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Francisco Mejia

Brewers, Francisco Mejia Agree To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | April 5, 2024 at 12:00pm CDT

The Brewers have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent catcher Francisco Mejia, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The 28-year-old switch-hitter spent time with the Angels and Rays during spring training but was released by Tampa Bay last week. He’ll head to Triple-A Nashville and add some depth while top catching prospect Jeferson Quero is injured.

Mejia was once not just one of the game’s top catching prospects but one of the top-ranked prospects in the entire sport, regardless of position. He peaked at No. 20 on Baseball America’s top-100 list and No. 11 at MLB.com heading into the 2018 season. He was on the verge of joining the Brewers way back in 2016 before then-Milwaukee catcher Jonathan Lucroy used his no-trade clause to veto a trade to Cleveland. (Lucroy explained his rationale for that decision not long after the fact.) The Brewers wound up trading Lucroy to the Rangers instead. Mejia also wound up on the move, going to the Padres in a deal for Brad Hand.

Despite his prominent placement on national prospect rankings, Mejia has yet to hit much in the big leagues while racking up more than five years of big league service between Cleveland, San Diego and Tampa Bay. In just shy of 1100 trips to the plate, he’s a .239/.284/.394 hitter. He’s been far better in Triple-A, where he touts a very strong .306/.350/.519 batting line in 633 plate appearances.

Beyond his struggles at the plate, Mejia has also had a rough time behind the dish. He’s long posted sub-par framing number, and his throwing took a major hit in 2023, when he thwarted just four of the 42 runners who tried to steal against him. Statcast also ranks him as one of the least-effective catchers in the game when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt.

Clearly, things haven’t panned out as hoped for the once ballyhooed young catcher. But he’s still just 28 and has shown little problem handling Triple-A pitching. The Brewers don’t have an immediate need behind the dish, with William Contreras and Gary Sanchez on the big league roster and the recently outrighted Eric Haase likely ahead of Mejia on the depth chart down in Triple-A as well. Mejia offers a relative veteran to help share that workload with Haase, and in the event of multiple catcher injuries he’s a fine third or fourth option for the organization to hand.

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Milwaukee Brewers Transactions Francisco Mejia

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Rays Release Francisco Mejia

By Steve Adams | March 28, 2024 at 3:27pm CDT

Francisco Mejia’s return to the Rays organization will be a brief one. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel reports that the Rays released the veteran backstop, who’d signed a minor league deal in late February. Mejia is once again a free agent.

The 28-year-old Mejia signed a minor league deal with the Angels over the winter but was granted his release early in camp after the Halos apparently changed their plans behind the dish. He returned to the Rays a few days later in hopes of winning a roster spot with the club for whom he’d suited up over the three prior seasons.

Mejia only tallied 19 plate appearances in big league camp with the Rays but hit well in that small sample, going 6-for-18 with a pair of doubles, a walk and two strikeouts. Mejia was in the mix for some catching time alongside Rene Pinto, competing with fellow non-roster invitee Alex Jackson in that regard. Yesterday’s acquisition of Ben Rortvedt altered the Rays’ plans, however. Rortvedt opened the season as the second catcher alongside Pinto, pushing Jackson to Triple-A alongside journeyman Rob Brantly. With Mejia again left as something of an odd man out, he’ll head back to the market in search of new opportunities.

Once one of the game’s top all-around prospects, Mejia has yet to hit at the major league level despite piling up more than five years of service time between Cleveland, San Diego and Tampa Bay. He touts an excellent .306/.350/.519 batting line in 633 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, but despite showing promise in his first season with the Rays, he’s just a .239/.284/.394 hitter in nearly 1100 MLB plate appearances.

Mejia’s defense has also been panned over the years. He’s long been graded as a below-average framer, and his ability to control the running game completely evaporated last season. In 2023, he threw out just four of the 42 runners who attempted to take a bag against him. Statcast also ranks him as one of the least-effective catchers in the game when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt.

