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Yankees Place Miguel Andujar On 10-Day IL

By Jeff Todd | May 13, 2019 at 4:37pm CDT

The Yankees have placed third baseman Miguel Andujar back on the 10-day injured list, per a club announcement. Lefty Nestor Cortes Jr. was summoned back from Triple-A to take the open roster spot.

Andujar previously suffered a right labrum tear that seemingly threatened to end his season. Surgery wasn’t the first option, however, and Andujar seemed to emerge from a month-long rehab stint in good form.

Unfortunately, the joint has evidently not responded as hoped since Andujar was activated. In nine games this month, he’s hitting just .088/.114/.088.

It isn’t entirely clear at this point what the next steps might be. Andujar could try again to rest and rehab, but it stands to reason that the surgical option will also be revisited.

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New York Yankees Miguel Andujar Nestor Cortes

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White Sox Announce Season-Ending Surgeries For Rodon, Jones, Adolfo

By Jeff Todd | May 13, 2019 at 4:07pm CDT

The White Sox have announced a brutal trio of injury updates this afternoon, as James Fegan of The Athletic was among those to cover (links to Twitter). Lefty Carlos Rodon, righty Nate Jones, and propect Micker Adolfo are all slated for season-ending surgeries.

Rodon is headed in for Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. That outcome had been expected after the procedure was recommended recently. If all goes well, the 26-year-old could return at some point during the 2020 season.

The White Sox are paying Rodon $4.2MM this year, his second of four seasons of arbitration eligibility. With seven starts under his belt in 2019, Rodon has likely done enough to nudge that rate forward at least a bit, but won’t be due a significant raise. The former first-rounder has had some worrying health problems in recent years, but this will represent the most significant disruption to his career.

As for Jones, it’s another disappointing turn for a reliever whose career has been sidetracked by a never-ending barrage of injuries, including a prior TJ procedure (among others). The 33-year-old underwent surgery yesterday to address a flexor mass injury in his right forearm. He has averaged less than 25 innings annually since the start of the 2014 season.

Jones remains controllable under the extension he signed in late 2015, which includes successive club options that include a $1.25MM buyout. The 2020 option was to be valued at either $3.75MM or $5.15MM, depending upon whether Jones had certain elbow procedures prior to 2018. He did not have another Tommy John surgery but did undergo a nerve repositioning procedure; whether the clause was triggered depends upon the precise language of the contract, which does not appear to have been reported.

Though he’s an outfielder rather than a pitcher, Adolfo has seen his own burgeoning career thwarted to this point by elbow troubles (among other injuries). He underwent TJS last year and worked back to health in time to take 95 plate appearances this season at Double-A (functioning only as a DH). His latest elbow work will require a four-to-six month break from baseball activities. GM Rick Hahn added that Adolfo will receive a fourth option year due to the health woes, which will make it easier for the club to hang onto him while he works back to health yet again.

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Chicago White Sox Newsstand Carlos Rodon Micker Adolfo Nate Jones

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Tigers Place Tyson Ross On Injured List

By George Miller | May 13, 2019 at 3:26pm CDT

May 13: Manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters today that Ross isn’t feeling any better and could schedule an examination with the same surgeon who performed his initial thoracic outlet surgery (Twitter link via MLive.com’s Evan Woodbery).

May 12: The Tigers have placed right-handed starter Tyson Ross on the 10-day injured list, reports Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. It’s a nerve issue in his right elbow that will keep him out of action for the foreseeable future.

Certainly, this development is most unwelcome for a Detroit ballclub that has already endured several injuries to starting pitchers. Michael Fulmer and Matt Moore are both sidelined for the remainder of the season, and Jordan Zimmermann recently joined them on the injured list. With Ross joining them, the Tigers will be pressed to find solutions from within the organization.

Of course, those losses have been mitigated by the performances of Matthew Boyd and Spencer Turnbull, each of whom has dazzled with dynamic strikeout stuff, emerging as the most productive Tigers starters. Daniel Norris has joined the rotation in the wake of the slew of injuries, though there appears to be a dearth of options behind the existing slate of starters.

