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Adonis Medina

Brewers Sign Adonis Medina To Minor-League Deal

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The Brewers have signed right handed reliever Adonis Medina to a minor league deal, according to Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The deal presumably comes with an invite to major league spring training, although that hasn’t been reported. Medina was reported to be close to a move to Korea last night, but instead will stay in the States and look to find opportunities in the Brewers’ bullpen.

Medina, who’ll pitch next season aged 26, threw 23 2/3 innings for the Mets last season, striking out 15.5% of batters and walking 5.5% on the way to a 6.08 ERA. He spent most of the year shuttling between Triple-A and the big leagues, and was optioned nine times during the season. At the top level of the minors, Medina had a 4.65 ERA through 31 innings.

Originally signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Phillies in 2014, he worked his way up through their minor league system, and went on to pitch 11 2/3 innings between 2020-21 to a 3.86 ERA. He was claimed off waivers by the Pirates prior to the 2022 season, but was designated for assignment and traded to the Mets at the start of the regular season.

Medina leans heavily on a sinker-slider mix, but works in a low-90s four-seamer, changeup and curveball into the mix. He’ll give the Brewers a bit of upper-minors pitching depth heading into the new season.

KBO’s Kia Tigers Close To Signing Adonis Medina

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Former Mets pitcher Adonis Medina is close to heading to Korea and joining the Kia Tigers, according to MHN Sports (relayed by Sung Min Kim).

Medina, 26 later this month, pitched 23 2/3 innings for the Mets this year, striking out 15.5% of batters and walking 5.5% on the way to a 6.08 ERA. Advanced metrics looked upon his performance a little more favorably, with his FIP coming in at 4.04. He spent most of the season shuttling between the big leagues and Triple-A and was optioned nine times during the year. At Triple-A, he had a 4.65 ERA through 31 innings.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Phillies back in 2014, he worked his way up through their minor league system before making his debut in 2020. Across 2020-21, Medina threw 11 2/3 innings for the Phillies for a 3.86 ERA.

The Pirates claimed him off waivers prior to the 2022 campaign, and spent the spring with Pittsburgh before they designated him for assignment at the start of the season and subsequently traded him to the Mets. The Mets outrighted him off the roster in September and he elected free agency at the end of the season.

Medina will head to the KBO young enough that a strong season or two over there could stand him in good stead to return to the States and seek big league deals in the future.

Outrights: VanMeter, Vieaux, Bard, Araúz, Medina, Castro, Jewell

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Catching up on some players who were recently designated for assignment…

Latest Moves

  • The Pirates outrighted left-hander Cam Vieaux and infielder Josh VanMeter to Triple-A after the duo each cleared waivers, according to John Dreker of Pirates Prospects (Twitter link).  Vieaux and VanMeter were each designated for assignment earlier this week.  VanMeter hit .187/.266/.292 over 192 PA with Pittsburgh this season, while playing all over the field as a defensive fill-in.  Vieaux made his MLB debut this year, with a 10.38 ERA over 8 2/3 innings in his first taste of big league action.
  • The Yankees announced that right-hander Luke Bard has been outrighted to Triple-A.  Since this isn’t the first time Bard has been outrighted in his career, he can opt for free agency rather than accept the Triple-A assignment.  The righty pitched one game in the pinstripes after being claimed off waivers from the Rays in early August, and for the 2022 season in total, Bard has a 1.80 ERA over 15 innings with Tampa Bay and New York.

Earlier Today

  • The Orioles announced that infielder Jonathan Araúz cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He was claimed off waivers from the Red Sox in June and has gotten into 15 games at the big league level this year between the two clubs. The 24-year-old hit just .132/.150/.211 in that time but provided defensive versatility by playing second base, third base and shortstop. In 35 Triple-A games this year, he’s hit .192/.264/.238. Since this is the first outright of his career and he has less than three years of MLB service time, he won’t have the right to reject the assignment and become a free agent.
  • The Mets outrighted right-hander Adonis Medina, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Medina, 25, was acquired from the Pirates in April for cash considerations and has been tossed between Triple-A and the majors all year long. In 23 2/3 MLB innings, he has a 6.08 ERA, 15.5% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate. In 26 2/3 innings for Syracuse, he has a much better 3.71 ERA and 20.2% strikeout rate, though a much higher walk rate of 12.1%. This is the first outright of his career and he has less than three years of MLB service time, meaning he will have to accept the outright assignment to Syracuse.
  • The Cubs sent right-hander Kervin Castro outright to Triple-A Iowa, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The 23-year-old began the season with the Giants but went to the Cubs on a waiver claim in August. Between the two clubs, he’s thrown 12 1/3 MLB innings this year, but with a 10.22 ERA and 12.3% walk rate. In 34 2/3 Triple-A innings between the two organizations, he has a 5.19 ERA with a 16% walk rate. He has less than three years of MLB service time and this is his first career outright, meaning he will not be eligible to reject this assignment.
  • The Twins sent right-hander Jake Jewell outright to Triple-A St. Paul, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The 29-year-old began the year with the Guardians on a minor league deal, getting selected to the big league roster in August but getting optioned before appearing in a game. He lasted just over a week on the 40-man roster before getting designated for assignment and landing with Minnesota on waivers. In 48 2/3 Triple-A innings between the two organizations, he has a 3.14 ERA, 25.9% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. Unlike the others on this list, he has been previously outrighted in his career. That gives him the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency, though it’s unclear at this point if he has done so.

