Big Hype Prospects: Walker, Baty, Volpe, Colas, Jameson
The hype is real this week on Big Hype Prospects. Numerous notable youngsters are among the top performers in the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues.
Five BHPs In The News
Jordan Walker, 20, OF, STL (AA)
536 PA, 19 HR, 22 SB, .306/.388/.510
Walker is fourth among qualified spring hitters with a 1.429 OPS across 28 plate appearances. He’s already popped three doubles and three home runs. This column has covered Walker’s scouting traits many times. His hot play is putting him in the picture for an Opening Day role, though such an assignment is unlikely for numerous reasons. The sad truth is club control is an important consideration for teams when choosing a debut date. While new rules offer some consolation, the terms* are rather difficult to achieve. Additionally, the Cardinals have a deep roster. Nolan Arenado covers Walker’s natural position of third base. He’s converted to outfield where Dylan Carlson, Tyler O’Neill, Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, and Juan Yepez are also in the mix. In addition to competition and control incentives, Walker isn’t on the 40-man roster nor does he have any experience in Triple-A.
*Namely, two new rules. A player is awarded a full year of service if they finish top two in Rookie of the Year voting. A team can gain extra draft picks if a “top prospect” makes the Opening Day roster and later finishes top three in rookie voting or top five in MVP/Cy Young voting.
Brett Baty, 23, 3B, NYM (MLB)
(AA) 394 PA, 19 HR, 2 SB, .312/.406/.544
Another frequent guest of BHP, Baty is currently sixth-best among qualified hitters with a 1.208 OPS. He has one double and one home run. He spent most of 2022 in Double-A, though he had brief trials in Triple-A and the Majors. He didn’t look overmatched in his debut even though the end results weren’t impressive. An uncharacteristic .179 BABIP entirely explains his modest 71 wRC+. Baty is competing with Eduardo Escobar who could find himself in a utility role if Baty wins the third base job. There’s also room in the designated hitter competition where Daniel Vogelbach, Darin Ruf, and Tommy Pham are expected to see the bulk of the action. None of those veterans should be considered a lock to make the Mets roster.
Anthony Volpe, 21, SS, NYY (AAA)
(AAA) 427 PA, 24 HR, .280/.358/.519
Yet another player who has been covered ad nauseum by this column, Volpe is on the cusp of his big league debut. His 1.097 OPS looks strong in the early going. In addition to a home run and two doubles, he also has three stolen bases. Volpe’s path to the starting shortstop role should be viewed as an uphill battle if only because the Yankees have given themselves a number of difficult decisions to make this spring. Volpe is plagued by the same criteria that could give the Cardinals pause regarding Walker. Additionally, Volpe has identifiable flaws as a hitter – most notably, a fly ball-oriented swing. He could find himself with a low BABIP in the Majors, especially since many pitchers have become adept at attacking this hitting profile.
Oscar Colas, 24, OF, CWS (AAA)
(AA) 225 PA, 14 HR, 1 SB, .306/.364/.563
Colas surged through the White Sox system last season, making stops in High-, Double-, and Triple-A. His time in Double-A was his most meaningful performance. He only accrued 33 plate appearances in Triple-A. Colas has a bead on Chicago’s right field job where first baseman Gavin Sheets is seen as the main competition. Colas is batting .429/.455/.476 in 22 spring plate appearances. He is known for making impactful contact. Like many products of the White Sox farm system over the years, he has a detrimentally aggressive plate approach. His first test in the Majors will be laying off competitive pitches outside of the zone. Many a prospect with comparable tools and discipline to Colas failed to stick in the Majors.
Drey Jameson, 25, SP, ARI (MLB)
(AAA) 114 IP, 8.61 K/9, 3.32 BB/9, 6.95 ERA
Jameson is competing with Ryne Nelson and others for the Diamondbacks fifth starter job. He mostly relies on two fastballs and a plus slider, though he also features a curve and changeup. In three spring outings, he’s tossed 6.2 innings with eight strikeouts, five hits, two walks, a home run, and three runs allowed. Although he’s proven a tad homer prone throughout his development, a high ground ball rate helps to salve the sting. He has the raw traits of a future workhorse. Within the next couple seasons, he could click in much the way Logan Webb clicked between his 2020 and 2021 campaigns. For those concerned about his Triple-A numbers, those are at least partly an artifact of circumstance. Reno’s starters combined for a 5.24 ERA which ranked fifth out of 10 clubs in the PCL.