Ross has endured a season of inconsistencies thus far in 2019, posting a lackluster 6.11 ERA in his first 7 starts. His 1.39 K:BB ratio has been unimpressive, as walks have once again inhibited Ross’s success. It’s an unfortunate break for Ross, who struggled through a frustrating start in Saturday’s matchup with the Twins, allowing six runs in five-plus innings. It’s unclear just how serious the nerve issue is, or how long it will keep Ross on the shelf, but the outlook is certainly not a rosy one for the Tigers.

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Detroit Tigers Tyson Ross

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Jonathan Loaisiga Shut Down For Four Weeks

By Steve Adams | May 13, 2019 at 3:21pm CDT

Even as the Yankees welcome injured players back to the roster — Aaron Hicks was activated for his season debut today — new injuries continue to pile up. The team announced today that right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a shoulder strain, and manager Aaron Boone announced to reporters that Loaisiga won’t throw a baseball for at least the next four weeks (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch). The 24-year-old is dealing with a strain of his right rotator cuff.

Loaisiga had been slated to start tonight’s contest, but that start will now fall to right-hander Luis Cessa. Righty Chance Adams was recalled from Triple-A in place of Loaisiga, so he’ll be on hand as an option for some length in the middle of the game as well, should the need arise. Loaisiga joins James Paxton, Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery (still recovering from 2018 Tommy John surgery) as rotation options on the injured list.

While Loaisiga has yet to establish himself at the MLB level, he’s nevertheless a well-regarded prospect. Baseball America currently ranks him as the No. 94 farmhand in all of baseball, and he owns a career 2.88 ERA with 8.2 K/9 against 1.7 BB/9 in his minor league career. Injuries, though, have been a persistent factor for Loaisiga, who has never thrown more than the 84 2/3 innings he tossed last year in any single professional season.

Following tonight’s spot start from Cessa, the Yankees’ rotation will include Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, Domingo German, CC Sabathia and a yet-to-be-determined fifth option. Presumably, Cessa and Adams will both be candidates for that spot, as will the recently optioned Nestor Cortes Jr. As for the team’s injured starters, Severino has yet to begin a throwing program following his latest shutdown, while Paxton has played catch but not embarked on a minor league rehab assignment. There’s hope that Paxton could return before month’s end but no indication that a return is imminent. Montgomery isn’t expected back until later midsummer.

Loaisiga’s injury is the latest in an ongoing series of physical ailments that have tested the Yankees’ depth at virtually every spot on the roster so far in 2019. Of course, the Yankees have largely passed any such test with flying colors; the team is eight games over .500 — just a half game out of the AL East lead — and carries a +36 run differential despite the interminable onslaught of health troubles they’ve faced.

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New York Yankees Jonathan Loaisiga

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MLBTR Chat Transcript: Giants, Bumgarner, Tigers

By Tim Dierkes | May 13, 2019 at 3:03pm CDT

Click here to read a transcript of today’s chat with Tim Dierkes.

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MLBTR Chats

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Yankees Activate Aaron Hicks, Place Jonathan Loaisiga On Injured List

By Connor Byrne | May 13, 2019 at 2:20pm CDT

May 13: The Yankees announced that Hicks has been reinstated from the injured list. To clear a spot on the roster, fellow outfielder Mike Tauchman has been optioned to Triple-A.

The Yankees’ total count of players on the injured list won’t decrease, however, as the team announced that scheduled starter Jonathan Loaisiga has been scratched and placed on the 10-day IL due to a strained right shoulder. In his place, righty Chance Adams has been called up from Triple-a.

May 12: The Yankees will activate center fielder Aaron Hicks from the injured list Monday, manager Aaron Boone announced (via James Wagner of the New York Times). It’ll be a long-awaited return for Hicks, who has been on the shelf since early March with lower back issues.