Mets Designate Adonis Medina For Assignment

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The Mets designated right-hander Adonis Medina for assignment, and also made Max Scherzer’s 15-day IL placement official.  In corresponding moves, New York selected the contract of left-hander Alex Claudio and called up right-hander Yoan Lopez from Triple-A.  Lopez will be the 29th man for today’s doubleheader against the Pirates.

Medina has been up and down from Triple-A multiple times this season, and all of the shuttling may have had an adverse effect on his performance.  The righty has a 6.08 ERA over 23 2/3 innings with the Mets and a more palatable 3.71 ERA in 26 2/3 frames for Triple-A Syracuse, though Medina’s minor league walk rate is a troubling 12.1%.

This is the third time that Medina has been designated for assignment within the last year, with the first of those DFA stints keeping Medina in transactional limbo throughout the entirety of the offseason lockout.  The Pirates claimed Medina off waivers from the Phillies once the lockout was over, and a subsequent DFA from Pittsburgh resulted in Medina being traded to the Mets just prior to Opening Day.

Medina received some top-100 prospect attention as recently as 2019, but he has yet to make a big impact in the majors, pitching only 11 2/3 innings with the Phillies prior to this season.  Generally a below-average strikeout pitcher, Medina has posted grounder rates around the 50% mark during his career, usually relying more on soft contact and keeping the ball in play rather than missed bats.  Medina has worked as a starter for much of his career but he primarily been a reliever this season in Syracuse, and his 14 Mets appearances were all out of the bullpen.

Claudio inked a minor league deal with the Mets during the offseason, and the southpaw is now on the verge of making it a ninth consecutive season with some MLB action.  Speaking of low-strikeout grounder specialists, Claudio has a 17% strikeout rate and 59.8% groundball rate over his 344 1/3 career innings in the majors.  Claudio was a generally reliable bullpen arm throughout his time with the Rangers and Brewers from 2014-20, posting a 3.44 ERA and eating plenty of innings — his 83 appearances led the big leagues in 2019.

The Brewers opted to non-tender Claudio following the 2020 season, in part due to his lack of strikeouts or high velocity, as well as the idea that Claudio (who has pretty big career splits) would be hampered by the three-batter rule.  Signing with the Angels in the 2020-21 offseason, the southpaw had only a 5.51 ERA over 32 2/3 innings with Anaheim in 2021, and also pitched in the Red Sox farm system after the Angels cut him loose midway through the campaign.

The Mets’ lack of left-handed relief depth has been an ongoing story of their season, with Joely Rodriguez being the only southpaw regular within the bullpen mix.  Such left-handed pitchers as Chasen Shreve, Nate Fisher, Rob Zastryzny, Sam Clay, and Thomas Szapucki have all gotten some looks, and Claudio will become the latest southpaw to get a shot at catching on as extra depth.

Mets Notes: Carrasco, Medina, Scherzer

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The Mets will welcome Carlos Carrasco back from the 15-day injured list today, with the veteran righty being activated to start against the Nationals.  Right-hander Adonis Medina was optioned to Triple-A to open up a spot for Carrasco on the active roster.

Carrasco hasn’t pitched since August 15 due to a left oblique strain, though fortunately for both the right-hander and the Mets, it was a lower-grade oblique issue.  Rather than a season-threatening injury, Carrasco is now back after just shy of three weeks on the sidelines, and ready to help the Mets in their bid for the NL East title.  Though the injury wasn’t overly serious, it did have some notable ramifications on Carrasco’s contract, as he now won’t be able to reach the 170 innings necessary to turn the Mets’ $14MM club option for 2023 into a guaranteed year.

