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Christian Scott

Mets Place Christian Scott On Injured List With UCL Sprain

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July 24: The Mets’ plan for Scott is to rest and rehab for the time being, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The hope is that he can return before season’s end. Given the timing of the injury, it’s sensible enough to try for the rest/rehab route even if surgery has been considered as an option. Surgery might knock Scott out until the end of the 2025 campaign anyhow, so the Mets will go with a non-surgical treatment in hopes that he can return late in the year and then have the offseason for further rest.

July 23: The Mets announced that right-hander Christian Scott has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right UCL sprain, retroactive to July 22. Left-hander Alex Young was recalled in a corresponding move.

At this point, it’s unclear how severe Scott’s sprain is or how long the Mets expect him to be out, but it’s a concerning development nonetheless. The ulnar collateral ligament is the one replaced in Tommy John surgery and a sprain, by definition, involves some degree of stretching or tearing.

That’s not to say that Scott is definitely going under the knife, as pitchers are sometimes able to return from a UCL sprain via non-surgical means. For a recent and perhaps best-case example, Mason Miller of the Athletics was diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain in May of last year. He missed a few months of the season but was back with the club by September and has been one of the best relievers in baseball here in 2024.

But avoiding the scalpel can also be a temporary measure, as seen in the case of Kyle Bradish of the Orioles. He was diagnosed with a UCL sprain in Spring Training this year but was reinstated from the IL by early May. But after eight starts with the O’s, he was back on the IL and then required Tommy John surgery.

Further updates will reveal more about Scott’s absence but, as mentioned, it’s not good news either way. The young pitcher’s stock has been skyrocketing over the past two years, as he posted a 2.57 ERA in the minors last year. Across 87 2/3 innings at three different levels, he struck out 31.9% of batters and walked just 3.6%.

He’s continued pitching well in the minors this year and has also made his major league debut. His first nine starts at the big league level haven’t been outstanding, as he has a 4.56 ERA and a 19.8% strikeout rate, but that’s a fairly small sample size and he’s obviously still just getting his feet wet in the majors.

The Mets were undoubtedly hoping that he would continue his development, putting up better numbers as he went along, but that will be on pause for an undetermined amount of time. Even losing him for just a few months will take him out of the club’s rotation plans for the stretch run. The Mets are currently 51-48 and clinging to the final Wild Card spot in the National League. As they look to keep that spot, they will do so without Scott in their rotation mix for now.

Kodai Senga is expected to come off the IL this week, joining the rotation alongside Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino and David Peterson. The club also has Tylor Megill on optional assignment and José Buttó and Adrian Houser currently in the big league bullpen. It was reported a few weeks ago that the club had enough healthy rotation options that they were considering trading someone from that group while still trying to compete this year. Reporting from this week threw some cold water on that and this news about Scott perhaps makes that even less likely, though the club at least has a number of solid rotation options to press forward even if their trade options have been diminished.

On top of the immediate impact of subtracting from the club’s rotation depth, it’s less than ideal for a developing starter to be missing significant time. That’s true even if it’s just a few months but it would obviously be even more true if Scott ends up requiring surgery and perhaps missing all of 2025.

Kodai Senga To Begin Rehab Assignment; Mets To Recall Christian Scott

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It seems reinforcements for the Mets’ rotation are on the horizon. Right-hander Kodai Senga, who’s missed the entire season thus far with a shoulder injury, is slated to throw 40 pitches in the first start of a minor league rehab assignment, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. New York will also recall top prospect Christian Scott from Triple-A Syracuse to start Wednesday’s game, manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed to reporters (X link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Speculation regarding that possibility began when Scott was scratched from a scheduled start in Syracuse despite not having an injury.

Senga suffered a moderate capsule strain in his shoulder back in spring training. What was originally supposed to be a much shorter absence has been prolonged by multiple setbacks. Senga was facing live hitters in late April but scaled back to bullpen sessions without hitters as he looked to get his mechanics back on track. While going through that step, he incurred a triceps injury that necessitated a cortisone injection and led to another five-day shutdown. He’s been built up slowly but now seems ready to pitch in a game setting. He’ll surely require multiple rehab starts before he’s cleared to return. Tomorrow’s start will kick off a 30-day rehab window, though he can be activated earlier than that 30-day maximum, of course.

As for Scott, he’ll return to the big leagues after impressing in his first five MLB starts earlier this season. The 2021 fifth-rounder tossed 27 2/3 innings of 3.90 ERA ball with a 22.3% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate, 34.2% grounder rate and 0.98 HR/9. Since returning to the minors, Scott has made four starts but been limited to 17 innings as the Mets look to manage his workload.