Hicks’ injury was one of the earliest hits the Yankees took amid an absurd run of early season ailments. Since Hicks went down, the Yankees have dealt with key injuries to fellow foundational players in Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino, Miguel Andujar and Dellin Betances, among others. Even though the Yankees have largely been without everyone from that group and haven’t been able to simultaneously deploy their top outfielders – Hicks, Judge and Stanton – the club has still stormed to a 23-16 record.

The Yankees were 90-plus-win title contenders in each of the previous two seasons, thanks in no small part to Hicks, who broke out in 2017. The former Twin, 29, combined for 8.2 fWAR over 942 plate appearances the past two years on the strength of a .255/.368/.470 line (127 wRC+), solid defense and quality baserunning. The switch-hitting Hicks’ 2017-18 output led to a seven-year, $70MM extension from the Yankees in late February, but he hasn’t taken a big league at-bat since reeling in that payday.

With Hicks set to man center upon his return, veteran Brett Gardner will return to the corner outfield. Gardner has struggled mightily over the past couple weeks, though, and could be in line for reduced playing time with in-season pickup Cameron Maybin playing well and fellow recent addition Mike Tauchman performing better than expected. Clint Frazier has been the most effective regular of the bunch this year, but like Gardner, he has been mired in a slump of late.

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New York Yankees Aaron Hicks Chance Adams Jonathan Loaisiga

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What Are The Giants Doing In The Outfield?

By Tim Dierkes | May 13, 2019 at 1:52pm CDT

We are regularly asked questions about the state of the Giants’ outfield, so I decided to assess the 10 (soon to be 11) players they’ve used out there so far.  I also took a look at their options in the upper minors.