Three More
Cole Ragans, TEX (25): Ragans averaged 92.1-mph with his heater last season so it raised a few eyebrows when he hit 99-mph the other day. With a number of Rangers starters banged up, there’s a decent chance Ragans will nab a start or two early in the season. I’m withholding enthusiasm until he maintains velocity in longer outings. At a minimum, the southpaw could really play up out of the bullpen.
Masyn Winn, STL (20): Though he has almost no chance of playing his way to an Opening Day assignment, Winn is making a favorable impression this spring. He has a 1.071 OPS in 17 plate appearances with a homer and two steals. Scouts want to see him adjust against competitive breaking balls but are otherwise enamored with the young shortstop. Defensively, he has an 80-grade arm but closer to 40-grade range and footwork. The arm ensures he’ll stick on the left side of the infield.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand, CIN (23): Acquired in the Tyler Mahle trade, Encarnacion-Strand has slugged at every stop along the ladder. He’s expected to reach Triple-A early this season if not right out of the gate. In 18 spring plate appearances, he has 11 hits including a double and three home runs. The profile reads like a more compactly built Franmil Reyes.
Read The Transcript Of Our Chat With Former MLB Catcher Gary Bennett
Former MLB catcher Gary Bennett chatted with MLBTR readers for more than two hours this morning. Click here to read the transcript and learn more about Bennett below:
Gary Bennett was drafted by the Phillies in the 11th round in 1990 out of Waukegan East High School. His MLB career began with a single plate appearance more than five years later, when he pinch-hit for the Phils against David Wells. His first big league home run came in 1999, at the age of 27.
In July of 2001, Bennett was traded to the Mets for Todd Pratt. A year later, he was dealt to the Rockies.
It was in 2002, at the age of 30, that Bennett landed regular work in the Majors, serving as Colorado’s primary catcher. He then signed a free agent deal with the Padres, leading their ’03 club in innings caught. After the ’03 season, Bennett signed as a free agent with the Brewers. He served as the backup to Chad Moeller that year.
On to the Nationals in ’05, Bennett’s life as a big league mercenary catcher continued, this time with Damian Miller as his counterpart.
Bennett moved to the Cardinals for the ’06 season, working behind Yadier Molina. The Cards beat the Tigers in five games in the World Series that year, and Bennett earned a ring. The Cardinals retained Bennett for ’07, providing some rare continuity, after which he closed out his career with the Dodgers.
In the end, Bennett spent over 4,200 innings in the Majors behind the dish, catching pitchers such as Jake Peavy, Ben Sheets, and Adam Wainwright. He also hit a homer off Sheets at one point, taking Dontrelle Willis and many others deep as well. Memorable moments included walk-offs on back-to-back days against the Cubs in ’06 – one a single and the other a grand slam.
In 2007, Bennett was one of the players named in the Mitchell Report. He owned up to his use of human growth hormone, later telling Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “It was unethical, cheating, taking performance enhancement stuff.”
After Gary’s playing days wrapped up, he became a partner in a training academy called Slammers Baseball. Other ventures have included medical device sales, real estate, and non-profit foundations such as CASA Lake County and Science of Sport. The Bennetts also have three kids, one of whom played baseball at Mizzou and another currently playing at Illinois. You can follow Gary on Twitter @gdbjr5.
Gary offered to chat with MLBTR readers, and we’re happy to have him! Click here to join the live chat.
If you’re a current or former MLB player and would like to do a one-hour chat on MLBTR, please contact us!
José Quintana Diagnosed With Stress Fracture In Rib
The Mets informed reporters, including Tim Healey of Newsday, that left-hander José Quintana has a “small stress fracture” in his fifth rib on his left side. He left his spring outing yesterday with side tightness and later announced that he was withdrawing from the World Baseball Classic. He is leaving camp and headed to New York for further imaging. The club does not have a timeline on his recovery yet.
Quintana, 34, was pencilled in to be a key piece of the Mets’ rotation this year after signing a two-year, $26MM deal in the offseason. He had a rough couple of seasons in 2020 and 2021 but bounced back nicely last year with the Pirates and Cardinals. He tossed 165 2/3 innings between the two clubs with a 2.93 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 46.4% ground ball rate. The Mets signed him to that two-year pact and hoped to have him in their rotation alongside Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and Carlos Carrasco.
