Reds GM Krall: Brandon Drury Extension “Not On The Table”
Brandon Drury has widely been seen as one of the top trade candidates of deadline season, and the Reds infielder seems even more likely to change teams now that a contract extension doesn’t appear to be happening. As Reds GM Nick Krall told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, a long-term deal between Drury and the Reds is “not on the table as of right now.”
It frankly would’ve counted as a surprise if an extension was signed, for a variety of factors. The Reds have already traded Luis Castillo and Tommy Pham as the latest in a series of cost-cutting/rebuilding moves, and it stands to reason that Drury (a free agent after the season) was a natural next piece to be moved, particularly since Drury has drawn interest from at least four teams to date.
2022 has also been easily Drury’s best full season as a Major Leaguer, as he entered today’s action with 20 home runs and a .275/.336/.523 slash line over 381 plate appearances. Drury has more than delivered on the minor league contract he signed with the Reds back in March, which could be another reason why a trade is likelier than an extension — Cincinnati might prefer to sell high on Drury, rather than commit some notable money to a late bloomer who is just weeks away from his 30th birthday.
Still, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal raised the possibility of a Drury extension in a notes column yesterday. It isn’t uncommon for teams to engage in some last-minute extension talks with pending free agents in advance of the trade deadline, as just in case the player is open to more of a team-friendly deal to stay in town. Given Drury’s lack of a proven track record, he might well have been amenable to an extension, in order to lock in some guaranteed money and some stability after playing for five teams in eight MLB seasons.
Mariners, Braves Among Teams Interested in Brandon Drury
The Mariners, Braves and Dodgers are among the teams interested in Brandon Drury, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network.
Drury has seemed like an obvious trade candidate for a few months now, due to a variety of factors. He’s an impending free agent with a modest salary who is playing for a basement-dwelling team. Beyond that, he’s having the best season of his career and is capable of playing multiple positions, making him a fit for many clubs. He is slashing .275/.336/.523 and just hit his 20th home run. That production is 33% better than league average, according to wRC+. He’s also taken the field at all four infield positions this season, in addition to a brief cameo in right field.
The interest from the Dodgers, as well as the Giants, was reported a few weeks ago. As for Seattle and Atlanta, they are likely interested in Drury primarily for second base, despite his ability to play elsewhere. Most of Drury’s work this year has been at the hot corner, with 53 starts there, though he’s also manned the keystone in 20 different contests.
For the Mariners, they’ve given the bulk of this year’s playing time at second base to Adam Frazier, who is having a down year at the plate. After a strong 2021 where he hit .305/.368/.411 for a wRC+ of 114, the Mariners acquired him from the Padres in an offseason trade. Unfortunately, he’s only been able to muster a .244/.304/.312 line for Seattle, amounting to a wRC+ of 81. He’d likely be the infielder most at risk of losing playing time in the event of a Drury trade, with Eugenio Suarez, J.P. Crawford and Ty France occupying the other spots around the diamond. There’s also the possibility of a platoon, as Frazier hits from the left side of the plate and Drury the right.
As for the Braves, their need for help at second base arose when Ozzie Albies suffered a foot fracture in June. He’s been on the shelf about six weeks already and could return in about a month, though he still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. With Albies out of action, most of his playing time has gone to Orlando Arcia, who is hitting .238/.316/.371 on the year. That amounts to a 92 wRC+, which is just 8% below league average but well below Drury’s work on the year. With Dansby Swanson, Austin Riley and Matt Olson taking up the other spots in the dirt, second base would stand out as the most obvious spot to plug Drury if he were to be put into an Atlanta jersey.
For the Reds, they’re well out of contention and have already begun their deadline selloff with Friday’s Luis Castillo trade. Drury seems highly likely to follow him out the door, with Tyler Mahle, Donovan Solano, Tommy Pham also among those that the club will exchange for prospects. The trade deadline is in about 48 hours, 5pm CT on August 2.
NL Central Notes: Cardinals, Mahle, Drury, Quintana, Blue Jays, Sosa
The Cardinals‘ search for starting pitching has taken them inside their division, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (Twitter link) reports that St. Louis is one of the many clubs interested in Reds righty Tyler Mahle. With the Cards looking at all options for rotation help, it only makes sense that they’d be at least checking in on Mahle’s services.