Outfielders The Giants Have Used In Their First 40 Games

Left Field

  • Gerardo Parra (40.7% of defensive innings) – Parra signed a minor league deal in February and broke camp with the big league club, but was designated for assignment on May 3rd, signed with the Nationals, and has started their last three games.  The Giants pulled the plug on the 32-year-old veteran after 97 plate appearances.
  • Yangervis Solarte (12.0%) – Much like Parra, Solarte was a veteran signed to a minor league deal in February who made the big league team but is now out of the organization.  Solarte received 78 plate appearances.  It should be noted that he’s much more of an infielder by trade.
  • Tyler Austin (10.7%) – A 13th round draft pick of the Yankees in 2010 after serving as a catcher in high school, Austin began seeing significant outfield time in the minors in 2012.  According to Baseball America after that season, Austin combined “physical maturity with athleticism” and ascended to Double-A as well as a 60 grade in their prospect rankings.  He was considered one of the 80 best prospects in the game at the time.  Perhaps with a contribution from a wrist injury, Austin’s status as a prospect took a tumble after he played regularly at Double-A in 2013.  BA still considered Austin “a potential everyday outfielder” after another injury-affected season at that level in 2014.  He started 2015 at Triple-A but was demoted back to Double-A in August, finally getting designated for assignment by the Yankees to make room on the 40-man roster for September call-ups.  Austin passed through waivers at that time.
  • Austin battled his way back to Triple-A in the summer of 2016 and raked in 57 games, finally getting a shot with the big league club alongside Aaron Judge.  A broken foot sidelined Austin in February 2017, and once he was healthy in June, he soon replaced Chris Carter as part of the Yankees’ first base mix.  Soon after, Austin returned to the DL with a hamstring injury.  He spent the rest of 2017 bouncing up and down from Triple-A, but managed to break camp with the big league club in 2018 due to a Greg Bird injury.  At the ’18 trade deadline, the Yankees dealt Austin to the Twins as part of the return for Lance Lynn.  Austin was in the Twins’ DH/first base mix for the rest of that season, but found himself competing for a backup role this season after Minnesota added C.J. Cron and Marwin Gonzalez.  Though he broke camp with the Twins, Austin was quickly designated for assignment in April this year when they needed bullpen help.  The Giants picked him up via trade, and despite a minor elbow injury Austin has hit well in his 47 plate appearances for San Francisco.  Austin has split his time between left field and first base, the latter of which is typically manned by Brandon Belt.  The 27-year-old Austin has struck out a ton but has also showed good power in his scattered 456 big league plate appearances.  He’s out of minor league options and the 17-23 Giants represent a great opportunity for Austin, particularly if Belt is traded this summer.  That said, Austin has started only three of the Giants’ last ten games.
  • Mac Williamson (9.8%) – Williamson was drafted by the Giants out of Wake Forest in the third round in 2012, a known overdraft at the time according to Baseball America.  BA graded Williamson as a 50 prospect, noting huge raw power, questionable contact skills, “surprising athleticism,” and an impressive work ethic.  After a strong 2013 season at High-A, Williamson was upgraded to a 55 grade prospect by BA, but he went down for Tommy John surgery in April 2014.  The injury did little to dim Williamson’s star, and he moved through Double and Triple-A quickly in 2015, earning a September call-up to the Giants.  In need of regular at-bats, Williamson started the 2016 season back at Triple-A.  At the time, BA’s outlook was that “his power and on-base give him a chance to be a useful big leaguer, though his swing is not conducive for a player who plays sporadically.”  Williamson was up and down for much of 2016, hitting the DL in August with a shoulder injury and then in September with a quad injury.  His competition for regular playing time in 2017 was interrupted with another quad injury, and he again bounced up and down from Triple-A to the Giants that year.  Williamson revamped his swing before the 2018 campaign, finding his way back to the Majors before the end of April.  He endured a concussion in late April that effectively ruined his season.  There was a point in March this year when Williamson was the leader for the Giants’ starting left field job, but he was designated for assignment weeks later, which says a lot about the team’s outfield situation.  He cleared waivers, raked at Triple-A for a month, and was re-added to the Giants’ 40-man last week.  Williamson, now 28, has never had an extended period as a starting player for the Giants.  Like Austin, he’s out of minor league options and must make the most of a great opportunity.  He’s said to be getting an “extended look as the starting left fielder,” which in light of Williamson’s recent DFA suggests either that the Giants are very fickle about what constitutes a starter, or they’re just desperate.
  • Connor Joe (9.3%) – Joe was drafted 39th overall out of the University of San Diego by the Pirates in 2014.  He was traded to the Braves for Sean Rodriguez in August 2017, and then to the Dodgers for international pool money the following month.  The Reds snagged Joe in the 2018 Rule 5 draft with an eye on his work at the catcher position, but dealt him to the Giants in March this year.  The Giants gave Joe eight games (including the Opening Day left field nod) before designating him for assignment, and he has now been returned to the Dodgers organization.
  • Mike Gerber (8.2%) – Gerber was drafted by the Tigers in the 15th round out of Creighton in 2014.  Baseball America considered Gerber a “possible late round bargain” after his pro debut.  Though Gerber was old for Low-A in 2015, he hit well and saw his status upgraded to a 50 prospect by BA.  At the time, BA suggested that at least some scouts saw him as a possible big league regular in right field.  Gerber made it to Double-A the following year, and the Tigers saw fit to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.  Gerber spent 2018 moving up and down between Triple-A and the Majors, struggling in his brief big league sample.  The Giants claimed him off waivers in December, but designated him for assignment in January upon signing Drew Pomeranz.  Gerber cleared waivers at the time, began his year with a strong run at Triple-A, and was re-added to the Giants’ 40-man roster on May 3rd.  The 26-year-old was optioned back to Triple-A last week.  The Giants’ actions suggest they see Gerber as a depth piece.
  • Brandon Belt (7.6%) – The veteran Belt has generally played first base, but has dabbled in left field over the years.  Belt, 31, is owed the remainder of his $16MM salary this year plus $32MM from 2020-21.  Though he has a limited no-trade clause, Belt’s contract and recent injury history are the bigger impediments to a deal.
  • Michael Reed (1.7%) – Reed was a fifth-round draft pick by the Brewers in 2011.  Before the 2017 season, Baseball America wrote, “Reed’s ceiling appears to be extra outfielder with on-base ability and speed, though as a right-handed hitter, he will need to shine in those areas to elevate himself above lefthanded candidates for the bench.”  Reed was removed from the Brewers’ 40-man roster that summer and spent time with the Braves in 2018 before being claimed off waivers by the Twins.  The Giants picked him up in a March trade and though he made the Opening Day roster when Williamson was designated for assignment (and started that first game in right field), Reed himself was designated on April 2nd when the club acquired Kevin Pillar.  He remained in the organization on a minor league deal.
  • Breakouts are always possible, but it’s difficult to see anyone who has played left field for the Giants this year as a likely long-term piece.