Despite the lack of big league success, Mejia is a switch-hitter with an impressive track record in Triple-A who’s still just 28. Catching help is always in demand around the league, and while a team certainly isn’t likely to plug the former top prospect right onto its big league roster, he should find opportunities to join someone’s Triple-A club and work his way back to the big leagues.

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Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Francisco Mejia

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Latest On Rays’ Roster Plans

By Mark Polishuk | March 23, 2024 at 6:15pm CDT

6:15pm: Topkin adds that each of Uwasawa, Brantly, and Smith have upward mobility clauses in their contracts rather than traditional opt outs, meaning that each can request to be made available to the other 29 clubs, at which point if a club agrees to give a given player an active roster spot the Rays will have the choice between adding the player to their 40-man roster or trading him to the interested team. Per Topkin, Brantly, Uwasawa and Smith have all told the Rays that they wish to use their assignment clauses.

10:57am: The Rays reassigned right-handers Naoyuki Uwasawa, Burch Smith, and Joe Record, catchers Francisco Mejia and Rob Brantly, and outfielder Jake Mangum to their minor league camp on Friday.  Manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that while none of the six players would be making the Opening Day roster, the Rays were hoping the entire group would remain as minor league depth.

Uwasawa, Smith, and Brantly have some say in their futures, as each of the trio can opt out of their minor league contracts if they aren’t included on the big league roster.  Erasmo Ramirez is another veteran in camp on a minors deal, yet Topkin reports that Ramirez will report to Triple-A and pass on exercising his opt-out clause.

Uwasawa is perhaps the most interesting name in the group, as the 30-year-old is making the jump to MLB after nine seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.  The righty signed a split contract with the Rays that will pay him $2.5MM in the majors and $225K for his time in the minors, as well as a $25K signing bonus and $1MM worth of incentive clauses that would start to kick in if Uwasawa pitched at least 70 big league innings this season.

Though Uwasawa was offered guaranteed contracts by other MLB teams, he chose Tampa Bay “because the success and the rich history of pitching development really intrigued me,” as the right-hander said in a statement at the time of his signing.  It isn’t yet clear if Uwasawa will now stay with the Rays, as he told Topkin (X link) that he would be speaking with his agent to weigh options, including opting out if another team is willing to give him a clearer shot at pitching in the bigs.

Uwasawa didn’t help his case for a roster spot by posting a 13.03 ERA over four appearances and 9 2/3 innings in Spring Training, though he looked a lot sharper in his most recent Grapefruit League outing — he held the Orioles to one run on four hits and a walk over four innings on March 15.  As both Topkin and Cash noted, some adjustment time was inevitable for Uwasawa in his first exposure to the North American style of baseball.

With Brantly and Mejia now cut, it essentially finalizes Alex Jackson’s expected role as the Rays’ backup catcher behind Rene Pinto.  The catching position has long been both a revolving door and a question mark for the Rays, and Topkin feels another backstop might still be added if the Rays like another name who might become available as rival teams also shed players from their spring rosters.

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Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Burch Smith Erasmo Ramirez Francisco Mejia Jake Mangum Naoyuki Uwasawa Rob Brantly

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Rays Re-Sign Francisco Mejia To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 29, 2024 at 10:40am CDT

10:40am: The deal is now official. The Rays announced Mejia has been signed to a minor league pact and invited to spring training.

10:00am: The Rays are finalizing a deal to bring free agent catcher Francisco Mejia back to the organization, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It’ll be a minor league contract with an invite to spring training for the ISE client. Mejia was granted his release from a minor league deal with the Angels last month.

Tampa Bay currently plans to deploy defensive standout Rene Pinto as its starting catcher, and non-roster invitee Alex Jackson has been expected to serve as his backup. Topkin adds that those plans remain unchanged even with Mejia on the brink of returning to the organization he played for from 2021-23. Mejia will give the Rays a depth option behind that unproven tandem for the time being. Injuries or poor performances — either in spring training or early in the season — can always change that equation, of course.