The Phillies, Twins, and Mets are among the clubs linked to Mahle since the start of the season, while the Rangers also reportedly had interest during the offseason. With Luis Castillo already off the board, it’s fair to guess that most pitching-needy teams have spoken to the Reds about Mahle, and on paper the Cardinals have the kind of young talent that the Reds would surely demand. However, it is possible Cincinnati might want a higher price for moving Mahle to a division rival — as Morosi notes, the Reds and Cardinals haven’t completed a player-for-player trade since 1997, so it would count as a surprise on some level if Mahle ended up in St. Louis.
More notes from around the NL Central…
- Just because Castillo has been traded doesn’t mean the Reds are necessarily likelier to hang onto Mahle, since CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson hears that Mahle and Brandon Drury are expected to both be on new teams after the deadline. Drury is a free agent after the season and thus an obvious trade chip, though Mahle is still under team control through 2023. But, it now seems like Cincinnati is going to dive into something close to a full rebuild, a process that really started over the winter when they moved several other veteran talents.
- The Blue Jays are in the mix for Pirates starter Jose Quintana, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, along with such previously-reported suitors as the Yankees and White Sox. The veteran left-hander is having a bounce-back season after struggling in 2019-21, and Quintana could help bolster an inconsistent Toronto rotation. Pirates GM Ben Cherington previously worked in the Jays’ front office, so this familiarity with the AL East side’s prospects could help the Blue Jays in the bidding, though the two sides haven’t completed a player-for-player trade in the two-plus years since Cherington went to Pittsburgh.
- The Yankees were one of the other teams interested in Edmundo Sosa before the Cardinals dealt Sosa to the Phillies, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. Sosa would’ve been an interesting depth add to the Yankees’ infield, and it is even possible that Sosa could have worked his way into a timeshare with Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop.
Dodgers, Giants Among Teams With Interest In Brandon Drury
Reds infielder Brandon Drury is among the more obvious candidates to be traded in the coming weeks, as he’s having an excellent year and is an impending free agent on one of the worst teams in baseball. He was placed in the 13th slot on MLBTR’s recent list of top trade candidates. Andy Martino of SNY took a look at some trade candidates that make sense for the Mets, listing Drury among them, but noting that the Dodgers and Giants are “showing more interest” in Drury right now.
The Dodgers have long had a tendency to covet versatile players and Drury certainly fits that mold. With Cincy this year, Drury has moved around the infield to fill in as needed, depending on the injury status of his teammates. He’s played 51 games at third, 20 games at second, five at first and a couple at short. He hasn’t played the outfield this year but has manned the corners in previous seasons. The advanced metrics differ as to the quality of his glovework overall, but he’s generally viewed as a passable defender wherever he plays on the infield. Along the way, he’s hit 18 home runs and slashed .276/.334/.536 for a wRC+ of 136.
The Dodgers recently placed their incumbent super utility man Chris Taylor on the injured list with a fractured foot. Though he’s going to be out until after the All-Star break, it seems possible he returns before the August 2 trade deadline. The larger issue might be that some of their veteran infielders aren’t living up to their potential this season. Gavin Lux is having a great year but is playing a lot of left field lately to cover for Taylor’s absence. Justin Turner was ice cold to start the year but has gone on a tear of late to get himself back above league average for the year. Max Muncy, on the other hand, hasn’t gotten into a groove yet this season, currently sitting on a batting line of .161/.313/.309, wRC+ of 86. He seemingly hasn’t been himself since injuring his UCL late last year, spending some time on IL due to that issue this season. Hanser Alberto is on the bench and hits right-handed, making him a theoretical option to platoon with Muncy or just give him time off in general. However, he’s hitting just .222/.232/.346, producing a wRC+ of just 61, making Drury a sensible upgrade there.
As for the Giants, they’ve also been fans of the versatility model, hardly surprising given the fact that president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi came over from the Dodgers. Evan Longoria and Tommy La Stella are currently on the IL but neither is expected to be out for an extended period of time. Longoria is having a nice season but has played in just 44 games due to injuries, with La Stella similarly playing just 35. The oft-injured Brandon Belt has played just 48 games and has been DHing often due to knee issues, manager Gabe Kapler tells reporters, including Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. That’s left Wilmer Flores playing a lot of second base and rookie David Villar covering the hot corner, while LaMonte Wade Jr. has come in from the outfield to play some first base, along with Darin Ruf as well. Thairo Estrada is in the mix but has also been playing some shortstop to give Brandon Crawford some days off. There’s a lot of moving parts there, which will likely keep moving, based on how the Giants operate and based on the health of the players. But with Crawford, Longoria, Belt, La Stella and Ruf all over 33 years old, it makes sense to keep rotating them in and out as much as possible to prevent wear and tear. Drury’s ability to play all over could make him a sensible add, with his role changing over the coming months as these situations change.
