3-2 on a strange play wherein Rougned Odor scored when Martin’s attempted throw back to pitcher Aaron Sanchez hit the bat of Shin-Soo Choo and ricocheted away. Home plate umpire Dale Scott initially ruled the ball dead but the umpiring crew eventually allowed the run to score. That soured the mood in the stadium, with many fans throwing debris to express their displeasure.

In the bottom of the frame, several defensive miscues from the Rangers allowed the Jays to tie the game up before Bautista launched a two-out, three-run home run to give the Jays a 6-3 lead. Bautista reacted to the emotionally-charged atmosphere by flipping his bat high into the air, which proved to be controversial in some baseball circles, though it would quickly become an iconic moment among Jays’ fans. Toronto held on to win that game but would lose to the Royals in the ALCS.

After Bautista’s extension ended, the Jays gave him a $17.2MM qualifying offer for 2017. He rejected that and became a free agent but eventually returned to Toronto via a one-year, $18.5MM deal. He still hit 23 home runs and walked in 12.2% of his plate appearances, but his overall production fell to .203/.308/.366 and a wRC+ of 81.

In 2018, he returned to the journeyman status that started his career, bouncing to the Braves, Mets and Phillies. He didn’t sign with a club in the years to come, though he did reportedly consider a comeback as a two-way player in 2020, but later threw some cold water on those reports. He played for the Dominican Republic team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were pushed to 2021 by delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now it seems his playing days will be officially ended during this weekend’s festivities, tying a bow on one of the more unique baseball journeys. Though Bautista began and ended his career as a journeyman, he had a late bloom that led to a lengthy stretch as one of the best players in the league. From 2010 to 2015, he hit 227 home runs, easily the most in the league for that time with Miguel Cabrera second at 199. He slashed .268/.390/.555 in that time for a wRC+ of 156 and tallied 33.2 fWAR, that latter figure placing him sixth among position players. His 60 outfield assists in that stretch were topped by just three other big leaguers. He engineered many memorable moments during that peak, too many to list here, featuring both his tremendous talents as well as his fiery and standout personality.

Over his career as a whole, he played 1,798 games and took 7,244 trips to the plate. He launched 344 home runs and walked at a 14.2% rate, leading to a .247/.361/.475 batting line and 126 wRC+. He had 1,496 hits, 1,022 runs scored, 975 driven in and stole 70 bases. He tallied 35.3 fWAR and 36.7 bWAR. He made six straight All-Star teams from 2010 to 2015, led the league in home runs twice, earned a couple of Hank Aaron awards and three Silver Sluggers. As a Blue Jay, his tallies of 38.3 bWAR and 36.2 fWAR are both the best in franchise history among position players, with only Dave Stieb and Roy Halladay ahead of him overall.

We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Bautista on an incredibly special career and wish him the best in all his post-playing endeavors.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Poll: What Path Should The Mets Pick With Pete Alonso?

By | at

The outlook for the Mets has completely changed in recent months. They spent heavily this winter, running up the highest payroll in major league history, and came into the season as World Series contenders. Unfortunately, they struggled to get into a groove in the early parts of the season and decided to sell at the deadline. Not only did they flip rental pieces like Tommy Pham and David Robertson, but also guys who could have helped the 2024 club like Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Mark Canha.

After being traded to the Rangers, Scherzer spoke publicly about how he was given the sense that next year “is now looking to be more of a kind of transitory year,” with the aggression dialed back a bit. Owner Steve Cohen addressed that situation the next day, essentially confirming Scherzer’s framing by saying that the 2024 club “won’t be as star-studded” as this year’s team. He did say that he hopes the team will still be “very competitive” and that this “doesn’t mean we’re not going to bring in free agents,” but it seems the plan is to step back.

Now that the deadline has passed, the club can’t make any more trades for the next few months, but it’s possible they could resume their selling in the offseason. Starling Marte will still have two years remaining on his contract after this one, with salaries of $19.5MM in each season. José Quintana will have one year and $13MM left on his contract. Omar Narváez is a lock to trigger his $7MM player option and Adam Ottavino seems like he’ll exercise his at $6.75MM as well. The club has a $6.5MM option for the services of Brooks Raley in 2024. Trevor Gott has one year of control and will be due an arbitration raise on this year’s $1.2MM salary.