However, it is also quite possible the Mets will end up exercising that option anyway, given how solid Carrasco has been this year.  After his first season in New York was marred by injuries, Carrasco has rebounded to post a 3.92 ERA/3.60 SIERA over 126 1/3 innings in 2022.  While his hard-contact numbers are middling and Carrasco has been hampered by a .330 BABIP, he has posted above-average strikeout and walk rates.  As has often been the case throughout his career, Carrasco also still has one of the best chase rates of any pitcher in baseball.

The Mets have an 85-49 record despite playing virtually the entire season without their first-choice rotation, and that trend might be in danger of continuing just as Carrasco makes his return.  Max Scherzer had to leave yesterday’s start after 67 pitches due to what the team described as left side fatigue.

Considering that Scherzer missed close to two months with a oblique strain of his own earlier this season, his removal “was a precautionary move,” the right-hander told MLB.com’s Joe Trezza and other reporters.

“There was nothing that happened.  Nothing tightened up.  Just had general fatigue overall on my left side,” Scherzer said.  “That is where you can run into an injury, when you’re pitching through fatigue….I just couldn’t take any risks, especially where the calendar is at.  There is no time left to re-ramp back up.  I think that played just as important a factor in coming out after five [innings].”

Scherzer said he would be able to make his next start, while Mets manager Buck Showalter was a little less steadfast, instead saying “we’re hopeful [Scherzer] can make his next start.”  New York doesn’t have a game on Thursday, so Scherzer will already get an extra day to rest and recover before he is slated to face the Marlins on September 9.  Given the right-hander’s importance to the Mets’ playoff chances, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that start pushed back or perhaps even scratched if Scherzer has any at all lingering effects from his side issue.

Mets Designate Connor Grey For Assignment

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The Mets have designated righty Connor Grey for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the roster will go to journeyman infielder Deven Marrero, whose previously reported selection from Triple-A has now been made official. New York also recalled right-hander Adonis Medina as the second of their two September call-ups.

Grey, 28, hasn’t pitched in the Majors to this point in his career but was added to the Mets’ 40-man roster last month amid a series of roster moves to get some fresh arms in the ’pen. Grey has made 21 starts and a relief appearance in Triple-A Syracuse but struggled to a 5.52 ERA with lackluster strikeout and walk ratios (17.9% and 9.5%, respectively).

Originally a 20th-round pick by the D-backs in 2016, Grey posted solid numbers up through the Double-A level but has yielded an ERA north of 6.00 in parts of three Triple-A seasons. He’ll be placed on outright waivers or released within the week.

Medina, 25, will give the Mets an extra arm in the bullpen. The former Phillies top prospect has appeared in 13 games with the Mets this season and tallied 23 1/3 innings while pitching to a 4.63 ERA. He’s logged a below-average 16.5% strikeout rate but also walked only 4.9% of his opponents in that small sample. Medina has a 3.71 ERA in 26 1/3 innings with Syracuse, though he’s walked a much more problematic 12.1% of his opponents there.

Mets To Select Deven Marrero

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The Mets are planning to select infielder Deven Marrero onto the major league roster, reports Andy Martino of SNY (Twitter link). New York also plans to recall reliever Adonis Medina from Triple-A Syracuse, Martino adds. That duo will fill the extra two active roster spots with the September expansion from 26 to 28 players. New York will need to make a 40-man roster transaction to accommodate Marrero.

It’ll be the second MLB stint of the season for Marrero. The veteran infielder signed a minor league deal with New York in July and was briefly added to the big league roster a couple weeks ago. He appeared in three games, tallying four plate appearances, before being designated for assignment. After clearing outright waivers, Marrero accepted an assignment back to Triple-A. He’s headed back to the big leagues just a few days later.

Marrero has never been a great hitter, and he carries a .192/.247/.280 line through 371 MLB plate appearances spread over parts of seven seasons. The 32-year-old has posted just a .217/.309/.325 mark with three homers in 36 games with Syracuse this year, bringing his career line at the Triple-A level to .229/.291/.333.

The appeal lies in Marrero’s defensive versatility. He’s best suited for action at third base but capable of manning anywhere on the infield. The former first-rounder has rated as a plus defender at the hot corner throughout his career in the eyes of public metrics, so he’ll offer a glove-first option for manager Buck Showalter. The Mets infield depth has thinned out in recent weeks, with Luis Guillorme and rookie Brett Baty hitting the injured list. Baty is headed for surgery tomorrow to repair a ligament tear in his thumb; he could miss the rest of the 2022 season.