Given Drury’s ability to move around the diamond, there’s very few teams that couldn’t fit him in somewhere. His 136 wRC+ is 27th in the majors among qualified hitters, making him better than at least a few regulars in most lineups and certainly better than each team’s bench options. The Dodgers are the best team in the National League with a record of 56-30, making them clear deadline buyers. In a recent conversation with Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman downplayed the possibility of another headline-grabbing deal like last year’s acquisition of Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. But it stands to reason they will at least look for complementary pieces like Drury. As for the Giants, they’ve fallen on hard times recently and are currently outside of the postseason picture. Their 44-42 record has them two games back of the Cardinals for the final National League Wild Card spot.
Trade Candidate: Brandon Drury
Very little has gone right for Cincinnati Reds in 2022. The club entered the season with hopes of competing, but those hopes were on shaky footing due to some cost-saving moves over the winter that softened the depth of the roster. Once the season began, the injury bug bit them hard, putting pressure on that depth, which the roster hasn’t been able to withstand. Their record is currently 23-39, ahead of just Washington among National League clubs. One small silver lining in all this, however, is that these injuries created an opening for Brandon Drury, who is having the best season of his career.
Drafted by Atlanta in the 13th round in 2010, Drury was sent to the Diamondbacks as a prospect, as part of the deal that sent Justin Upton the other way. He made his big league debut with Arizona in 2015 and showed some promise over his first few seasons. From 2015-2017 with the Snakes, he got into 289 games and hit 31 home runs, slashing .271/.319/.448. That wasn’t elite production, with his wRC+ actually coming in slightly below average at 95, but still encouraging for a player in his age 22-24 seasons. He also provided the Diamondbacks with defensive versatility, as he spent time at every infield position and the outfield corners.
There was enough there to intrigue the Yankees, who acquired Drury prior to the 2018 season. Unfortunately for them, this was the beginning of what would end up being a miserable three-year stretch for him. Drury dealt with blurred vision and migraines, which caused him to miss time and struggle to the point that the Yankees optioned him to the minors. While he hit well on the farm, he struggled mightily in the majors, hitting .176/.263/.275 in 18 games with the Yanks.
Despite those struggles, the Blue Jays decided to take a chance on him, acquiring him from the Yankees in the J.A. Happ trade, ending Drury’s time with the Yanks after just a few months. After just eight games with the Canadian birds, Drury faced another setback, breaking his hand and heading to the injured list again. In 2019, Drury was able to stay healthy but still struggled, hitting .218/.262/.380 for a 66 wRC+ in 120 games. In 2020, the struggles got even worse, with Drury hitting .152/.184/.174 in 21 games, producing a wRC+ of -10 and getting designated for assignment toward the end of the season.
Despite that abysmal three-year stretch, the Mets decided to take a flier on him, signing him to a minor league deal prior to the 2021 campaign. After the big league club suffered a pile of injuries to their position player mix, they called on Drury in May, who was having a nice showing in Triple-A. He would end up holding himself well in a utility role, playing 51 games while taking the field at first, second and third base, as well as the outfield corners. He hit .274/.307/.476 for a wRC+ of 114 in 88 plate appearances. Despite that solid showing, he was designated for assignment as the season was winding down in October.
A similar situation played out for Drury this year, as he signed a minor league deal with the Reds in March. A slew of injuries created a need for Drury, who has taken the opportunity and ran with it. He’s now played 53 games with the Reds, just beyond his total with the Mets last year. However, it’s clearly been a full-time role this time around, as his 218 plate appearances more than double his 88 from last year. In that time, he’s hit 12 home runs, a number bested by only 12 other National League hitters this year. His overall slash is .269/.335/.508 for a wRC+ of 129. He’s already produced 1.4 wins above replacement this year, according to FanGraphs, with almost two-thirds of the season still remaining. This doesn’t seem to just be good luck either, as his .297 BABIP on the year is just barely ahead of his .294 career mark, and his Statcast page has plenty of those healthy red hues. Defensively, Drury has largely played second and third, helping the club cover for extended absences from Jonathan India and Mike Moustakas, though he’s also made cameos at shortstop and first base.