If the Mets are looking to continue down the path they picked at the deadline, trading veterans for prospects and eating money to get a better return, any of those players could be a candidate for such an approach. Some of those cases will present the club with difficult decisions, but the most challenging will be their choice of how to handle Pete Alonso. He is making $14.5MM this year and is eligible for one more arbitration raise in 2024, before he’s slated for free agency.

Alonso, 28, is obviously an incredibly talented hitter. From his 2019 debut to the present, he’s hit 180 home runs, including 34 this year. His career batting line of .255/.343/.533 is 37% better than league average, according to wRC+. His home run tally in that stretch is the highest in the majors and that wRC+ places him just outside the top 10 among qualified hitters.

With the Mets looking to ease off the gas pedal in 2024 and Alonso slated for the open market after that campaign, the club will have to pick a lane. They could pursue trades in the offseason, though doing so would come with the negative public relations hit of moving on from a homegrown star player, as Alonso was drafted by the Mets in 2016. They could also try to sign Alonso to a long-term extension, though he would have to agree to any such pact.

The Mets could also kick the decision down the road and see how things go in 2024. It doesn’t seem like they will be giving up all hopes of contention. As Cohen said, it seems they will likely still bring in some free agents and see how things go next year. The club could hang onto Alonso until next year’s deadline, see if the baseball gods are any kinder to them and pick a lane at that point. Even if they held onto to him all the way through 2024 and took a shot at contending, they could recoup a draft pick by extending him a qualifying offer at that point. That path would come with some risk, as Alonso could always suffer an injury or a downturn in performance, causing his trade value to drop.

The path of pursuing a trade this offseason would certainly lead to the club finding many suitors. They will only be marketing one year of his services but the free agent crop of position players in incredibly weak this winter, with the class far heavier on the pitching side. Alonso will be making a hefty salary which could eliminate some suitors, but the Mets haven’t been shy about swallowing money in order to facilitate deals, sending more than $35MM to the Rangers in the Scherzer deal.

The Mets certainly have the resources to get an extension done, though it’s unclear how much appetite they would have to get one done with Alonso. Cohen recently called him “an integral part of the Mets” and hoped they can “work things out” on a long-term deal, but their plan to dial back their spending might clash with that. They already have significant long-term deals on the books for Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Díaz, Kodai Senga and Jeff McNeil, which means they already have over $100MM on the books as far out as 2026.

If the Mets are focused on building up their pipeline of young talent and assessing the future before charting their next big moves, will they want to add a massive deal for Alonso to the pile when that will surely require a nine-figure outlay of some kind? There’s also the question of how his defense will age, since he’s not a star in that department as it is. Defensive Runs Saved has given him a passable +3 grade for his career, but Ultimate Zone Rating pegs him at -2.9 with Outs Above Average at -16. A long-term deal would come with the risk of him sliding into DH-only status over time.

Perhaps another factor will be the development of the prospects they have recently added to the system. Ryan Clifford, acquired from the Astros in the Verlander deal, can play the outfield corners but has spent more time at first base this year. He has yet to reach Double-A but the Mets surely acquired him in the hopes that he would be a part of a future championship core at some point down the line. Perhaps they would prefer to track his development before deciding on how to proceed with Alonso.

Until the Mets either trade Alonso or get an extension done, his in-between status is likely to be one of the biggest storylines this offseason. What do you think is the path they should take? Put him on the trading block and continue loading the farm system for future success? Lock him up so that he can be a part of the next competitive window? Or wait until the 2024 deadline, when they will have more information about their own competitive chances and the development of their prospects?

Have you say in the poll below. (Link to poll for app users)

Mets Option Brett Baty, Place Starling Marte On Injured List

By and | at

The Mets have optioned third baseman Brett Baty to Triple-A Syracuse, placed outfielder Starling Marte on the 10-day injured list with a groin strain, recalled infielder Jonathan Araúz and selected the contract of journeyman outfielder Abraham Almonte. Almonte’s promotion was first reported by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Paired with their selection of reliever Jimmy Yacabonis over the weekend, New York’s 40-man roster is at capacity.