The 28-year-old Mejia was once considered one of baseball’s top all-around prospects, but he’s yet to hit at the big league level despite a strong .306/.350/.519 track record at the Triple-A level (633 plate appearances). In 1098 plate appearances in the majors, Mejia owns a tepid .239/.284/.394 slash between three organizations (Cleveland, San Diego, Tampa Bay). The switch-hitter has been twice traded in the past, going from Cleveland to San Diego in 2018’s Brad Hand trade and from San Diego to Tampa Bay in 2020’s Blake Snell trade.

Mejia’s first season with the Rays showed some promise. He hit .260/.322/.416 with six homers and a hefty 22 doubles in just 299 trips to the plate. Things have gone south since that encouraging Rays debut, however, as his bat has faded while his defensive grades have dropped off precipitously. Mejia has long graded as a below-average framer, and in 2023 he threw out just four of 42 runners attempting to steal against him. Statcast also ranks him as one of the least-effective catchers in the game when it comes to blocking pitches in the dirt.

Those shortcomings notwithstanding, Mejia is a switch-hitter with an excellent offensive track record in the upper minors, and the Rays are thinner at catcher than the majority of teams in the sport. Pinto, Jackson and 34-year-old non-roster invitee Rob Brantly are the only catchers in the organization with MLB experience. Brantly has 456 big league plate appearances across parts of eight seasons. Neither Pinto nor Jackson has recorded even 200 MLB plate appearances.

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Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Alex Jackson Francisco Mejia Rene Pinto

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AL Notes: Mejia, Bellinger, Yankees, Carter, Twins

By Mark Polishuk | February 25, 2024 at 10:14pm CDT

The Angels released Francisco Mejia earlier today, and the veteran catcher has already had some “initial talks” with the Rays about a return to Tampa, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.  Mejia spent the last three seasons as part of the Rays’ catching mix, having time with Mike Zunino, Christian Bethancourt, and Rene Pinto before Tampa Bay designated Mejia for assignment last August and subsequently outrighted him off their 40-man roster.  Mejia chose to remain in the organization rather than opt for free agency in the wake of that outright assignment, but he became a free agent after the season and signed with the Angels on a minor league contract.

Pinto and Alex Jackson look to be Tampa’s preferred catching combo heading into the 2024 season, but the Rays were known to be looking for more depth at the position.  Re-signing a familiar face like Mejia would seem like a logical move in that department, even if a reunion with a catcher the Rays already seemingly moved on from last summer doesn’t represent much of an upgrade on a position that had been an issue for the team for years.  Mejia has hit .239/.284/.394 over 1098 career plate appearances in the majors, as the 28-year-old has only rarely shown any of the promise that made him a top prospect during his time in the Cleveland and San Diego farm systems.

Here’s some more from the American League….

  • The Yankees were linked to Cody Bellinger’s market early in the offseason, even if the Juan Soto trade seemingly closed the door on the chances of Bellinger in the Bronx well before Bellinger left the market for good by re-signing with the Cubs.  New York’s interest in Bellinger didn’t begin this offseason, as the club looked into signing Bellinger last winter and The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney reports that the Yankees also had interest in acquiring Bellinger prior to the last trade deadline.  Bellinger was seen as a major trade chip for much of the first half until the Cubs went on a hot streak and opted against selling at the deadline, leaving suitors for several of Chicago’s veterans out of luck.  Of course, the Yankees’ own fortunes changed, as the team’s midseason slump led the front office to have a very quiet deadline, perhaps as an acknowledgement that the roster was more than one player away.
  • Evan Carter and the Rangers seemingly avoided an injury scare today when x-rays came back negative on the outfielder’s left forearm, as manager Bruce Bochy told the Dallas Morning News’ Shawn McFarland and other reporters.  Carter was hit by a Kyle Harrison during today’s Cactus League game and left the field after a visit from the team trainer, though it appears as though Carter is just day-to-day with some soreness.  One of the big favorites for AL Rookie of the Year honors heading into 2024, Carter made his MLB debut last September and immediately produced at a superstar level down the stretch and throughout the Rangers’ postseason run.
  • On paper, the pairing of Carlos Santana and Alex Kirilloff gives the Twins a platoon at first base, though manager Rocco Baldelli told The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman and other reporters that “I don’t think of it as a traditional platoon in any way because one of our guys [Santana] is a switch hitter.  You end up with different options because Santana can play pretty much any day….It just gives us a lot of flexibility.”  Since Minnesota also wants to give Kirilloff at-bats and keep him healthy, the defensively superior Santana figures to get the majority of the work at first base and Kirilloff could be DH, with both players appearing in the same lineup on a regular basis.  Two wrist surgeries and a shoulder surgery have limited Kirilloff to 192 games and 706 PA over his first three big league seasons, so adding Santana on a one-year, $5.25MM deal allowed Minnesota to bolster the first base position.
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Minnesota Twins New York Yankees Notes Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Alex Kirilloff Carlos Santana Cody Bellinger Evan Carter Francisco Mejia Kyle Harrison