At this point, it’s still unclear what the next steps will be, but it seems like Quintana will at least be delayed. There’s just over three weeks until Opening Day at this point. Even if he’s able to return to the mound in short order, he would still need some time to build up his pitch count.
It was around this time last year that Red Sox lefty Chris Sale was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib, which prevented him from making his season debut until July. That’s not to say Quintana is facing the same absence, as all injuries are unique and players respond to them differently. However, it does illustrate that the diagnosis has the chance to be significant.
We don’t know what kind of absence Quintana ultimately will require, but the Mets have depth options on their roster if Quintana does eventually need to miss some of the regular season. Joey Lucchesi was recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2022 and missed all of the MLB season. He began a rehab assignment in August of last year and pitched 12 2/3 minor league innings before the winter arrived. Back in 2019, he made 30 starts for the Padres and posted a 4.18 ERA. Tylor Megill made nine starts and six relief appearances for the club last year, posting a combined 5.13 ERA. David Peterson had a 3.83 ERA across 19 starts and nine relief appearances last year and would perhaps be the first one called up to take a rotation job. He recently had his own injury scare when a comebacker hit him in the foot, though it seems he escaped with just a contusion and is day-to-day. All three of Lucchesi, Megill and Peterson have options, allowing them to be stretched out in the minors whenever their services are not required by the big league club.
Read The Transcript Of Our Chat Hosted By Former Cubs GM Ed Lynch
Former big league pitcher and Cubs general manager Ed Lynch chatted with MLBTR readers for more than two hours this morning. You can read the transcript here, and read up on his fascinating career below:
Before he became GM of the Cubs, Ed Lynch was a pitcher. He was drafted by the Rangers out of the University of South Carolina in the 22nd round back in 1977. A few years later, Lynch was traded to the Mets.
Lynch broke in with the Mets in 1980. Lynch led the Mets with 94 starts from 1981-85, working with rotation-mates such as Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez, and Mike Scott. Known for his excellent control, Lynch ranked fifth in the NL in walk rate in ’83 and third in ’85.
Unfortunately, Lynch’s time with the legendary ’86 Mets was cut short, as he was traded to the Cubs on June 30th of that year. As Lynch later put it to Jennifer Frey of the New York Times, “It was like living with a family all year, then getting kicked out on Christmas Eve.” After the ’87 season, Lynch’s pitching career was over.
According to Frey, Lynch “went on to receive a law degree at the University of Miami. He was hired out of law school by Joe McIlvaine — then the general manager in San Diego — to serve as director of player development for the Padres.” After a brief stint under McIlvaine back with the Mets, Lynch was named GM of the Cubs in October 1994 at the age of 38.
Lynch’s top draft picks during his tenure as Cubs GM included Kerry Wood, Jon Garland, and Corey Patterson. One key Lynch trade, which I remember vividly reading about in the newspaper at the age of 15, was an August 1997 deal that sent Brian McRae, Mel Rojas, and Turk Wendell to the Mets for Mark Clark and Lance Johnson.
Those players were a key part of the 1998 Cubs, a Lynch team that broke a nine-year playoff drought. Led by a 66 home run season by Sammy Sosa and the typically-excellent Mark Grace, the ’98 Cubs also included Lynch pickups Mickey Morandini, Henry Rodriguez, Gary Gaetti, Kevin Tapani, and Rod Beck. Kerry Wood took home Rookie of the Year honors that season.
Player acquisitions during Lynch’s tenure as Cubs GM also included Brian McRae, Jaime Navarro, Todd Zeile, Luis Gonzalez, Scott Servais, Terry Mulholland, Jeff Blauser, Jon Lieber, and Eric Young. Additionally, Lynch was Cubs GM when Ryne Sandberg came out of retirement in 1996. Lynch was also responsible for the hiring of manager Don Baylor in 1999, the first minority to hold that job in franchise history.
According to a SABR article by Jon Springer, Lynch “remained in the Cubs organization for another decade as a special assistant to the GM before joining the Toronto Blue Jays as a professional scout in 2010.” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale caught up with Lynch in February 2020, revealing that he’s now working as a realtor.
Ed is the first former MLB GM to come on for a live chat here. If any other former GMs happen to read this and would like to participate, drop us a line! You get to choose which questions to publish and answer, and it only takes an hour.