Mets Designate Nick Plummer For Assignment

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The Mets designated outfielder Nick Plummer for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander R.J. Alvarez from Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. New York has also formally placed right-hander Carlos Carrasco on the 15-day injured list due to an oblique strain (as was previously reported), optioned righty Adonis Medina to Syracuse and recalled right-hander Stephen Nogosek from Syracuse. They’ll need to make an additional move tomorrow when they select top prospect Brett Baty to the 40-man roster for his MLB debut.

Plummer, 26, was a first-rounder by the Cardinals back in 2015 and reached minor league free agency following the 2021 season, never having been called up to the big leagues. The Mets inked Plummer to a Major League contract despite that lack of MLB experience, and they indeed gave him his big league debut earlier this season. Plummer excited Mets fans with homers in back-to-back games in late May, but he went hitless over his next 22 plate appearances before being sent back to Triple-A Syracuse.

Things haven’t gone particularly well for Plummer in Syracuse, either. Through 58 games and 246 plate appearances this season, he turned in a lowly .232/.317/.370 batting line — numbers that loosely align with his career .222/.358/.360 output in just over 2000 career plate appearances in the minors. He’ll hit waivers or be released within the next week, as the passing of the trade deadline means that players who are designated for assignment can no longer be traded to other clubs.

The 31-year-old Alvarez will be taking a Major League mound for the first time since way back in 2015 if Showalter calls him into tonight’s game. He’s had a nice year in Syracuse, pitching to a 3.38 ERA in 34 2/3 frames — albeit with an unsightly 13.4% walk rate in that time. This marks the second time Alvarez has been selected to the Major League roster in 2022, but he didn’t get into a game before being optioned back to Syracuse and eventually designated for assignment (and subsequently outrighted). He’s up as an extra arm, and the Mets will need another 40-man move for Baty tomorrow, so it could be yet another brief stay on the 40-man roster for the former Padres and A’s righty.

Mets Place Tylor Megill On 15-Day IL Due To Shoulder Strain

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The Mets have placed right-hander Tylor Megill on the 15-day injured list due to a shoulder strain.  The team announced several other corresponding moves, including righty Adonis Medina being called up from Triple-A, and the selection of Tommy Hunter’s contract (as previously reported).  Right-hander Jake Reed was also optioned to Triple-A, and infielder Gosuke Katoh was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Hunter.

Megill will be shut down for the next four weeks, and the team will then re-evaluate his status.  While the situation is still somewhat fluid, this lengthy shutdown period will likely require a pretty notable ramp-up period afterwards, so it looks like Megill could miss the better part of two months.  A move to the 60-day IL could eventually be possible, depending on New York’s 40-man roster needs and when more details are known about Megill’s status.

Megill has a 5.01 ERA over 41 1/3 innings and nine starts this season, though advanced metrics (3.03 xFIP, 3.24 SIERA) paint a far more favorable picture of the righty’s production.  His 27% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate are both above the league average, even if hitters have found a lot of success in barreling Megill’s offerings.  Megill’s numbers are clouded by one particularly dreadful start against the Nationals on May 11, as Megill allowed eight earned runs over just 1 1/3 innings of work.

The day after that start, Megill was sent to the IL due to right biceps inflammation, which sidelined him for almost a month.  The righty didn’t fare well in two starts in between his IL visits, with an 8.10 ERA over 6 2/3 innings.

The 26-year-old’s early success was a big help to a Mets team that was shorthanded with pitching injuries, but now Megill has joined New York’s still-notable list of absent arms.  Max Scherzer is set for a rehab start next week and could potentially be back from an oblique injury before June is over, though more will be known once Scherzer completes his rehab work.  Jacob deGrom is tentatively set to return at some point in July, after missing the entire season due to a stress reaction in his throwing shoulder (and the last half of the 2021 season due to forearm problems).

Off-days on June 23, June 27, and June 30 will help the Mets manage their rotation, as they might need a replacement for Megill for just one start.  Trevor Williams is probably the likeliest candidate to take that role, or the team could opt for a bullpen game.  If Scherzer is able to return sooner rather than later, he could slide right into that rotation spot.

This is the second time in two months that Katoh has been designated for assignment, as his previous trip to the DFA wire resulted in the Mets claiming the infielder away from the Blue Jays.  A longtime member of the Yankees’ farm system, Katoh made his MLB debut this season, appearing in eight games with Toronto.  In 55 combined plate appearances with the Mets’ and Jays’ Triple-A affiliates this season, Katoh has only a .367 OPS.

