Mets Release Anderson Severino
The Mets have released left-hander Anderson Severino, according to The Athletic’s Will Sammon. Severino was designated for assignment last week, and Sammon indicates that the release was granted so Severino could sign with a Japanese team.
The southpaw is no stranger to international play, as Severino pitched in the Mexican League during the 2024-25 seasons. He made his return to affiliated ball this year after signing a minor league deal with the Mets over the offseason, and Severino posted a 1.31 ERA over 20 2/3 innings with Triple-A Syracuse. Despite the impressive ERA, Severino’s grounder-heavy (51.1% groundball rate) got a lot of help from a .229 BABIP, and his 13.8% walk rate indicated some control issues.
Those under-the-hood numbers were likely the reason why the Mets (despite their penchant for cycling through relievers) didn’t give Severino a look at the MLB level. His only Major League experience consists of six games and 7 1/3 innings with the White Sox in 2022, as Severino posted a 6.14 ERA over his couple of weeks in the Show.
Severino has worked as a reliever for almost the entirety of his pro career, so he isn’t likely to explore a move to starting pitching in Nippon Professional Baseball. A good showing in Japan could very well get Severino back onto the radar for big league teams down the road, or perhaps lead to a longer stint in NPB for the 31-year-old.
Mets Select Cionel Perez, Designate Anderson Severino
The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Cionel Perez from Triple-A Syracuse. To create room on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, right-hander Tobias Myers was optioned to Triple-A and left-hander Anderson Severino was designated for assignment.
Perez signed a minor league deal with the Nationals last offseason and then made the Opening Day roster, thus guaranteeing a $1.9MM salary for the 2026 season. After struggling to a 6.19 ERA over 16 games and innings, Perez was outrighted off Washington’s 40-man roster at the start of May, and he rejected that outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Mets came calling with another minors contract just a couple of days later, and Perez will get another chance to get his 2026 season (and to some extent his career) back in the right direction.
A veteran of nine MLB seasons, Perez’s best work came with the Orioles from 2022-24, when he posted a 3.12 ERA and allowed only four homers over 164 2/3 innings out of the Baltimore pen. The grounder specialist’s ability to keep the ball in the park helped paper over some uninspiring strikeout and walk rates, but since Opening Day 2025, Perez has a 7.41 ERA over 37 2/3 big league innings, with 29 walks and only 30 strikeouts. While he is still generating grounders at an elite rate, Perez has given up five homers in his last two seasons of work, so batters are doing heavy damage when they’re able to get the ball in the air.
It remains to be seen if Perez can get on track in Queens, or if he might soon find himself back in DFA limbo as part of the Mets’ neverending bullpen churn. Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, and now David Peterson represent other left-handed options in New York’s relief corps, and Perez might just be on board for a cup of coffee as a fresh arm after the Mets went 10 innings in yesterday’s 9-7 win over the Marlins.
Since Perez has more than five years of MLB service time, he was able to retain his 2026 salary even after declining his outright assignment from the Nationals. That means that Washington will owe him the rest of that $1.9MM, with the Mets on the hook for just the prorated portion of a Major League minimum salary for any time Perez spends on the active roster.
Severino’s big league resume consists of six games and 7 1/3 innings (with a 6.14 ERA) for the White Sox in 2022. After being cut loose by the Sox following that season, he spent the next three seasons outside of affiliated baseball, including two years in the Mexican League before the Mets signed Severino to a minors contract in November.
New York selected Severino’s contract to its 40-man roster 11 days ago but optioned Severino to Triple-A, probably indicating that Severino had some kind of opt-out clause in his deal if he wasn’t included on a 40-man roster. His 1.31 ERA and 51.1% grounder rate over 20 2/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse could draw some attention on the waiver wire, but those impressive numbers are undermined by a .229 BABIP and 13.8% walk rate, plus Severino’s 25% strikeout rate isn’t anything special.
Myers’ demotion to Triple-A is also worth mentioning, as he has a 4.05 ERA over 33 1/3 innings this season (working as a proper reliever in 18 games and making two pseudo-starts as an opener). His ability to pitch multiple innings as been helpful for the Mets, but Myers has allowed at least one earned run in four of his last five outings, and he was charged for two runs during an inning of work yesterday. Myers will probably be called back up before too long, particularly if Perez is indeed just in the Show for a short amount of time.