Taking all of this into consideration, Drury’s true nature is very difficult to peg. A pessimist could point to his dismal stretch from 2018-2020 and dismiss this year’s showing as a small-sample hot streak. He’s also a mere rental, as he began this season with 5 years and one day of service time. Since he cracked Cincy’s Opening Day roster, he will just barely eclipse six years at the end of this season. But on the other hand, he showed enough promise earlier in his career for three different teams to trade for him, clearly demonstrating that this breakout was considered possible in the past. Now he’s delivering on that promise and should hold plenty of appeal to competing teams, especially those with budgetary constraints. The financials of Drury’s deal weren’t reported at the time, though his Baseball Reference page lists his salary as the $700K league minimum.
What Drury also has going for him as a trade candidate is his versatility. Since he can play multiple infield spots, there are potentially many teams who could fit him into their plans. The Angels have gotten very little out of their middle infield this year and could slot Drury in at second base. Josh Harrison and Leury Garcia have both struggled mightily, leaving the White Sox with the keystone as an obvious area to upgrade. The Dodgers love adding underrated bench players and have watched Justin Turner slouch through most of the season so far. Alec Bohm is still struggling in Philly, and since they’ve gone over the luxury tax for the first time, Drury’s low salary could be extra appealing to them. It’s also possible that an injury to an infielder creates a need on a team that didn’t previously have one, like when this week’s Ozzie Albies injury suddenly created a huge hole at second base in Atlanta. Though one team that almost certainly won’t be in the mix is the Blue Jays, as Drury is apparently unvaccinated and isn’t eligible to cross the border. Drury won’t complete remake any of these teams on his own, but role players like this can sometimes have huge impacts. Last year’s marquee deadline trade sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers, but the Braves won the World Series after acquiring lesser-known players like Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario.
Even if Drury does garner interest at the deadline, it likely won’t lead to a massive return. Strong season aside, he’s got enough warts on his resume to prevent acquiring teams from shelling out any kind elite prospect package. Still, for the Reds to get any kind of trade return out of a player who signed a minor league deal when Spring Training was already underway, that’s one nice development in a season that hasn’t had too many.
Reds Return Aquino, Ashcraft, Motter To Minors
MAY 23: As expected, Cincinnati announced this morning that Mahle, Almora, Kuhnel and Drury have been reinstated from the restricted list before tonight’s series opener with the Cubs. Aquino, Aschraft and Motter have been returned to the minors and are no longer on the 40-man roster.
MAY 20: The Reds announced a host of roster moves before their series against the Blue Jays. First baseman Joey Votto has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list. Outfielder Aristides Aquino, righty Graham Ashcraft and utilityman Taylor Motter have all been selected to the majors as designated COVID “substitutes.”
Cincinnati placed four players — Tyler Mahle, Albert Almora Jr., Joel Kuhnel and Brandon Drury — on the restricted list. That’s standard procedure for players who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19 playing on teams that are headed to Toronto. The Canadian government prohibits unvaccinated players from entering the country, so that quartet will be unavailable for this weekend’s series.
Votto returns after missing more than two weeks because of virus concerns. The six-time All-Star began experiencing COVID symptoms during the first week of May, and he wound up missing enough time the organization sent him on a brief minor league rehab assignment. After a pair of appearances with Triple-A Louisville, the Toronto native returns for a set against his hometown club. He’ll look to right the ship offensively after the time off; Votto has opened the season in a dreadful .122/.278/.135 slump through 22 games.
Aquino, Motter and Ashcraft all occupy temporary spots on the roster. That the club specified they were COVID substitutes suggests it’s likely to be a brief stint for all three. Players whose contracts are selected with that designation can be removed from the 40-man roster and returned to the minors without passing through waivers as the team returns to full strength. In the Reds’ case, that’ll be after this series, so each of Aquino, Motter and Ashcraft is probably only up for three days.
The righty-hitting Aquino opened the year in the majors but got out to an awful start. He was outrighted off the roster earlier this month, but he’s tattooed Triple-A pitching (.314/.405/.743 with four homers) through ten games. Motter signed a minor league deal last month. The righty-hitting utilityman is hitting .245/.344/.566 with Louisville and offers some multi-positional depth in Drury’s place.
While this figures to be a brief stint for Ashcraft, the 24-year-old will probably play a notable role on the roster before too long. A sixth-round pick out of UAB in 2019, the 6’2″ hurler has quickly developed into one of the better arms in the farm system. Ashcraft split last season between High-A Dayton and Double-A Chattanooga, posting an even 3.00 ERA across 111 innings. He’s spent this year with Louisville, working to a 1.65 ERA over seven starts, albeit without great strikeout or walk numbers.