Center Field

  • Kevin Pillar (82.9%) – The Giants acquired Pillar in a trade with the Blue Jays on April 2nd.  The veteran Pillar is generally known for his glovework, though it seems to have slipped this year in a small sample.  Pillar has always been a below-average hitter.  He’s earning $5.8MM this season and though he’s controllable for 2020, my guess is that he’ll be playing elsewhere.
  • Steven Duggar (17.1%) – Duggar was drafted by the Giants out of Clemson in the sixth round in 2015.  After his pro debut, Baseball America rated Duggar as a 45 prospect with plus speed and a plus arm who had nonetheless disappointed scouts in games to that point.  His star brightened to a 50 grade after a 2016 season that saw Duggar reach Double-A, with BA writing, “Duggar is a premium athlete who is proving he can hit.”  He missed a large chunk of the 2017 season due to hip and elbow injuries, but played in the Arizona Fall League and nearly broke camp with the Giants in 2018.  He got the call in July after the Giants traded Austin Jackson but suffered a shoulder injury in late August.  The injury required season-ending surgery, but Duggar made it back to begin the year as the Giants’ Opening Day center fielder.  So far though Duggar has spent much more time in right field, which makes sense given the Pillar acquisition.  Barring a breakout, Duggar’s bat would really only seem to play in center field.  The acquisition of Pillar, who is not a long-term piece for the Giants, seemingly denies a chance to see whether Duggar can settle in as the team’s everday center fielder.

Right Field

  • Steven Duggar (73.3%) – Duggar has shown well defensively in his 261-inning right field sample this year, but again, the bat profiles in center.
  • Gerardo Parra (19.9%)
  • Michael Reed (3.7%)
  • Mac Williamson (2.5%)
  • Brandon Belt (0.6%)

The Giants’ Most Recent Outfield Acquisition

  • On Saturday, the Giants claimed Aaron Altherr off waivers from the Phillies.  Now 28, Altherr was drafted by the Phillies out of high school in the ninth round a decade ago.  The Fresh Prince of Altherr has shown flashes of brilliance in his 332 game Phillies career, particularly in a 2017 season in which he posted a 121 wRC+ in 107 games.  Altherr was considered a high risk, high reward player when he was drafted.  Like many of the Giants’ outfielders, Altherr is out of minor league options and has a lengthy injury history but could become interesting if he takes advantage of his shot at regular playing time.  The Giants had mostly settled into a Williamson-Pillar-Duggar alignment from left to right, and it remains to be seen how Altherr fits in.