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Angels Release Francisco Mejia From Minor League Deal

By Nick Deeds | February 25, 2024 at 11:19am CDT

The Angels released catcher Francisco Mejia from his minor league deal today, as noted by Sam Blum of The Athletic. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register adds that, according to manager Ron Washington, the club decided to part ways with Mejia after deciding they want to offer their young catchers additional at-bats and hoped to allow Mejia the opportunity to catch on with another club by releasing him early in Spring Training.

Mejia, 28, was once a consensus top-30 prospect in the game and was a key piece in two major trade deals in recent memory: the deadline swap that shipped relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from San Diego to Cleveland and the more famous blockbuster that saw the Padres acquire Blake Snell from the Rays just months after the club secured the 2020 AL pennant. At the time of his arrival in Tampa, Mejia had made just 362 trips to the plate throughout his four years in the majors, slashing just .225/.282/.386 during that time. That unimpressive slash line didn’t stop the Rays from installing Mejia as their primary catcher, however.

Upon getting playing time behind the plate in Tampa, Mejia took a step forward to become a roughly league average hitter behind the plate, slashing .251/.292/.397 in 576 trips to the plate between the 2021 and ’22 seasons, though that 95 wRC+ combined with generally negative reviews for his glove work behind the plate made him more of an average regular than the potential star his prospect pedigree once suggested. Even that level of production proved unsustainable for Mejia in 2023, however. Mejia split time with Christian Bethancourt behind the plate throughout the first half last year, though he struggled to a .227/.258/.400 slash line in 50 games before his time with the big league Rays came to an abrupt end in late July due to an MCL sprain.

While Mejia managed to return in mid-July, by that point his role on the Rays had been taken over by youngster Rene Pinto, leaving the Rays to outright Mejia off the 40-man roster. He finished out the season at the Triple-A level, hitting a solid .293/.324/.525 in 105 trips to the plate at the level before electing free agency at the start of the offseason. His first trip through free agency brought him to the Angels, where he entered camp as the likely third catcher on the club’s depth chart behind Logan O’Hoppe and Matt Thaiss. Based on Washington’s recent comments, however, it appears the Halos are comfortable with fellow non-roster invitee Chad Wallach as a veteran depth option behind the plate and hope to offer the likes of Caleb Hamilton and Zach Humphreys opportunities during camp.

That’s left Mejia in search of a job for the second time this offseason, though it’s unlikely he’ll remain on the open market for long. Teams are always looking for veteran catching depth on minor league deals given the unique demands of the position, and Mejia’s previous prospect pedigree and past success as a regular with the Rays figure to make him one of the more attractive depth options at the position available in free agency at this stage of the winter.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions Francisco Mejia

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This Date In Transaction History: Blake Snell Trade

By Anthony Franco | December 27, 2023 at 7:34pm CDT

Today marks three years since the blockbuster that sent a former (and future) Cy Young winner across leagues. The Rays dealt Blake Snell to the Padres in the late evening of December 27, 2020, bringing back a four-player prospect package. Luis Patiño headlined the return, which also included Blake Hunt, former top prospect Francisco Mejía and 2020 third-round draftee Cole Wilcox.

