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Joey Lucchesi

Mets Claim Yoan Lopez Off Waivers From Marlins

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The Mets have claimed reliever Yoan López off waivers from the Marlins, according to announcements from both teams. To clear space on the 40-man roster, New York placed left-hander Joey Lucchesi on the 60-day injured list.

López continues to bounce around the league — and more specifically, the NL East — via waivers. Designated for assignment by the Braves early in the offseason, he was claimed by the Phillies just before the lockout. Since the work stoppage, he’s gone from Philadelphia to Miami and now to Queens on the waiver wire.

Despite having been a member of four NL East teams within the past six months, the only big league club for which López has ever suited up is the Diamondbacks. A high-profile signee by Arizona out of Cuba, he was one of the better pitching prospects in the D-Backs system for the next couple years. López reached the big leagues briefly in 2018 and found a bit of success early in his career. He pitched to a 3.41 ERA over 60 2/3 innings during his second MLB campaign, but an underwhelming 17.1% strikeout rate indicated he might have trouble continuing to keep runs off the board.

That proved to be the case, as he’s posted a 6.19 mark in 32 innings over the past two years. His 19.6% strikeout percentage and 10.1% walk rate in that time are both worse than average. That said, the 29-year-old has actually had some success missing bats on a pitch-by-pitch basis. He’s generated swinging strikes on nearly 13% of his offerings in each of the past two years, about a point above the 11.7% league average for bullpen arms. López has also averaged north of 95 MPH on his fastball and has posted slightly better than average ground-ball marks.

Traded from Arizona to Atlanta in May, López spent the majority of last season with the Braves’ top affiliate in Gwinnett. He had much better results there than he’s had in the big leagues, posting a 3.03 ERA with a 26.7% strikeout rate in 32 appearances. Between his Triple-A performance and pair of remaining minor league option years, López has clearly piqued the interest of a handful of teams. None have yet been willing to devote him a permanent spot on the 40-man roster, but the Mets can stash him at Triple-A Syracuse as a depth option for the next couple years were they to keep him on the 40-man.

Lucchesi’s 60-day IL placement was an inevitability whenever New York needed a roster spot. The southpaw underwent Tommy John surgery last June and will miss most or all of the upcoming season recovering.

Mets Activate Michael Conforto, Select Corey Oswalt

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves before this evening’s game against the Braves. As expected, outfielder Michael Conforto has been activated from the injured list. He is in tonight’s lineup, hitting third while playing right field. Right-handers Tylor Megill (previously reported) and Corey Oswalt have been officially selected to the roster. (Andy Martino of SNY reported that Oswalt would be promoted before the official announcement).

Righties Yennsy Díaz and Sean Reid-Foley were optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, while catcher Tomás Nido has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 22, due to a right wrist contusion. To clear 40-man roster space for Megill and Oswalt, pitchers Joey Lucchesi and Robert Gsellman were transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Conforto has been out since May 17 with a hamstring strain. He’ll return to the lineup for the first time in more than a month, looking to improve upon his early-season output. Conforto, who hit .261/.365/.478 between 2018-20, started this season a bit slowly by his standards. Across 135 plate appearances, the left-handed hitter managed a .230/.356/.336 line that’s been only slightly better than league average, a drop-off from his high-end production in prior years. The next few months will be pivotal for Conforto, who is scheduled to reach free agency at the end of the season.

Oswalt becomes the latest addition to a pitching staff that has been hit hard by injuries. The 27-year-old appeared for the Mets in each season from 2018-20, working to a composite 6.19 ERA/4.83 SIERA across 84 1/3 innings. He served as something of a flexible swing option, starting 13 of his 23 MLB appearances.

New York passed Oswalt through outright waivers in February, and he’s spent the 2021 season with Syracuse. He’s made six appearances, none of which has eclipsed 3 1/3 innings, working mostly as a multi-inning reliever. Given that he hasn’t really been stretched out this year, Oswalt seems more likely to serve as long relief depth than as a true starter, although it’s possible he could work as an opener or tandem starter of some sort. Megill, on the other hand, has worked as a more traditional starter in the minors and is ticketed to start tonight’s game against Atlanta.