Down On the Farm

  • The Giants have one premium outfield prospect in Heliot Ramos.  However, he’s only at High A plus he’s currently on the IL for an LCL sprain.  According to MLB Pipeline, Ramos’ ETA is 2021.  Prospects Alexander Canario, Jairo Pomares, and Sandro Fabian are also not close to the Majors.
  • At Triple-A, the Giants have the aforementioned Gerber still on the 40-man roster, while Reed would need to be re-added (the Giants’ 40-man roster is currently full).
  • Also on the 40-man is Austin Slater, the Giants’ eighth round draft pick from 2014.  Slater has a good amount of big league experience and he’s playing well at Sacramento.  This year he’s played first base more than anything at Triple-A, and otherwise he’s mostly just a left field option.  He was generally a regular in the Giants’ outfield in the summer of 2017 until sustaining a hip injury and a sports hernia.  Slater was up and down in 2018 and figures to face a similar fate this year.  He’s played five different positions at Triple-A in the early going, but mostly first base.  Slater projected as a second-division regular as of about a year ago, according to Baseball America.
  • The Giants’ Triple-A roster also includes outfielders career minor leaguers Anthony Garcia, Henry Ramos, and Mike Yastrzemski.  While any of them could conceivably help the big league club in a pinch, they’re all at least 27 years old and aren’t considered prospects.
  • The Giants’ Double-A roster includes Chris Shaw, who is on the 40-man roster after a cup of coffee last September.  Shaw, the Giants’ first-round pick in 2015, was said by BA to have “top-of-the-scale raw power” after being drafted.  He’s a below-average defender at left field and first base, according to BA, so his bat will have to carry him.  Shaw was surprisingly demoted to Double-A to start the season, but the 25-year-old still has a chance to help the Giants this year and even carve out a future as a regular.
  • The Giants also have Heath Quinn, Jacob Heyward, and Johneshwy Fargas at Double-A.  Quinn rated as a 45 prospect prior to the season, though he’s struggled in his first 107 plate appearances in trying to make the jump to Double-A.  Jacob Heyward, Jason’s younger brother, rates as just a 40 prospect at MLB Pipeline but is performing well in the early going for the Flying Squirrels.
  • The Giants will draft tenth overall this June, and FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel reported, “The rumor is that this is another pick that will go college, and likely a college hitter, with new Giants GM Farhan Zaidi having prized versatility and defensive value when building the Dodgers.”  So that pick could certainly be used on an outfielder.

It’s early, but Zaidi hasn’t acquitted himself well with regard to his outfield.  After Bryce Harper went to the Phillies, the Giants had something of a blank canvas in the outfield that would ideally allow them to find a diamond in the rough or at least give semi-interesting prospects regular playing time.  Instead both Opening Day corner outfielders are gone, the dalliance with Parra was brief, Williamson went from DFA to starter, Pillar was acquired to push Duggar to right, and now Altherr is in the mix.  There’s actually some real talent in the Giants’ outfield mix, but so far the team hasn’t inspired confidence in how they’re doling out playing time.

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MLBTR Originals San Francisco Giants

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Giants Designate Erik Kratz For Assignment

By Steve Adams | May 13, 2019 at 12:20pm CDT

The Giants announced Monday that they’ve designated veteran catcher Erik Kratz for assignment. The organization will have a week to trade Kratz, release him, or pass him through outright waivers if they still wish to attempt to keep him in the organization.

Kratz, 38, has hit just .125/.222/.281 in his 36 plate appearances as a backup to Buster Posey so far in 2019. The Giants picked up in a spring trade with the Brewers as part of a series of acquisitions aimed at bolstering the organization’s catching depth. However, while Posey is currently on the injured list, San Francisco has seen Stephen Vogt reemerge as an option at the MLB level in addition to the much younger Aramis Garcia.

Kratz become a beloved figure in Milwaukee during his late-season run there last season and has often drawn praise for his leadership and clubhouse presence. He’s never hit much at the big league level (.208/.256/.360), but he does have some pop in his bat, a 32 percent caught-stealing rate in his career and a strong track record a pitch framer (per Baseball Prospectus).

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San Francisco Giants Transactions Erik Kratz

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Athletics Designate Kendrys Morales For Assignment

By Steve Adams | May 13, 2019 at 12:00pm CDT

The Athletics have designate first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales for assignment, manager Bob Melvin announced Monday in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (Twitter link, with audio). His spot on the active roster will go to Mark Canha, who has been activated from the injured list.