The 25-year-old Scott tossed only 87 2/3 innings last year and is already up to 70 innings this season. Managing his workload in the minors is easier than doing so in the majors, where the surging Mets have climbed back to .500 and thrust themselves into the midst of the NL Wild Card picture. Scott will now step back into the rotation alongside Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana and David Peterson.

The looming changes to the Mets’ rotation come at a time when there have been rumblings about the team’s willingness to potentially move a veteran big league starter while still taking aim at pushing for the postseason. A trade involving staff leader Severino seems quite difficult to envision — and indeed, SNY’s Andy Martino reported yesterday is overwhelmingly unlikely so long as the team remains in playoff reach — but Quintana seems feasible (speculatively speaking).

The Mets have a growing collection of depth, with Severino, Manaea, Quintana, Peterson and Scott in the majors, Senga on the mend, and the trio of Tylor Megill, Joey Lucchesi and Jose Butto on the 40-man roster down in Triple-A. Last year’s second-round pick, Brandon Sproat, has a sub-2.00 ERA in 67 innings between High-A and Double-A this season.

Senga’s progress and Scott’s performance in his big league return will be worth watching with a careful eye, as they’ll both be factors in the Mets’ willingness (or lack thereof) to deal from the big league staff in the weeks ahead. If the rotation depth looks sufficient, perhaps a veteran like Quintana could be flipped for some big league bullpen help — the sort of exchange between buyers that could fill needs on both clubs (while, in the Mets’ case, potentially shaving as much as $13MM from the books between Quintana’s salary and luxury-tax hit).

Mets To Designate Omar Narvaez, Acquire Luis Torrens, Option Brett Baty, Christian Scott

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10:20am: The Mets are sending cash to the Yankees in the deal for Torrens, tweets Sherman. Specifically, it’ll be a $100K return for the Yankees.

9:50am: The Mets are shaking up the roster with a broad-reaching set of roster moves. Catcher Omar Narvaez is being designated for assignment, reports SNY’s Andy Martino. His spot on the roster will go to catcher Luis Torrens, who is being acquired from the Yankees and selected to the MLB roster, according to Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base. Meanwhile, third baseman Brett Baty and righty Christian Scott will be optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. They’ll be replaced on the roster by infielder Jose Iglesias, whose contract will be selected from Syracuse, and righty Dedniel Nunez, who’ll be recalled from Syracuse, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.

It’s a significant slate of roster moves that’ll see the Mets jettison the veteran Narvaez, option two of their top prospects to Triple-A for more seasoning, and thus clear a full runway for Mark Vientos to get an opportunity as the everyday third baseman.

Narvaez, 32, inked a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $15MM in the 2022-23 offseason — the second season of which was a player option. After a lackluster debut campaign in Queens that saw him hit just .211/.283/.297, Narvaez unsurprisingly opted into the second season of his contract. This year’s production has been even more feeble, however. In 69 trips to the plate, Narvaez has managed only a .154/.191/.185 batting line with a dismal 22.2% hard-hit rate.

Prior to his time with the Mets, Narvaez was a quality regular with the White Sox, Mariners and Brewers from 2018-22 — even making an All-Star team with Milwaukee in 2021. That five-year span saw Narvaez bat .254/.337/.397. He was inconsistent with the bat on a year-to-year basis but wound up producing at a roughly league-average level overall during that half-decade run. On top of that, the Brewers — who have a reputation for improving catcher defense — revamped Narvaez’s skill set behind the plate. He rated as one of the game’s worst defenders in 2018-19 with Chicago and Seattle but posted seven Defensive Runs Saved and was worth an even more impressive 19 runs behind the plate in Statcast’s eyes — thanks largely to massive improvements in his framing.

The injury to Francisco Alvarez appeared to create an opportunity for Narvaez to get back to that previous form, but he’s been outhit by the defensively superior Tomas Nido, who returned to the big leagues after being outrighted to Syracuse last season. Nido hasn’t been great at the plate himself — his .233/.260/.370 batting line is well below par — but has handily outperformed his fellow backstop. That’ll allow Nido to stick around in what’ll likely be the lead catching role until Alvarez’s return.