NL East Notes: Quintana, Peterson, Kieboom
Mets general manager Billy Eppler told reporters today, including Tim Healey of Newsday Sports (Twitter links), that left-hander José Quintana had his start limited to just one inning today against the Cardinals due to left side tightness. Healey relays that Quintana will no longer participate in the World Baseball Classic and will attempt to be ready for the MLB season.
Long before he joined the Mets, Quintana spent the first several seasons of his career as a reliable middle of the rotation arm in Chicago, first with the White Sox from 2012-2017, then with the Cubs from 2017-2020 following the deal that sent him across town in exchange for Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease. However, Quintana began to struggle toward the end of his time in Chicago: he posted his first below average season by ERA+ in 2019, pitched just 10 innings due to injury in the shortened 2020 season, and had a disastrous 2021 season split between the Giants and the Angels where he pitched to a 6.43 ERA (69 ERA+) in 63 innings of work.
Quintana managed to turn things around in 2022, however: he pitched to a strong 3.50 ERA in 103 innings as a member of the Pirates before being dealt to the Cardinals at the trade deadline last year, where he went on to dominate, posting a sensational 2.01 ERA (191 ERA+) over 62 2/3 innings down the stretch. His overall season line of a 2.93 ERA (137 ERA+) and 2.99 FIP earned him a two-year, $26MM contract with the Mets this winter. At this point, the severity of the injury is unknown, but the fact that he’s dropped out of the WBC and isn’t certain about being ready for the start of the regular season gives a vague timeframe. Whenever he’s healthy, the Mets figure to have Quintana rounding out their rotation alongside Kodai Senga and Carlos Carrasco behind co-aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
More from around the NL East…
- While Mets fans may be concerned by the news regarding Quintana, they should be encouraged to hear that fellow his left-hander David Peterson is considered day-to-day with a foot contusion after the results of yesterday’s x-ray and today’s CT scan. Peterson had been struck by a batted ball, leaving reason for concern that a more serious injury could have been in play. Fortunately, that does not appear to be the case, and Peterson should slot in right alongside Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi among the next men up should Quintana, or any other Mets starter, need to miss any time.
- Nationals third baseman Carter Kieboom is working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery but is facing a setback. Manager Dave Martinez told reporters, including Andrew Golden of The Washington Post, that Kieboom is dealing with some right shoulder discomfort. The youngster recently appeared in a game as the designated hitter but has yet to take the field. As noted by Golden, Kieboom has been employing a routine of not throwing every day. This new issue will likely lead to even less throwing in the days to come, but Kieboom doesn’t seem overly concerned. “The last thing I want to do … is have something like this bother me, and then you start kind of tweaking your own mechanics and start compensating for things,” Kieboom said. “That’s what gets you in trouble again. … It’s important to take care of now; that way, it’s a one-to-three-day thing versus a two-to-three-week thing.” Once one of the top prospects in the league, he’s struggled in his major league time so far. He’ll be looking to regain some of his previous pedigree later this year, but getting healthy will be the first step.
Injury Notes: Peterson, Yarbrough, Garcia,
Mets starter David Peterson will get an x-ray on his left foot after being struck by a ball there, manager Buck Showalter told reporters (including Tim Healey of Newsday). Peterson tossed two innings in the Mets 15-4 win over Miami today.
Peterson isn’t expected to crack New York’s opening day rotation, although there’s a good chance he’d be one of the first options they called on in the event of an injury to any of the other starters. We’re obviously short on detail until the results of Peterson’s x-ray come back, but any serious injury would be a blow to the Mets’ pitching depth. Peterson worked to a 3.83 ERA over 105 2/3 innings for the Mets last year, combining a 27.8% strikeout rate with a 10.6% walk rate. The 27-year-old does have minor league options remaining, so he could either operate as a starter at Triple-A or out of New York’s bullpen. The Mets do have solid pitching depth behind their projected rotation of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Kodai Senga, Carlos Carrasco and Jose Quintana, with Peterson, Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi all shaping up as solid depth options. [UPDATE May 5: Peterson’s x-rays were inconclusive, and he will now get a CT scan, Showalter told Healey and other reporters.]
Here’s a couple of other injury notes from around the game:
- Royals starter Ryan Yarbrough is dealing with a “slight groin strain” that doesn’t appear to be too serious, according to Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Yarbrough is scheduled to throw a bullpen session tomorrow to see how he feels. Yarbrough tossed 80 innings of 4.50 ERA ball for the Rays last year across nine starts and 11 relief appearances. Tampa Bay designated Yarbrough for assignment and then non-tendered him this winter, and he latched on with the Royals on a one-year, $3MM deal. The leftie owns a career 4.33 ERA over five seasons in the bigs, all for the Rays.