“Unfortunately, we had to let him go,” Melvin said of the decision to designate Morales. “I’ll tell you what, this guy, maybe he didn’t put up great numbers, but this is a terrific teammate. Yesterday, he didn’t play, and there’s a lot of speculation about him going away, and all he’s doing is rooting for every guy we have on every pitch. … Unfortunately, we don’t have room for him right now, and somebody’s going to pick him up. I know that, but boy, we really enjoyed our time with him. He’s a real pro.”

It was indeed a struggle for Morales, 35, during his limited time with the A’s. Oakland acquired him in late March after losing Matt Olson to a hand injury, and Morales saw pretty regular playing time at first base and DH. However, in his 126 plate appearances with the organization, he hit just .204/.310/.259 with one home run.

Morales drew his share of walks and didn’t strike out at a high clip, but the veteran slugger wasn’t able to produce enough at the plate for the organization to consider retaining him as a bench bat now that Olson is back in the lineup. With Olson and Canha both healthy and Khris Davis entrenched at designated hitter, there’s not much of a role in Oakland for Morales at this point.

The Athletics will have a week to trade or release Morales. Though he played the field in Oakland, most clubs will look at him as a pure DH option, so he’s likeliest to land with an American League club. The Indians have been mixing at matching throughout their lineup all season and parted ways with Hanley Ramirez already, while the Twins are evaluating Nelson Cruz for a potential injury. Morales could also latch on with a non-contender who hopes to bring in a veteran leader that can mentor a younger, developing core of players.

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Newsstand Oakland Athletics Transactions Kendrys Morales Mark Canha

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Rays, Mets Complete Wilmer Font Trade

By Steve Adams | May 13, 2019 at 11:16am CDT

The Rays have acquired right-hander Neraldo Catalina from the Mets as the player to be named later in last week’s trade that sent righty Wilmer Font from Tampa Bay to New York.

Catalina, 18, has yet to pitch in a professional game and hasn’t even been in the Mets organization for one calendar year. He was signed out of the Dominican Republic last July 2 and received a $150K signing bonus at the time, as Baseball America’s Ben Badler recently noted in reviewing the team’s 2018-19 international free-agent class. Badler notes that Catalina is already a massive 6’6″ and 205 pounds with a fastball that reaches 95 mph and a power slider. Obviously, he’s years away from being any kind of factor in the Majors, but he seemingly makes a nice lottery-ticket arm to add to the minor league ranks in Tampa.

Font, 28, has made just one appearance for the Mets since the time of the trade. He tossed four innings in a spot start and allowed a pair of runs on three hits with no walks allowed and one strikeout. He had a tough start to the season with the Rays — nine runs on 15 hits and five walks in 14 innings — but he’s a fairly hard-throwing righty who has seen a substantial uptick in swinging-strike and strikeout rate so far in 2019. Font is out of minor league options, so he’ll have to stick on the Mets’ roster moving forward or else be passed through waivers before he can be sent to the minor leagues.

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New York Mets Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Wilmer Font

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Rafael Devers Unwilling To Play First Base

Pirates Fire Manager Derek Shelton

Mariners Claim Leody Taveras

Rangers Hire Bret Boone As Hitting Coach

A.J. Minter To Undergo Season-Ending Lat Surgery

Angels, Sammy Peralta Agree To Minor League Deal

Nathaniel Lowe Drawing Trade Interest

Nationals Recall Robert Hassell III For MLB Debut, Place Dylan Crews On Injured List

MLB Mailbag: Soto, Simpson, Phillies, Brewers, Herrera

Report: “No Chance” Paul Skenes Will Be Traded This Year

Pirates’ Jared Jones, Enmanuel Valdez Undergo Season-Ending Surgeries

Dodgers Release Austin Barnes

Orioles Activate Andrew Kittredge

Mariners Designate Casey Lawrence For Assignment, Select Jesse Hahn

Ronel Blanco Being Evaluated For Elbow Soreness

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