Mets Select Anderson Severino
The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Anderson Severino. He has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, so he will stick with that club, but he is now on the 40-man and will be a candidate to be recalled to the active roster going forward. Pitchers have to wait 15 days after being optioned before they can be recalled, though exceptions are made when someone else hits the injured list or a club needs a 27th man for a doubleheader. Right-hander Clay Holmes was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move 40-man move. Holmes recently suffered a fibula fracture and is expected to be out of action until August.
The announcement from the Mets said that Severino was optioned after last night’s game, so the Severino/Holmes moves seemingly happened yesterday. The Mets also officially announced today’s earlier-reported outfield moves, with Austin Slater designated for assignment and Nick Morabito recalled. Those moves drop the 40-man count to 39, so the club has an opening for Zach Thornton, who is going to be selected on Wednesday. Thornton will fill the 40-man tomorrow but the Mets will need to make a corresponding active roster move for him.
Severino, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the offseason. It’s possible that the pact contained some kind of opt-out or assignment clause. That usually explains why a club would add a player to its 40-man roster and then immediately option him. Giving him a spot prevents him from opting out or getting sent elsewhere, but also doesn’t require the club to immediately call the player up, which would then require a corresponding move. There have also been a few cases where a player has been given a roster spot to prevent him from pursuing an opportunity overseas.
Whatever the reasoning, it’s understandable that the Mets don’t want Severino to get away, as he is out to a hot start. He has thrown 17 1/3 Triple-A innings so far this year, allowing just 1.04 earned runs per nine. His 12.1% walk rate is quite high but he has punched out 27.3% of batters faced and induced grounders on 52.6% of balls in play. His ERA has gotten some help from a .231 batting average on balls in play and 83.3% strand rate but Severino’s 3.00 FIP suggests he would be getting good results even with more neutral luck. His fastball is averaging just over 96 miles per hour and he’s throwing a mid-80s slider almost a third of the time, along with a rarely-used curve.
It’s not the first time Severino has posted good numbers in the minors but he has only received a brief look the majors. His big league track record currently consists of just 7 1/3 innings tossed for the White Sox in 2022.
He is not quite back to the majors just yet but he is now in a good position to return to the show for the first time in four years. The Mets have two lefties in their bullpen at the moment but one of them is long man Sean Manaea, meaning that Brooks Raley is effectively the only proper southpaw reliever. If they want to add another lefty or just need a fresh arm at some point in the future, Severino is now on the 40-man and could get the call.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Mets Sign Robert Stock, Nick Burdi To Minor League Deals
The Mets have agreed to minor league contracts with pitchers Robert Stock, Nick Burdi and Anderson Severino and with outfielder Jose Ramos, according to SNY. Mike Rodriguez reported the Severino agreement a couple weeks ago, while Burdi’s deal first appeared on the MLB.com transaction log. Stock has confirmed his signing on social media. All four players receive invitations to big league camp.
Burdi and Stock each spent the 2025 season in the Red Sox organization. They both got brief looks in Alex Cora’s bullpen. Burdi tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and a pair of walks over four appearances. The 32-year-old has good stuff but has never been able to stay healthy. He missed a couple months with a foot injury this year and has previously had thoracic outlet syndrome, two Tommy John surgeries, appendicitis, and hip issues. Burdi has a career 3.05 ERA with a 31.3% strikeout rate in 76 2/3 Triple-A innings. He has pitched in parts of six MLB campaigns but has yet to reach even 10 big league innings in a season because of the injuries.
Stock, 36, made two appearances for the Sox this year. He walked four batters and gave up three runs over 2 2/3 innings. Stock has worked as a reliever in MLB but started 15 of 19 outings at Triple-A Worcester. He tossed 85 innings with a 3.92 ERA while punching out an above-average 26.2% of batters faced. Stock hasn’t found much MLB success since turning in a 2.50 ERA over 32 appearances as a rookie with the 2018 Padres. He still sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and has intrigued various teams as a depth signing. Stock previously spent time in the Mets’ system, starting four Triple-A games for the organization in 2021.