The deal came as something of a surprise, as the Rays weren’t under huge financial pressure to move Snell. Despite the controversy surrounding Kevin Cash’s decision to lift Snell in Game 6 of that year’s Fall Classic, Tampa Bay could’ve held the southpaw into the following season. Snell was under contract for respective salaries of $10.5MM, $12.5MM and $16MM covering the 2021-23 campaigns.

Nevertheless, the Tampa Bay front office felt the prospect return was too strong to pass up. Patiño was viewed as one of the sport’s most talented pitching prospects despite struggling in a brief MLB debut that season. Hunt was a borderline Top 100 minor leaguer at the time. Mejía’s stock had fallen from its peak as he struggled against big league pitching, but he was only entering his age-25 season and had less than three years of MLB service. Wilcox was viewed by many evaluators as a first-round talent that year, only dropping to the third because of a lofty bonus demand.

The deal didn’t pan out at all as the Rays had envisioned. While Snell has had a volatile career, he recaptured the ace-caliber upside he’d shown in Tampa Bay. After turning in a 4.20 ERA over 27 starts during his first year with the Friars, he rebounded to post a 3.38 mark in 2022. The cumulative 3.79 ERA he managed across 256 2/3 innings was solid, although it didn’t hint at the Cy Young level he’d reach in 2023.

Snell didn’t start the ’23 campaign well. He owned a 5.48 ERA with a strikeout rate just under 24% through the first month. After a slight uptick in strikeouts and a 3.82 mark in May, Snell kicked off a four-month stretch as the most dominant pitcher on the planet. From June 1 on, he struck out 35% of batters faced and allowed 1.23 earned runs per nine. His 1.54 ERA after the All-Star Break is the 12th-lowest second half rate since 2000 (minimum 75 innings).

The dominating finish led Snell to cruise to a second career Cy Young. He was a near-unanimous choice as the NL’s top pitcher after posting an MLB-best 2.25 ERA through 180 innings. Snell hit free agency and seems unlikely to return to a San Diego organization that has cut spending. Assuming he signs elsewhere in the coming weeks, he concludes his time as a Padre with a 3.15 ERA while striking out 31.5% of opponents in 436 2/3 frames.

As a team, San Diego didn’t have the kind of success they envisioned. They reached the postseason just once in the last three years. A second-half collapse cost them a playoff berth in 2021. They rebounded with a trip to the NLCS in ’22 but finished 82-80 last season. A strong final couple weeks ostensibly brought them within a couple games of a playoff spot, but the 2023 club was more or less finished by the end of August.

One can debate whether the Friars should’ve more aggressively marketed Snell, Juan Soto and Josh Hader at the deadline. A fringe contender at the time, they elected to add around the margins rather than move their top impending free agents or Soto (whose arbitration price tag they knew was rising). As a team that exceeded the luxury tax threshold, they’ll only receive picks after the fourth round as compensation for losing Snell and Hader, each of whom rejected a qualifying offer.

San Diego’s subsequent decisions don’t negate how well they fared in the Snell trade, however. That turned out to be one of the more lopsided deals of the past few seasons. No one in the return found much success in Tampa Bay. Three of the four are out of the organization entirely.

Patiño saw MLB action in each season from 2021-23. He logged 101 1/3 innings as a Ray, turning in a 5.24 ERA. Patiño’s control hasn’t developed as expected and he has struggled with home runs throughout his MLB tenure. The Rays moved on at the deadline, sending him to the White Sox for cash. He ended up back in San Diego last week; the Friars claimed him when Chicago put him on waivers. He’s out of options, so he’ll either need to open the season on the MLB roster or be made available to other teams yet again.