- Pirates left-hander Jarlin Garcia left today’s 4-3 loss to the Phillies with what the team describes as left arm tightness, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com relays. Garcia gave up four earned runs on a walk and four hits in 1/3 of an inning of work. Unsurprisingly, the language used to describe the injury is very vague, and the outcome could range from a serious injury to nothing at all, and we should know more once the Pirates have evaluated him. Garcia joined the Pirates on a one-year, $2.5MM deal this winter. He’d been a successful member of the Giants bullpen for the past few seasons, working to a 2.84 ERA over 152 innings of work between 2020-22. Like many southpaws, he worked especially well against left-handed hitters, restricting them to a .192/.245/.364 line in 2022, against a .275/.327/.450 line against right-handed hitters. Rule 5 pick Jose Hernandez is the only other left-handed reliever currently projected to be on the Pirates active roster to start the year, although the team does have a number of non-roster invitees, including Caleb Smith, Daniel Zamora and Rob Zastryzny, who could come into the picture should Garcia’s tightness turn into anything that puts him in doubt for opening day.
NL East Notes: Hoskins, Rosario, Mauricio, Vientos
Rhys Hoskins underwent a meniscectomy on his right knee in December, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer and other reporters. The relatively minor procedure corrected some “wear and tear,” Thomson said, and Hoskins is expected to make his in-game spring debut sometime this week.
Now entering his age-30 season, Hoskins has been a quality hitter pretty much from day one in Philadelphia, hitting .242/.353/.492 with 148 home runs and producing a 125 wRC+ over 2877 career plate appearances in six MLB seasons. Hoskins would naturally love to keep that production going in order to help the Phillies’ chances at returning to the World Series, but a big 2023 campaign would also help Hoskins as he enters free agency next winter. The Phils already have a lot of long-term money on the books and might soon add another pricey deal if they reach an extension with Aaron Nola (another pending free agent), but it stands to reason that the club would also have some interest in locking Hoskins up to an extension. That said, Boras Corporation clients like Hoskins usually end up testing the open market, and the Phillies might have some reservations about committing a long-term deal to a first base-only player.
More from around the NL East…
- Eddie Rosario followed up his 2021 NLCS MVP performance with a dismal 2022 season, as the outfielder hit only .212/.259/.328 over 270 plate appearances with the Braves. Vision problems were the root cause of Rosario’s struggles, as Rosario started to have trouble seeing the ball during last year’s Spring Training, and he still needed some adjustment time even after undergoing laser surgery and missing over two months of the season. Fortunately, “everything is good now. I feel really good and I see really well,” Rosario told MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, and both manager Brian Snitker and hitting coach Kevin Seitzer have been impressed by Rosario’s seeming return to his old form early in camp. A revived Rosario would instantly solve the Braves’ question mark in left field, and provide a nice boost to an Atlanta team that is hoping to compete for another world championship. 2023 is the final guaranteed season of Rosario’s two-year, $18MM deal with Atlanta, though the Braves hold a $9MM club option on the veteran for the 2024 campaign.
- The Mets will use Ronny Mauricio at shortstop and Mark Vientos as a corner infielder this spring, rather than continue to audition the prospects at different positions. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes that plans might change in the future, and some obvious roadblocks (i.e. Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Eduardo Escobar, and fellow prospect Brett Baty) seem to be preventing Mauricio or Vientos from playing their regular positions at the big league level. Of course, it is always possible that the win-now Mets might look to move either Mauricio or Vientos for a proven Major Leaguer, though New York has thus far been pretty resistant about moving too many top-tier prospects for immediate help.
Chicago Notes: Suzuki, Taillon, Crochet
Seiya Suzuki was a late scratch from the Cubs lineup, as the team announced to reporters (including Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times) that the outfielder was dealing with left oblique tightness. More will be known about Suzuki once he completes some tests, though for now, there is certainly concern over his status given the rather wide range of recovery timelines associated with oblique injuries. Even if Suzuki’s issue is relatively minor, it might create an immediate problem with his planned participation on Team Japan at the World Baseball Classic.