Baseball America recently ranked Ashcraft the #12 prospect in the Cincinnati organization, praising a mid-90s cut fastball that serves as his primary offering. Both BA and FanGraphs — which slotted him #17 in the system — suggest that Ashcraft’s below-average changeup and inconsistent control point to a long-term bullpen future, but he’s remained a starter to this point as a pro. Ashcraft will have to be added to the 40-man roster next offseason to keep him from selection in the Rule 5 draft, and potential trades by the last-place Reds could open an extended opportunity for him later this summer.
Cincinnati also announced that shortstop José Barrero will begin a rehab assignment with the Bats. The club’s anticipated regular shortstop, he hasn’t played this season after suffering a hamate injury during Spring Training. Position players can spend up to 20 days on rehab assignments, suggesting Barrero’s set to make his 2022 debut within the next three weeks assuming all goes well in the minors.
Reds Release Shogo Akiyama; Expected To Select Drury, Garcia, Farmer
The Reds announced this afternoon they’ve released outfielder Shogo Akiyama. It had seemed likely Akiyama would be released when the club informed him over the weekend he wouldn’t break camp on the active roster, as his contract afforded him the right to refuse any minor league assignments.
The move closes the book on a disappointing tenure in Cincinnati. Akiyama signed a three-year, $21MM deal over the 2019-20 offseason. Making the jump from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball to MLB during the 2020 season was no doubt difficult, as the typical challenges of the new environment were exacerbated by the shortened schedule and pandemic protocols. Nevertheless, the Reds certainly expected better than the .224/.320/.274 line Akiyama posted in 366 plate appearances over the past two years.
Due $8MM in 2022 under the terms of that contract, Akiyama is a lock to clear release waivers. Cincinnati will remain on the hook for that money, minus the league minimum salary if the 33-year-old catches on with another MLB team as a free agent. From the Reds perspective, the release was about reallocating Akiyama’s spot on the active and 40-man rosters.
The Reds don’t have to officially make a call on their Opening Day roster until Thursday, but C. Trent Rosecrans of the Athletic tweets the club is planning to select three non-roster invitees to the big league club. Infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury, catcher Aramís García and reliever Buck Farmer are all expected to break camp.
It would be the eighth consecutive season with some MLB time for Drury. The right-handed hitting utilityman had a couple decent seasons early in his career with the Diamondbacks but has only eclipsed 90 plate appearances once in the past four years. His last extended run in the majors — 120 games with the 2019 Blue Jays — resulted in only a .218/.262/.380 slash, but Drury was alright in a bench capacity with the Mets last year.
García is expected to join the big league club as the backup to Tyler Stephenson. The 29-year-old backstop has suited up with the Giants and A’s in recent years. Over parts of three big league seasons, he’s a .218/.256/.373 hitter. García owns a more impressive .268/.333/.448 line at Triple-A. He seemingly beat out fellow non-roster invitee Andrew Knapp for the backup catching job. Rosecrans tweets that Knapp has been granted his release after being informed he wouldn’t break camp.
Farmer, meanwhile, has pitched in parts of eight big league seasons. He’d spent his entire career with the Tigers but is now in line for his second MLB team. The right-hander posted a sub-4.00 ERA in both 2019-20, but he’s coming off a difficult 2021 campaign. In 35 1/3 innings, Farmer posted a 6.37 ERA with an elevated 12.3% walk rate. He’ll add some multi-inning relief depth for skipper David Bell, though, in hopes of rediscovering his 2019-20 form.
Akiyama’s release clears one spot on the 40-man roster, and the other two seem likely to come from injured list placements. Righty Justin Dunn is out “months” with a shoulder issue and figures to wind up on the 60-day injured list. Bell told reporters (including Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer) that infielder Max Schrock will be placed on the 60-day IL as well. The 27-year-old is dealing with a left calf strain.
That’ll set the stage for the Opening Day roster, but the Reds figure to require another 40-man roster spot by the middle of next week. As Jesse Borek of MLB.com writes, Cincinnati is expected to promote top pitching prospect Nick Lodolo to make his major league debut when the team first needs a fifth starter on April 13. The team has yet to make a formal announcement, but Lodolo isn’t expected to be assigned to a minor league affiliate. Assuming that plan comes to fruition, the Reds would have to formally select the southpaw onto the major league roster.