Neither of the other prospects involved have reached the majors. Hunt has slowly climbed the minor league ladder, hitting at a roughly league average level at each stop. The Rays didn’t want to carry him on the 40-man roster, yet Hunt was eligible for minor league free agency after this season. Tampa Bay dealt him to the Mariners (who did add him to the 40-man) for 2022 eighth-round pick Tatem Levins last month. Wilcox remains in the organization but underwent Tommy John surgery late in the ’21 season. He returned to post a 5.23 ERA in 25 starts at Double-A this year. He went unselected in the Rule 5 draft a few weeks ago.

Mejía, arguably the fourth piece of the return at the time, had the most success for Tampa Bay. The switch-hitting catcher had a .260/.322/.414 batting line in 84 games in 2021. His offense cratered over the last two years, though, as he hit .237/.262/.387 in 459 plate appearances over that stretch. The Rays designated him for assignment in August. He reached free agency at year’s end and signed a minor league deal with the Angels last week.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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MLBTR Originals San Diego Padres Tampa Bay Rays This Date In Transactions History Blake Hunt Blake Snell Cole Wilcox Francisco Mejia Luis Patino

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Angels Sign Francisco Mejia To Minor League Deal

By Tim Dierkes | December 22, 2023 at 4:41pm CDT

The Angels signed catcher Francisco Mejia to a minor league deal, according to reporter Miriam Luz.  The deal includes a spring training invite.

Mejia, 28, put up a .227/.258/.400 batting line in 160 plate appearances for the Rays this year.  He split time behind the dish for Tampa Bay with Christian Bethancourt, logging 381 innings.  Mejia hit the IL in late July with an MCL sprain, an injury that cost him about a month.  Upon his activation in August, the Rays instead chose to designate Mejia for assignment, sticking with Rene Pinto as their backup catcher.  Mejia then accepted his outright assignment, so as not to abandon the remainder of his $2.155MM salary.  He then elected free agency in October.

Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2012, Mejia broke out as a bat-first switch-hitting Indians prospect in 2016.  Prior to the 2018 season, Baseball America considered him the 20th best prospect in the game, while MLB.com had him at #11.

In July of 2018, the Indians traded Mejia to the Padres for relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber.  Mejia made the Padres in 2019 as the backup to Austin Hedges, though by the end of 2020 he was optioned to Triple-A.  In December of 2020, Mejia was again traded, this time heading to the Rays with Luis Patiño, Blake Hunt, and Cole Wilcox for Blake Snell.  Mejia and Patiño, the principals in that trade, have fallen far in these three years.  Patiño was claimed on waivers earlier today, returning to the Padres.  Snell, meanwhile, reached free agency, won his second Cy Young award, and was reported yesterday as an Angels priority by Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mejia paired up with Mike Zunino to form the Rays’ catching tandem in 2021.  He posted a .260/.322/.416 batting line in 277 plate appearances, providing the best offense of his career to date.  In 2022, with Zunino on the injured list, Mejia led the Rays and set a career-high with 638 1/3 innings caught, despite injuries of his own.

Though Mejia is still relatively young, he generally hasn’t impressed defensively and his highly-touted bat never materialized.  Logan O’Hoppe holds the starting catching job for the Angels, and Mejia will have to supplant Matt Thaiss for the Halos’ backup role.  The Angels shipped catcher Max Stassi to the Braves earlier this month along with David Fletcher, who then flipped Stassi to the White Sox.  It’s been a quiet offseason otherwise for Angels GM Perry Minasian, who has seen Shohei Ohtani depart and has thus far added three relievers in Luis Garcia, Adam Cimber, and Adam Kolarek.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions Francisco Mejia

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29 Players Elect Free Agency

By Anthony Franco | October 6, 2023 at 4:33pm CDT

October brings postseason play for a handful of teams and their fanbases. Just over two-thirds of the league is now in offseason mode after being eliminated, however. As the season comes to a close, a number of veterans will hit minor league free agency.