Mets Option Dominic Smith

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The Mets announced Tuesday that first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Righty Adonis Medina has been recalled from Triple-A to take his spot on the active roster. Andrew Cohen of Sports Business Journal reported the news before the team announcement (Twitter link).

The demotion to Triple-A is the latest step in a pronounced downturn for Smith, who was one of the better hitters in the National League from 2019-20 when he slashed .299/.366/.571 through 396 trips to the plate. At that point, the former No. 11 overall pick and longtime top prospect looked to have finally solidified himself as a big league regular who could serve as a focal point in the Mets’ lineup for years to come.

The National League didn’t have the luxury of a designated hitter at that point, which complicated things from a playing time vantage point, given that the Mets also had Pete Alonso on the roster. Smith got a look in left field as the Mets hoped to keep both sluggers in the lineup, but through 1240 innings dating back to 2019, he’s posted dismal marks in the eyes of all defensive metrics (-7 Defensive Runs Saved, -8 Ultimate Zone Rating, -15 Outs Above Average).

Had Smith’s bat remained as productive as it was in 2019-20, perhaps the Mets might’ve lived with that poor glovework and given him a full slate of innings in left last year. However, Smith’s downturn at the plate began in 2021, when he slashed just .244/.304/.363 in 493 plate appearances. Smith told reporters this spring that he played through a small tear in his labrum last year (link via SI.com’s Pat Ragazzo), and he’s been been unable to rebound in 2022 while receiving sparse playing time alongside fellow defensively challenged slugger J.D. Davis. Smith has just 101 plate appearances on the year and has turned in a grisly .186/.287/.256 slash.

The Mets reportedly received trade interest on both Smith and Davis over the winter, but even after creating what looked to be an infield/outfield logjam they opted to hold on to both players. Between Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil and offseason signees Eduardo Escobar, Mark Canha and Starling Marte, it wasn’t clear just how Smith and/or Davis would fit into the infield/outfield rotation. So far, they really haven’t Smith’s 101 plate appearances speak to his limited use, and Davis has had even fewer plate appearances (90). Those plate appearance tallies haven’t been impacted by injury, either, as neither player has spent time on the IL in 2022.

Perhaps the Mets weren’t keen to sell low on Smith after he’d been such a productive hitter in 2019-20, but his stock has only dropped since the offseason. He’ll be able to get regular at-bats in Triple-A as he hopes to sort through his issues at the plate, and the hope is, of course, that more frequent reps at the plate will help him unlock his potential. Even if Smith rakes in Syracuse, though, he’ll still be looking up at the same crowded roster that led to such infrequent playing time to begin with.

Smith has been asked repeatedly about whether he’d prefer a trade to another team, and to his credit, he’s generally deflected those opportunities to speak out and stir the pot. Asked about the subject just two weeks ago, Smith reiterated his desire to play every day while continuing to speak positively about the Mets (link via Newsday’s Anthony Rieber). “I like where this team is going,” Smith said at the time. “I feel like I can impact this team in a number of ways, and that’s being [in the lineup] every day, in my opinion.” Smith did, however, acknowledge that the opportunity may not come with the Mets.

It’s a fine line for a player to walk, but it’d have been easy for Smith to clamor for a trade, either via interviews with the Mets beat or by more directly requesting a trade form the front office. To this point, neither has happened, though it’s feasible that being sent to Triple-A for the first time since 2018 (excluding a two-game rehab stint in ’19) could finally push him to do so. Then again, given his struggles since that huge showing in 2019-20 might make other teams wary to aggressively pursue a deal. A contending club, for example, isn’t likely to acquire Smith and plug him right into its everyday lineup, but it stands to reason that a rebuilding club might be more willing to do so.

Smith, after all, is controllable through the 2024 season, so he could be a multi-year piece should any team look to acquire him. Being sent to Triple-A won’t impact that timeline, as he entered the 2022 season with three years and 146 days of MLB service, meaning he needed only 26 days of service to reach four-plus years of service time. He’s already done that, so even in the unlikely event that he remained in Triple-A for the remainder of the season season, he’d still have the service time needed to qualify for free agency post-2024.

Optioning Smith to Triple-A should at least ostensibly appears to open some more playing time for the aforementioned Davis, who has top-of-the-scale exit velocity and hard-hit rates, even if the results aren’t there at this point. It could also mean some additional playing time for rookie Nick Plummer, who just surely turned some heads with a 4-for-8, two-homer showing in the Mets’ pair of games on May 29-30. With Canha, Marte and Nimmo all healthy, Plummer will be viewed more as a reserve option for now, but there’ll be some occasional outfield and DH at-bats available to him.

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