Severino is a 31-year-old lefty reliever who pitched six times for the White Sox in 2022. He has spent the past two seasons pitching in the Mexican League. Severino has tossed eight innings of two-run ball with 11 punchouts in the Dominican Winter League to get back to affiliated ball. Ramos, 25 in January, has never played in the majors. He spent seven seasons in the Dodgers’ system and combined for a .251/.326/.456 batting line between their top two minor league affiliates in 2025. The right-handed hitter changes organizations for the first time as a minor league free agent.
White Sox Claim Nicholas Padilla, Designate Anderson Severino
The White Sox have claimed right-hander Nicholas Padilla off waivers from the Cubs and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte, tweets Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. Southpaw Anderson Severino was designated for assignments to open a spot on the 40-man roster.
Padilla, 25, has one big league game under his belt. He was called up by the Cubs late last month, and he worked 1 2/3 innings of one-run ball during his lone relief appearance. He leaned primarily on a 93 MPH cutter during that outing, per Statcast, and was optioned after the game. The Cubs designated him for assignment earlier this week when the need for a 40-man roster spot arose to bring back Michael Hermosillo from the injured list.
A former Rays draftee, Padilla has spent the past two seasons in the Cubs organization. He’s had a breakout showing across three minor league levels this year, pitching at High-A, Double-A and Triple-A. He owns a cumulative 2.11 ERA in 47 innings over that stretch, striking out a quality 30.5% of batters. Padilla’s 13.7% walk rate is a red flag, but the Sox are intrigued enough by his swing-and-miss capabilities to add him as a depth player. This is the first of three minor league option years, so Chicago can keep him in the minors for the foreseeable future if he holds a spot on the 40-man roster.
Severino, who turns 28 later this month, has made his first six MLB appearances this year. The southpaw has struck out nine batters and averaged 96.6 MPH on his heater, but he’s also walked four opponents. He’s had a dismal season throwing strikes in the minors, walking a staggering 27.3% of batters faced over 22 2/3 innings with Charlotte. The abundance of free passes has translated to a 12.31 ERA that pushes him out of the immediate mix.
The White Sox will place Severino on waivers in the next few days. The Dominican Republic native has never been outrighted and doesn’t have a requisite three years service time to refuse a minor league assignment, so he’d remain in the organization if he goes unclaimed.
White Sox Place Lucas Giolito, AJ Pollock On Injured List
1:25pm: It’ll be Lambert starting in place of Giolito this week, GM Rick Hahn tells reporters (Twitter links via Scott Merkin of MLB.com). Hahn added that the Sox are “not necessarily expecting him to go out there and get us deep into the game” but rather to open the game with a few quality innings before turning things over to the ‘pen.
10:40am: The White Sox announced Tuesday that right-hander Lucas Giolito and outfielder AJ Pollock have both been placed on the 10-day injured list. Giolito left his season debut with an abdominal strain, and the Sox had already revealed that he’s expected to miss at least two starts. Pollock, meanwhile is dealing with a hamstring strain that forced him from Saturday’s game. The ChiSox recalled right-hander Jimmy Lambert and lefty Anderson Severino from Triple-A Charlotte in a pair of corresponding moves.
Giolito hurled four shutout frames before exiting his debut tilt, and he’ll now be sidelined for at least his next two turns through the rotation. His placement on the 10-day IL is retroactive to April 9, so he’s eligible for return beginning on April 19. Giolito joins right-hander Lance Lynn on the shelf, though Lynn is expected to miss considerably more time than him after undergoing knee surgery.
With their top two starters out of action, the White Sox will likely look to Dylan Cease, Dallas Keuchel, Michael Kopech, Vince Velasquez and Reynaldo Lopez to shoulder the workload in the rotation for the time being. Lambert worked three innings in his lone Triple-A appearance thus far, so he could be an option to provide some length along with Velasquez and Lopez at the back of the rotation. Chicago also inked veteran Johnny Cueto to a minor league deal earlier in the month, but he’s still building up toward game readiness after lingering as a free agent throughout the majority of Spring Training.