These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. The first group, courtesy of the transaction tracker at MiLB.com:

Catchers

  • Zack Collins (Guardians)
  • Caleb Hamilton (Red Sox)
  • Francisco Mejia (Rays)

Infielders

  • Matt Beaty (Royals)
  • Brandon Dixon (Padres)
  • Josh Lester (Orioles)
  • Taylor Motter (Cardinals)
  • Kevin Padlo (Angels)
  • Cole Tucker (Rockies)
  • Tyler Wade (A’s)

Outfielders

  • Abraham Almonte (Mets)
  • Kyle Garlick (Twins)
  • Derek Hill (Nationals)
  • Bryce Johnson (Giants)
  • Cody Thomas (A’s)

Pitchers

  • Archie Bradley (Marlins)
  • Jose Castillo (Marlins)
  • Chase De Jong (Pirates)
  • Geoff Hartlieb (Marlins)
  • Zach Logue (Tigers)
  • Mike Mayers (White Sox)
  • Tyson Miller (Dodgers)
  • Tommy Milone (Mariners)
  • Reyes Moronta (Angels)
  • Daniel Norris (Guardians)
  • Spencer Patton (A’s)
  • Peter Solomon (Orioles)
  • Duane Underwood Jr. (Pirates)
  • Spenser Watkins (A’s)
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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Cleveland Guardians Colorado Rockies Detroit Tigers Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Los Angeles Dodgers Miami Marlins Minnesota Twins New York Mets Oakland Athletics Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres San Francisco Giants Seattle Mariners St. Louis Cardinals Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Washington Nationals Abraham Almonte Archie Bradley Brandon Dixon Caleb Hamilton Chase De Jong Cody Thomas Cole Tucker Daniel Norris Derek Hill Duane Underwood Francisco Mejia Geoff Hartlieb Jose Castillo Josh Lester Kevin Padlo Kyle Garlick Matt Beaty Mike Mayers Peter Solomon Reyes Moronta Spencer Patton Spenser Watkins Taylor Motter Tommy Milone Tyler Wade Tyson Miller Zach Logue Zack Collins

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Francisco Mejia Accepts Outright Assignment With Rays

By Steve Adams | August 28, 2023 at 1:40pm CDT

Catcher Francisco Mejia, whom the Rays designated for assignment last week, has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham after clearing waivers and will remain with the organization, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. As a player with more than five years of service time, Mejia could’ve rejected that assignment in favor of free agency and still retained the remainder of this year’s $2.2MM salary, but he’ll opt to remain with the Rays and hope for a call back to the big leagues. If he’s not added back to the 40-man roster between now and season’s end, Mejia can become a free agent to begin the offseason.

Mejia, 27, was once regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball but has not yet seen his offense in the big leagues match his prodigious output in the upper minors. The switch-hitter is a .304/.348/.507 hitter in parts of three Triple-A seasons, but the former San Diego and Cleveland farmhand has produced just a .239/.284/.394 batting line in 1098 plate appearances between his three organizations. Cleveland flipped him to San Diego as part of the 2018 Brad Hand trade, while the Friars sent him to Tampa Bay as part of 2020’s Blake Snell trade.

While Mejia showed some promise in 2021, hitting .260/.322/.416 in his first season with the Rays, he’s batted .237/.262/.387 in 143 games since that time. He’s regularly drawn below-average framing grades, and this year he’s thwarted just four of the 42 stolen base attempts against him. Dating back to the 2018 season, Statcast also grades him 61st of 75 qualified catchers in terms of pitch blocking (-14 blocks above average).

With Mejia now off the 40-man roster (but still in the organization), the Rays are going with the light-hitting but defensively superior tandem of Rene Pinto and Christian Bethancourt behind the plate. Mejia will now be the primary fallback option for that pair, and with rosters set to expand to 28 players on Sept. 1, it could be easier to get him back on the big league roster if the organization wishes to do so.

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Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Francisco Mejia

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