Alvarez suited up for Double-A Binghamton yesterday, kicking off a 20-day window for his minor league rehab assignment. That could make for a short-lived stay on the roster for the newly acquired Torrens. The Mets will choose between him and Nido once Alvarez is ready for activation. In 124 Triple-A plate appearances with the Yankees, the journeyman Torrens hit .279/.339/.469 with five homers and six doubles.

Once a well-regarded catching prospect with the Padres and Mariners, the now-28-year-old Torrens is a career .227/.289/.354 hitter in 807 MLB plate appearances. He has a knack for hard contact, but too many of those well-struck balls are of the grounder variety. A hefty 49.9% of Torrens’ career batted balls in the majors have been on the ground, which is clearly suboptimal for a plodding catcher who ranked in the 24th percentile of big league players in sprint speed from 2022-23, per Statcast.

In Baty and Scott, the Mets are sending two of the organization’s most touted prospects back to the minors. Baty, 24, has now seen MLB action in three straight seasons but has yet to cement himself as the everyday third baseman — or even as a viable big league bat. This year’s .225/.304/.325 batting line is 12% worse than average, by measure of wRC+, but nonetheless stands as his most productive season in the big leagues. Since making his debut late in the 2022 season, Baty carries a .214/.281/.325 line in exactly 600 plate appearances.

Baty, the No. 12 pick in the 2019 draft, has been particularly cold of late, tallying just six hits in his past 54 trips to the plate. He’s considered a superior defender to the also-24-year-old Vientos, but Vientos’ bat has been too loud for the Mets to ignore. Also long considered one of the organization’s better prospects, Vientos is hitting .295/.354/.591 with three homers in just 48 plate appearances. The former No. 59 overall pick’s performance emphatically warrants greater playing time. With Baty sent to Triple-A, he’ll receive that chance and could well establish himself as a long-term corner option for the Mets with a strong showing.

Scott, who’ll turn 25 in a couple weeks, has pitched well through his first five MLB starts. In 27 2/3 frames, he’s worked to a 3.90 ERA with a 22.3% strikeout rate and excellent 5.4% walk rate. However, the right-hander was a reliever in college whom the Mets have moved into a rotation role since turning pro. He’s thus never worked a full starter’s workload, with last year’s 87 2/3 frames standing as a career-high. The Mets have multiple off-days on the schedule in the near future, lessening the need for rotation arms. As such, they’ll send Scott to Syracuse, where they can more easily manage his innings and simultaneously afford the big league club an extra reliever.

Passan does note that Scott is expected to return to the big leagues before long. His promotion to date certainly warrants that. And if the Mets continue on their current trajectory, it wouldn’t at all be surprising to see other members of the rotation dangled in trade scenarios. For now, Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Tylor Megill and David Peterson are lined up to make the next five starts. Severino is on a one-year deal, while Manaea has a opt-out at season’s end and Quintana is in the second season of a two-year contract.

In place of Baty, the Mets will turn to the veteran Iglesias. He’s carved out a reputation as a plus defensive shortstop with good contact skills but minimal impact when he does put bat to ball. Iglesias didn’t play in the majors last season but is a career .279/.319/.382 batter in more than 4000 plate appearances. He’s come to the plate 175 times in Syracuse this season and turned in a .273/.309/.442 slash.

Iglesias will give the Mets a true backup shortstop to Francisco Lindor, something they previously lacked, and is plenty capable of spelling Vientos at the hot corner or stepping in for Jeff McNeil at second base even if the overwhelming majority of his career has been spent at shortstop.

As for Nunez, this will mark his third stint with the Mets already this year. He was up earlier this week as the 27th man for a doubleheader and also had a four-game run earlier in the season. He’s pitched 8 1/3 innings over five appearances, holding opponents to three runs on seven hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts.

Mets Promote Christian Scott

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TODAY: The Mets have officially selected Scott’s contract, and also called right-hander Cole Sulser up from Triple-A.  Right-hander Dedniel Nunez and left-hander Danny Young were optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding moves.

MAY 2: The Mets are planning to promote pitching prospect Christian Scott, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. McDaniel adds that Scott will likely make his debut on Saturday against the Rays. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster, so the Mets will need a corresponding move to add him.

Scott, 25 in June, was a fifth-round selection of the Mets in 2021 but he has raised his stock dramatically since then. In 2022, he tossed 58 2/3 innings between Single-A and High-A with a fairly pedestrian 4.45 ERA, but stronger underlying metrics. He struck out 29.5% of batters faced while walking 8.4%. If not for a .381 batting average on balls in play and 68.1% strand rate, he would have fared much better, which is why his FIP was 2.77 that year.