A finger sprain cost Suzuki about six weeks of his first MLB season, but he still hit a solid .262/.336/.433 with 14 homers over 446 plate appearances with the Cubs in 2022. More will be expected from Suzuki in his sophomore year (especially for a Cubs team that plans to be more competitive) but the first order of business is to make sure that he’s healthy and that his oblique injury doesn’t lead to much missed time.
Some more notes on both Windy City teams…
- The Mets and Phillies were the other finalists for Jameson Taillon, as the New York Post’s Jon Heyman writes that Philadelphia offered Taillon slightly more than the four years and $68MM he received from the Cubs. Since Taijuan Walker signed with the Phils for four years and $72MM, it could be that the Phillies offered similar deals to both pitchers and either Walker accepted first, or perhaps Taillon opted for Chicago’s offer instead. However, Taillon said that “I thought I was going to be a Met for a while,” indicating that New York was also strongly in the running. The mutual interest between both Taillon and the Cubs may have been the deciding factor, as “the Cubs made a really strong first impression” on the first day of free agency, and the team “made it clear from day one I was a top priority. If you can nerd-out and talk pitching with me, that really works for me. They showed me a good plan. It’s been exciting.”
- The White Sox are tentatively aiming for May as Garrett Crochet‘s return date from Tommy John rehab, as per MLB.com’s Sox-specific injuries and transactions page. Crochet underwent the TJ surgery last April, so the 13-month layoff would fit within the procedure’s usual recovery timeline. The Sox have already said that Crochet will work as a reliever when he returns, so he’ll need to build less arm strength than a pitcher who was returning to a starting role. Crochet is slated to move from two bullpen sessions per week to one high-intensity bullpen session per week, with an eye towards pitching in game action during extended Spring Training and then a minor league rehab assignment.
Mets, Jaylin Davis Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets are signing outfielder Jaylin Davis to a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The Beverly Hills Sports Council client had elected free agency at the start of the offseason after being outrighted off the Red Sox’s 40-man roster.
Davis, 28, has reached the big league level in each of the past four seasons. He’s seen action with the Giants and Boston but always in a limited capacity. Davis has played in 38 MLB games and tallied 95 trips to the plate, hitting .207/.274/.299 with a 30.5% strikeout percentage.
Swing-and-miss has been an issue for Davis in the minor leagues as well. He fanned at a near-31% rate over 346 plate appearances with the Sox’s top affiliate in Worcester last season. The right-handed hitter paired that with a strong 12.4% walk percentage but still stumbled to a .203/.312/.334 line overall.
Davis has fared better in previous Triple-A stints, however. Over parts of three seasons at the top minor league level, he owns a .258/.348/.503 slash with a 29.2% strikeout percentage while walking at a 10.6% clip.
Davis has experience at all three outfield positions. He’s primarily worked in right field as a professional, logging over 3000 minor league innings there compared to fewer than 800 frames in both left and center. The Mets have Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, Mark Canha and Tommy Pham lined up for outfield work, with Darin Ruf an option for the corners. Davis joins Abraham Almonte, Tim Locastro, Khalil Lee and DJ Stewart among non-roster players in camp.
NL East Notes: Scherzer, Soroka, Song, Phillies
Max Scherzer‘s three-year deal with the Mets is now one-third of the way complete and will afford him the ability to opt out at the end of the upcoming season. Andy Martino of SNY asked Scherzer about that forthcoming choice and the pitcher was fairly noncommittal about it, complimenting the direction of the organization but also acknowledging the business aspect of things.
“You have to understand the context of why I negotiated that in, and the context of where we’re at now,” Scherzer said, before elaborating that he didn’t know what to expect from the club if Jacob deGrom triggered his own opt-out at the end of 2022. “It was, if Jake opts out, you didn’t know what was going to happen. You didn’t know where the Mets would be as an organization. A big draw for me to come to New York was to get the chance to pitch with him, and here he has an opt out in year one. If he did take it and go somewhere else, what is the organization going to do?” After a chuckle, he said, “I got an answer.” Of course, he now knows that owner Steve Cohen was willing to spend lavishly on free agents, ramping the club’s payroll to the top of the league in order to field a competitive team for 2023.