Reds, Brandon Drury Agree To Deal
Another day, another new sighting in the Reds’ clubhouse. Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets that veteran infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury has a locker with the Reds, signaling that the two parties have agreed to terms. Presumably, a deal with the Wasserman client will formally be announced once he passes a physical.
Drury, 29, spent the 2021 season with the Mets organization, appearing in 51 games at the big league level but primarily serving as a bench player. He logged just 88 plate appearances across those 51 contests and posted a strong .274/.307/.476 batting line with four homers and five doubles.
That was far and away Drury’s most productive showing in the past several seasons. The former 13th-round pick looked on his way to solidifying himself as a solid big league hitter with some defensive versatility back in 2016, when he hit .282/.329/.458 with 16 homers and 31 doubles in 499 plate appearances with the D-backs. He followed that with a solid enough .267/.317/.447 output in 2017, but Drury’s bat went dormant from 2018-20, when he mustered only a .205/.254/.346 triple slash through a combined 582 plate appearances.
Drury has played all over the diamond in the big leagues, although his most frequent positions have been second base (1264 innings) and third base (1082 innings). He’s also logged more than 400 innings in both outfield corners in addition to 139 innings at first base and 57 frames at shortstop.
The Reds are largely set at second base and third base, with reigning NL Rookie of the Year Jonathan India and veteran Mike Moustakas, respectively. Cincinnati also inked Donovan Solano to a one-year deal last week, and he can fill in at second, third and shortstop as needed. The outfield is a bit less certain following the trade of Jesse Winker, but the Reds still have Jake Fraley, Nick Senzel, Tyler Naquin, Shogo Akiyama and Aristides Aquino on the big league roster. That doesn’t leave a ton of room for Drury to win a roster spot — assuming this is a minor league deal, which seems likely — but injuries or further transactions could always open up playing time.
Players Recently Electing Free Agency
As the offseason gets underway, players around baseball continue to elect minor league free agency. While the threshold for big league free agency (six-plus years of Major League service time) is well known, there are several methods of qualifying for minor league free agency. The most common criteria: players with 3+ years of MLB service time who have been outrighted off their teams’ 40-man rosters this season, players who have been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in their career, or unsigned players not on a 40-man roster who have spent parts of at least seven seasons on a minor league roster or injured list.
Each of these players has recently hit the open market in the last few days, according to the official transactions pages for both Triple-A East and Triple-A West.
- Andrew Albers (Twins)
- Kyle Barraclough (Twins)
- Austin Brice (Red Sox)
- Brandon Drury (Mets)
- Luke Farrell (Twins)
- Neftali Feliz (Dodgers)
- Ian Gibaut (Twins)
- David Hess (Rays)
- Sean Kazmar Jr. (Braves)
- Mike Kickham (Dodgers)
- Reyes Moronta (Giants)
- Joseph Odom (Rays)
- Ben Rowen (Angels)
- Troy Stokes Jr. (Brewers)
- Nik Turley (White Sox)
- Tyler Webb (Cardinals)
Mets Activate Robert Gsellman, Designate Brandon Drury
The Mets have activated right-hander Robert Gsellman from the 60-day injured list. In corresponding moves, utilityman Brandon Drury has been designated for assignment, while right-hander Tylor Megill has been optioned to Triple-A.
Gsellman will get a couple more chances to get on the mound during what been an another injury-plagued year for the swingman. A right lat strain sent Gsellman to the IL back on June 21, thus limiting him to only 26 2/3 innings in 2021. Since injuries also greatly limited Gsellman in 2020, he has pitched a total of 40 2/3 innings over the last two seasons.
All this missed time has had an adverse effect on Gsellman’s earnings, considering that 2020 and 2021 were both arbitration-eligible years. Gsellman will be arb-eligible for a third and final time this winter, but won’t get much beyond his $1.3MM 2021 salary. On the plus side, this low price tag could make the Mets inclined to bring him back rather than non-tendering him.
Drury signed a minor league deal with New York last winter and ended up earning $1.55MM in guaranteed salary once the Mets selected his contract. In 88 plate appearances at the big league level, Drury provide above-average (112 OPS+, 114 wRC+) offense, hitting .274/.307/.476 with four homers. Much of that production, however, was packed into a seven-game hit streak in late July. It seems likely that the seven-year MLB veteran will have to settle for another minors contract this offseason in order to catch on with another team.