Last year, he eventually rose as high as Double-A, throwing 87 2/3 frames for the year with a 2.57 ERA. He struck out 31.9% of batters while limiting his walks to a tiny 3.6% rate. He came into 2024 ranked as the #98 prospect in baseball, according to FanGraphs. At ESPN, McDaniel had Scott at #99. Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs highlighted that he converted his changeup into a splitter, adding a strong third option to what had previously been mostly a sinker/slider combo.

He didn’t crack the season-opening lists at either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, but has vaulted himself up to #62 on BA’s most recent update. That huge jump is a reflection of the fact that Scott has been dominating this year, apart from some homer troubles. Through five Triple-A starts here in 2024, he has fanned 38.3% of opponents while limiting his walks to a 6.4% rate. But thanks to seven fly balls clearing the fences, he has a 3.20 ERA.

In addition to pushing him up prospect lists, that strong performance will get him to the majors. The Mets currently have a rotation of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser and José Buttó. The only optionable guy in that group is Buttó, but he has been pitching well, with a 2.57 ERA on the year. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com speculates that Scott’s promotion might be related to the Mets playing 26 games in 27 days, so perhaps Scott’s promotion will just be a spot start to give the others a breather.

The length of Scott’s stay might also depend on other factors. Each of Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill and David Peterson are on the injured list and their respective returns will impact how the rotation is configured as they season rolls along. Senga and Peterson on on the 60-day IL and can’t return until late May but Megill recently began a rehab assignment and could therefore be an option in a few weeks. Scott’s performance in his big league debut will naturally impact the decisions as well.

Regardless of how long Scott spends in the bigs for the rest of the season, he won’t be able to earn a full year of service time since the campaign is already more than a month old. The new CBA allows top prospects to earn a full year even if called up late if they finish in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting, but that won’t apply to Scott. To be eligible for that benefit, a player has to start the year on two of three top 100 lists at ESPN, BA and MLB Pipeline, but Scott was only on one. That means the Mets can control him through the 2023 season, even if he sticks in the big leagues from here on out.

Latest On Mets’ Rotation Plans

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The Mets are bringing up top pitching prospect Christian Scott for his debut against the Rays on Saturday. At least temporarily, he steps into a rotation that includes Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, José Buttó and Sean Manaea.

If Scott sticks in the rotation, right-hander Adrian Houser could be the odd man out. Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters that Houser will be available out of the bullpen for next week’s series against the Cardinals, which runs from Monday through Wednesday (video link via SNY). It’s not clear whether that’ll be a permanent move. The Mets are off next Thursday before playing on 13 straight days between May 10-22.

Mendoza suggested the Mets haven’t determined how they’ll proceed for that nearly two-week stretch. They could operate with a six-man rotation to give their starters an extra day of rest. If they want to go back to a five-man rotation, the decision would likely come down to optioning Scott back to Triple-A Syracuse or keeping Houser in relief. Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote last night the Mets are committed to giving Scott at least two starts — tomorrow’s outing in Tampa Bay and a home start next weekend against the Braves — before determining whether he should stick in the rotation.

Scott has had an excellent five-start run to begin his time in Triple-A. Over 25 1/3 innings, he owns a 3.20 ERA behind a massive 38.3% strikeout rate. Houser, on the other hand, has had a tough first month in Queens. Acquired alongside Tyrone Taylor in an offseason deal with Milwaukee, Houser held a rotation spot through April. He has allowed 8.14 earned runs per nine across six starts as he’s struggled to find the strike zone.

The 31-year-old righty has walked nearly 15% of opposing hitters. He has issued multiple free passes in all six appearances, including four walks over five innings in yesterday’s outing against the Cubs. Houser’s strikeout rate has dropped to a career-low 11.7%, while his 44.4% ground-ball percentage is his lowest since 2018.

Houser was a decent back-end starter for Milwaukee a year ago. In 111 1/3 innings, he turned in a 4.12 ERA with a personal-best 7.1% walk percentage. He has never gotten huge strikeout tallies, but last season’s 20% mark was far better than he has managed thus far. While Houser’s velocity hasn’t significantly changed, he clearly has yet to find his command.

That could push him into low-leverage relief if Scott hits the ground running and the Mets want to stick with a five-man starting staff. New York doesn’t have the luxury of sending Houser to the minor leagues. He has over five years of service time, so he’d have to agree to an optional assignment and would have the right to test free agency if he were outrighted off the 40-man roster.

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