Gsellman went on the IL with a lat strain earlier this week, and he never seemed especially likely to return anytime soon. General manager Zack Scott told reporters (including Tim Britton of the Athletic) that Gsellman won’t even begin a throwing program for at least six weeks. That likely ruled him out until late August at the earliest, so there’s little reason for the Mets not to transfer the righty to the 60-day IL with the need for 40-man roster space. Lucchesi, meanwhile, will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow and miss the rest of the year (and most or all of 2022).

Nido has tallied 91 plate appearances this season, hitting at a passable .238/.297/.393 clip. A recent MRI on his injured wrist didn’t reveal any structural damage, manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) this afternoon. Nevertheless, it seems he’ll need a few days to recuperate. Patrick Mazeika is on hand to back up starter James McCann in the interim.

Mets’ Joey Lucchesi To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Mets left-hander Joey Lucchesi has been diagnosed with a complete tear of the UCL in his throwing elbow, Laura Albanese of Newsday was among those to relay (Twitter link). He’ll undergo Tommy John surgery this week. Obviously, Lucchesi is done for the rest of 2021 and will miss most or all of the 2022 campaign.

New York acquired the 28-year-old from the Padres last winter as part of the three-team deal that sent Joe Musgrove to San Diego. He made eleven appearances (eight starts) in his debut campaign with the Mets, pitching to a 4.46 ERA but posting stronger underlying numbers. Lucchesi punched out an above-average 26.1% of opposing hitters while walking only 7.0%. Those positive strikeout and walk rates contributed to a much better 3.74 SIERA, his lowest mark since his 2018 rookie campaign with the Friars (when he posted a 3.64).

Today’s news isn’t unexpected, since Lucchesi was diagnosed with a significant UCL tear yesterday. It’s nevertheless a disappointing development for a New York staff that is still without Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard as they recover from long-term injuries. The Mets have gotten very strong work from Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker this year, but David Peterson has struggled. Jerad Eickhoff, recently selected to the MLB roster, might be the favorite to assume Lucchesi’s spot in the rotation for now.

It remains to be seen whether this will mark the end of Lucchesi’s Mets tenure. New York can place him on the 60-day injured list for the remainder of the season, but players must be reinstated from the IL during the offseason. New York will have to decide whether it’s worth tendering Lucchesi a contract and carrying him on the 40-man roster all winter. He’ll eclipse three years of MLB service during his IL stint, so Lucchesi will be eligible for arbitration for the first time. If the Mets do tender him a contract with an eye toward a potential late-2022 or 2023 return, Lucchesi would be controllable through the end of the 2024 season.

Mets’ Joey Lucchesi Diagnosed With UCL Tear

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10:23pm: Manager Luis Rojas acknowledged after tonight’s game that surgery is a possibility for Lucchesi but said the left-hander will receive a second opinion before making a final decision (Twitter link via Newsday’s Laura Albanese).

7:34pm: Mets left-hander Joey Lucchesi, who went on the injured list this weekend, underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with a “significant” tear in his left elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament, reports Steve Gelbs of SNY (Twitter link). The Mets haven’t formally announced an update, but any UCL tear obviously comes with the possibility of Tommy John surgery. He’ll seek a second opinion before making any decisions.

In further Mets injury news, the team announced prior to the second game of today’s doubleheader that Jeurys Familia has been placed on the injured list due to a right hip impingement. That injury comes just hours after the Mets placed righty Robert Gsellman on the 10-day injured list due to a lat strain that will reportedly sideline him for up to eight weeks. Right-hander Yennsy Diaz is up from Triple-A Syracuse to take Familia’s spot on the roster. The team has not yet provided a timeline on Familia’s injury.