Baty heads back to Triple-A for the first time since April. The recent top prospect began the season in Syracuse but got off to a roaring .400/.500/.886 start. That earned him a big league call a couple weeks into the year — his second promotion after a debut late last season. Baty quickly pushed Eduardo Escobar to the bench (and eventually made him expendable in trade) and started the season well, mashing at a .333/.394/.467 clip through the end of April.

The 23-year-old has hit a major slump since that excellent first month. He’s been a below-average hitter in each month since that point. Things have particularly spiraled of late. Since the All-Star Break, Baty is hitting .130/.211/.261 while striking out in 31.2% of his 77 plate appearances. While the Mets have turned their attention towards 2024, the struggles simply became untenable. They’ll hope Baty can find his stride against lower-level pitching.

Whether he does so could have implications for Baty’s long-term earning power. He entered the season with 50 days of major league service. Between his April 17 recall and today, he has accrued roughly 112 days of additional service time. That brings him to 162 days overall. Players get to a full service year at 172 days, meaning Baty’s approximately 10 days shy of that mark. If he returns to the big leagues for a week and a half later in the season, he’ll surpass the one-year threshold and remain on pace to reach free agency after the 2028 campaign. If he spends the remainder of the season in the minors, his free agency trajectory would be pushed back until after the ’29 season — though he’ll be on pace to reach arbitration after 2025 as a Super Two player in that case.

Danny Mendick draws into the starting lineup at third base against the Cubs this evening. 23-year-old Mark Vientos seems the favorite for playing time there overall, with Mendick and Araúz offering utility depth behind him.

Marte’s rough 2023 campaign continues. He just returned from a two-week IL stay because of recurring migraine issues. The hamstring injury is obviously unrelated but represents another frustration in one of the worst seasons of his career. Around the injuries, Marte has hit only .248/.301/.324 with five homers through 341 trips to the plate.

His absence opens an outfield spot for Almonte. The switch-hitting outfielder signed a minor league deal over the offseason and is hitting .228/.331/.564 over 27 games in Syracuse. He’s striking out at a lofty 31.4% clip but has connected on 11 homers and is drawing plenty of walks. Almonte is accustomed to the role of late-season call-up. It’s his 11th straight year reaching the bigs, though he’s never played more than 82 games in any single season. Almonte will soon suit up for the eighth team of his career. He’s a .235/.302/.374 hitter in a little under 1400 MLB plate appearances.

Omar Narvaez "Probably" Returning To Mets In 2024

By | at

  • Sticking to New York, Mets catcher Omar Narvaez indicated to Will Sammon of The Athletic that he would “probably be back next season” when discussing his upcoming $7MM player option for 2024. Narvaez opened the season as the club’s starting catcher but suffered a calf strain early in the season. While Narvaez was on the shelf, youngster Francisco Alvarez emerged as the club’s everyday player behind the plate, leaving Narvaez in a part-time role upon his return. In addition to his diminished role, Narvaez has struggled badly at the plate this season, slashing just .189/.281/.245 with a wRC+ of 54 in 24 games this year.

Mets Claim Tyson Miller

By and | at

The Mets claimed right-hander Tyson Miller off waivers from the Dodgers, per announcements from both teams. Miller has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, per the Mets.

Miller, 28, has been a member of the L.A. organization for a bit less than a month. The Dodgers acquired him from the Brewers in a cash transaction in mid-July. Miller made one two-inning appearance a couple weeks later, allowing two runs on three hits. He’s pitched twice with OKC on optional assignment.

The right-hander has appeared for four teams over parts of three big league seasons. He has just 27 innings at the highest level, carrying an even 8.00 ERA. Miller’s underlying marks are well below-average in that limited big league look. He owns a 4.69 ERA over 228 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level. He’s fanned a little more than a quarter of opponents in Triple-A against a slightly elevated 10% walk rate.

Miller is in his final option year, so he can be shuttled between Triple-A Syracuse and Queens for the remainder of the season. The Mets depleted their pitching depth at the trade deadline when they sold off and sent David Robertson, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer to other clubs. Miller will give them a depth option for the remainder of the year. He’s worked primarily out of the bullpen in 2023 but does have experience as a starter under his belt as well.