That response from Scherzer stands in contrast to that of deGrom, who was quite clear at this time last year that his plan was to trigger his opt-out. It’s been a similar story lately with Padres third baseman Manny Machado, who’s openly declared his intention to opt out of his deal this fall. The fact that Scherzer isn’t quite so emphatic is perhaps somewhat hopeful for Mets fans, but it could also come down to a business decision, something Scherzer acknowledged as well. “If it becomes a business situation, we will cross that bridge at a different time,” he added. “At the end of the year, that will get taken care of … I’m not thinking about it. Obviously, you go through six months of the baseball season, anything can change. So it’s not even worth it to comment on whether I’m going to use it or not.”
If Scherzer has another typical ace season, he would be facing an interesting decision from a business perspective. He will turn 39 years old in July and be deciding whether or not to leave $43.33MM on the table and become a free agent again. That’s a lot of money to turn down for a player that age, but his now-teammate Justin Verlander secured himself a two-year, $86.66MM guarantee going into his age-40 season, the same average annual value. With that in mind, Scherzer might actually leave more money on the table by not triggering his opt-out. If he were to decide to depart, the Mets would be losing two members of its current rotation, as Carlos Carrasco is in the final year of his contract.
Some other notes from around the National League East…
- Braves right-hander Michael Soroka is dealing with a sore hamstring that will prevent him from taking the mound for about a week and from appearing in spring games for a few weeks. “It’s a kick in the groin,” Soroka said to David O’Brien of The Athletic about the setback. “Pretty frustrating, especially given the early offseason for me, just to be able to get ready for this spring training. Then coming down with that was not fun. But that’s how it goes, and we’ll be moving forward here pretty shortly.” Soroka has been significantly impeded by injuries in recent years, with his 2020 cut short after three starts due to a torn right Achilles. The recovery has been quite arduous, involving three surgeries as he missed the past two seasons entirely. This latest issue doesn’t seem to be huge, but it’s understandably frustrating that there’s yet another hurdle to clear. In 2019, Soroka made 29 starts with a 2.68 ERA over 174 2/3 innings. He figured to compete with Ian Anderson for the club’s fifth starter spot this year but he might have to play a bit of catch-up whenever he’s healthy. He does still have an option year remaining, should he need more time in the minors to get stretched out after this delay.
- The Phillies informed reporters, including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, that right-hander Noah Song has been discharged from the Navy and is expected to be in camp tomorrow. (EDIT: The club later clarified Song has not been discharged, but was transferred from active duty to selective reserves, which allows him to play baseball. Twitter link from Matt Gelb of The Athletic.) Song, 26 in May, was drafted by the Red Sox in 2019 but his baseball career was put on hold when the Department of Defense ordered the United States Naval Academy graduate to report to flight school. He was left unprotected in the most recent Rule 5 draft and was selected by the Phillies, whose president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was with the Red Sox at the time Song was first drafted. Some considered him a first-round talent back then, though he lingered until the fourth round due to concerns around that military commitment. This will now be an interesting and unusual experiment, as Song still hasn’t pitched professionally since a stint at Low-A in 2019. He was quite good at that time, posting a 1.06 ERA over seven starts but will now be jumping straight to the majors. As a Rule 5 draftee, he will have to stick on the active roster all season or put on waivers and then offered back to the Sox if he clears. The Phils could also pursue trades, though any acquiring team would face the same roster restrictions as the Phils themselves currently face. Song is currently on the military list and isn’t taking up a spot on the 40-man roster, with Gelb relaying that he will have to be added by Opening Day.
- Sticking with the Phillies, they will be navigating an open designated hitter slot until Bryce Harper returns from Tommy John surgery. The most recent estimate on that timeline has Harper returning around the All-Star break in July, giving the club a span of over three months to navigate. It seems the plan is to not have any single player entrenched in the spot and spread those opportunities around. “At this point, I think it’s a rotation,” manager Rob Thomson tells Gelb. “Getting people off their feet. Giving them a half day, so to speak.” In order to shuffle different players through there, positional versatility will be key. It was previously reported that infielder Edmundo Sosa will be getting some work in center field in order to increase his chances of getting playing time. Thomson also highlighted Josh Harrison as someone who could also see extensive action, given his ability to play all multiple positions. He’s played every position except catcher in his career, though he’s spent more time at second and third base than anywhere else. Thomson also mentioned the bat of Darick Hall, who hit nine home runs in his first 42 major league games last year. He’s been almost exclusively a first baseman in his professional career but the club is considering getting him some outfield work to help his bat into the lineup. “If he swings the bat the way he did last year,” Thomson said, “it’s going to be tough to keep him off the club.”