It’s not yet clear how much time Pollock will be expected to miss, though it’s certainly worth noting that his placement on the IL is retroactive to April 10. Acquired in a straight-up swap that sent Craig Kimbrel to the Dodgers, the 34-year-old Pollock has gotten out to a 4-for-7 start in his brief White Sox tenure so far. His absence will open the door for some additional at-bats in the outfield for Gavin Sheets, Andrew Vaughn and Adam Engel. Both Sheets and Vaughn were getting some early outfield work in just minutes after the announcement, tweets James Fegan of The Athletic.
White Sox Outright Four Players
The White Sox announced Friday that outfielder Brian Goodwin, right-hander Evan Marshall, right-hander Jimmy Cordero and left-hander Jace Fry have cleared outright waivers and been removed from the 40-man roster. All four will become free agents. Chicago has also selected the contract of left-hander Anderson Severino from Triple-A Charlotte, bringing their current 40-man roster to a total of 34 players.
Signed to a minor league deal during the season, the veteran Goodwin was quickly brought to the big league club as the Sox found themselves reeling from injuries to Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert. While Goodwin’s overall .221/.319/.374 batting line doesn’t stand out, he played a vital role in stabilizing the outfield mix over the summer, and that end-of-season line was dragged down by a pronounced slump late in the year. From mid-June through mid-August, when the Sox’ outfield need was at is peak, Goodwin turned in a .246/.331/.465 batting line through 161 plate appearances, chipping in seven homers, eight doubles and a triple.
Unfortunately, things went south in a hurry. Goodwin hit just .183/.300/.237 in his final 110 plate appearances, ceding at-bats to both Robert and Jimenez as they returned from injury. Goodwin, who turned 31 earlier this week, will head back to the free-agent market as a lifetime .244/.318/.440 hitter in 1395 plate appearances between the Nats, Angels, Royals, Reds and ChiSox.
Marshall, also 31, is set for Tommy John surgery this week and will likely miss the entire 2022 season, so it’s no surprise to see the Sox remove him from the roster. It’s possible they’ll look to re-sign him to a minor league pact so he can rehab with the team but not occupy a 40-man spot all winter, though he’ll have the opportunity to talk with other clubs now.
A minor-league signee after being cut loose by Cleveland following the 2018 season, Marshall pitched well with the ChiSox from 2019-20, notching to a 2.45 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate and against a 10.3% walk rate. He struggled to an ERA of 5.60 in 27 1/3 innings this season, however, before going on the injured list and eventually being diagnosed with a ligament tear that will necessitate that Tommy John procedure.
The 30-year-old Cordero underwent Tommy John surgery himself this year but did so way back in March, meaning he’ll likely be ready early in the 2022 season. The 6’4″, 240-pound righty had a nice run with the 2019 Sox after they picked him up off waivers, notching a 2.75 ERA in 36 frames. That ERA jumped to 6.08 in 2020, however, thanks in no small part to a sky-high .352 average on balls in play and a fluky 59.6% strand rate. (Cordero’s 3.87 FIP was more than two runs lower than his ERA.) Cordero hasn’t found much MLB success yet, but he boasts a career 97.8 mph average on his heater and ought to find several clubs interested in a minor league deal/Spring Training invite.
Fry, 28, posted a 4.43 ERA and punched out 29.6% of his opponents in 126 frames for the White Sox from 2018-20, but back surgery limited him to just 6 2/3 innings this season — during which time he allowed eight runs. Fry has little issue missing bats but has walked an untenable 14% of the opponents he’s faced in the big leagues. Still, a lefty who sits around 93 mph with his heater and can punch out roughly 30% of his opponents should find teams willing to take a look this winter, assuming he’s back up to full strength.
Severino, 27, could’ve become a minor league free agent were he not added to the team’s 40-man roster. He signed a minor league pact after spending the 2014-20 seasons in the Yankees organization and gave the White Sox 45 2/3 innings of 2.36 ERA ball with a 27.3% strikeout rate but a bloated 16.5% walk rate between Double-A and Triple-A. His walk rate did improve upon moving up to Triple-A, and the hard-throwing southpaw certainly missed plenty of bats. Rather than let him pursue a deal with another club, the Sox will carry him on the 40-man roster, making him an option out of the bullpen at any point next season.