Placing Miller on waivers cleared a 40-man roster spot for the Dodgers to reinstate Ryan Pepiot from the 60-day injured list and option him to Triple-A. The former top prospect had secured the fifth spot in the starting staff at the end of Spring Training. An oblique strain just before exhibition play wrapped unfortunately dashed that, sending him to the IL for upwards of four months.

The 25-year-old righty has made four rehab appearances with Oklahoma City over the last three weeks. He threw 70 pitches on Monday as he continues to build up to a starting workload. It doesn’t seem the Dodgers feel he’s quite ready to return to MLB action, but his reinstatement suggests he’s not far off.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: Trade Deadline Recap

By | at

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 the happenings of the recent trade deadline, including:

Check out our past episodes!

Adam Ottavino Intends To Return To Mets In 2024

By | at

The Mets’ deadline sale has generated plenty of headlines over the past few days. New York moved a number of star players but also held a few veterans whose names had been floated in rumors — among them José Quintana, Brooks Raley and Adam Ottavino.

Ottavino is one of a trio of players still on the Mets’ roster who’d have the choice to become a free agent at year’s end. Carlos Carrasco is headed to the open market; Ottavino and Omar Narváez have player options for next season. (The club holds an option on Raley.) Narváez seems a lock to return on a $7MM salary after slumping to a .200/.295/.260 line and missing a good chunk of the season with a strained calf. Ottavino’s option seemed a closer call, but the veteran reliever indicated this afternoon he’s leaning towards exercising it.

The Brooklyn native tells Anthony DiComo of MLB.com he intends to return for a third season with the Mets. Ottavino suggested he was likely to trigger the $6.75MM option on his existing contract. He left open the possibility of trying to renegotiate the deal if he pitches well enough over the next two months, though he indicated he’d do so as a means of tacking on more years rather than prioritizing the average annual value. The Mets don’t have to consider a renegotiation, of course. There’s ostensibly still a chance that Ottavino looks to extend the contract, the Mets decline, and he’s left to reconsider the possibility of opting out.

That said, the hurler seemed quite committed to returning to Queens for his age-38 campaign. “I want to be here no matter what,” Ottavino told DiComo. “This is a good place for me. I love the organization. I love being able to play where I’m from.”

Next year’s Mets will be a quite different team from the one that entered this season. Owner Steve Cohen and GM Billy Eppler have each made clear the club doesn’t anticipate being as active at the top of the free agent market as they had been. Cohen frankly stated yesterday that the ’24 roster won’t carry the same expectations as this year’s group.

Ottavino doesn’t seem deterred by the organizational messaging. The right-hander opined he “(knows) that we’re not going to stink next year.” More broadly, he said he’d value team success more when it’s built on continuity. “I really want to win, but I’ve come to realize it means more to me when I feel invested with the team, when I’ve been with the team for a while,” he told DiComo. “I don’t like feeling like a hired gun. … When I came here, I really wanted to prove myself again and stay. Once I was able to do that, now I feel like I’m bought into everything we’re doing around here.”

While Ottavino has sole discretion on whether to play out his contract, his deal does not contain a no-trade clause. If he exercises the option, there’d be nothing prohibiting the Mets from exploring trade possibilities during the winter. Barring an excellent final couple months, however, New York likely wouldn’t find a huge prospect return if they put Ottavino on the trade market.

While the 13-year MLB veteran is having a solid season, his production has taken a step back from his first year in Queens. Ottavino owns a 3.48 ERA across 44 innings. He’s racking up ground-balls at a massive 58.1% clip but has slightly worse than average strikeout (21.6%) and walk (10.3%) tallies. Ottavino fanned over 30% of opponents against a meager 6.2% walk percentage en route to a sterling 2.06 ERA through 65 2/3 frames a season ago.

The average velocity on Ottavino’s sinker and sweeping slider are each down a tick relative to last season. That has contributed to a drop in whiffs, though his lower arm angle has remained a very challenging look for same-handed hitters. Righties have only four extra-base hits and a .273 slugging mark in 118 plate appearances against him.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top