Lucchesi, 28, has given the Mets 38 1/3 innings of 4.46 ERA ball with a 3.40 FIP, a 26.1 percent strikeout rate and a 7.0 percent walk rate. That’s solid production from any pitcher, let alone one who was viewed as a depth option and perhaps the sixth or seventh starting pitcher on the team’s depth chart when Spring Training commenced. That performance has certainly justified the Mets’ decision to part with catching prospect Endy Rodriguez to acquire Lucchesi from the Padres as part of the three-team, Joe Musgrove trade with the Pirates. Now, however, there are considerable doubts as to just when Lucchesi will throw his next pitch.

If Lucchesi indeed requires Tommy John surgery, the procedure is coming late enough in the 2021 season that it’ll jeopardize the majority, if not the entirety, of his 2022 season.. Tommy John procedures typically come with recovery periods in the range of 12 to 16 months, and as the Mets’ own Noah Syndergaard illustrates, a straightforward year-long recovery period is not necessarily a given.

A Tommy John procedure would put the Mets in a tough spot with Lucchesi. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter now that he’ll close out the current season on the 60-day injured list. Any raise will be suppressed by his current injury status, of course, but they’d still need to determine whether to dedicate a 40-man spot to him all winter and pay him a raise for the 2022 season despite the possibility that he won’t pitch at all. In that scenario, they’d again be faced with the decision of whether to again dedicate an offseason 40-man spot and likely match that salary in 2023 — most arb-eligible players who miss a whole season are re-upped at the same rate for the following year — or cut bait via a non-tender.

Obviously, the hope for the Mets, Lucchesi and their fans is that he’ll somehow be able to avoid surgery and return to the mound without going under the knife. However, the report of a “significant” tear indicates that even if surgery is avoided for now, Lucchesi is likely looking at a notable shutdown.

The loss of Lucchesi in the near-term is a blow to a Mets club that has been hit hard by injuries up and down the roster. Carlos Carrasco has still yet to pitch in 2021, owing to a hamstring tear a brief elbow issue in Spring Training, while Syndergaard’s return has been pushed back by at least six weeks due to inflammation in his surgically repaired elbow. Righty Jordan Yamamoto, meanwhile, is on the 60-day injured list due to shoulder woes.

With those injuries having taken their toll, the Mets turned to former Phillies righty Jerad Eickhoff to start the nightcap of today’s twin bill. Other options on the 40-man roster include recent waiver claim Nick Tropeano and 25-year-old prospect Thomas Szapucki, who has yet to make his MLB debut.

The Mets entered the season with a fairly impressive bit of pitching depth, but that depth has obviously been tested early and often. Given the news on Lucchesi, the setbacks in the recoveries of Syndergaard and Carrasco, and the minor injury troubles that Jacob deGrom and Taijuan Walker have faced, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see the Mets target rotation help on the summer trade market.

Turning to Familia, his injury places a temporary hold on what was shaping up to be a solid rebound effort. While the right-hander’s 14.3 percent walk rate has been far too high, Familiar has nevertheless pitched to a 3.63 ERA with a 23 percent strikeout rate in 22 1/3 frames. He’s also generated plenty of weak contact and induced grounders at a characteristically high 58.5 percent clip, which has helped to offset the penchant for free passes. It may not be the dominant form he displayed from 2014-18, but it’s nevertheless been a nice season for the righty.

The bullpen has been one area where the Mets haven’t been bitten too hard by the injury bug, but back-to-back losses of Gsellman and Familia now threaten to begin testing the depth on that side of the pitching staff as well. The Mets are undoubtedly thankful that deGrom was able to breeze through five innings today after his own recent injury scare, but it’s still been a rough day for the pitching staff as a whole — one that could very well accelerate the team’s efforts to add from outside the organization.

Mets Place Joey Lucchesi On 10-Day IL, Activate Albert Almora

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The Mets have placed lefty Joey Lucchesi on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing elbow.  Outfielder Albert Almora will take Lucchesi’s spot on the active roster, as Almora has himself been activated off the 10-day IL.

With New York facing a number of injuries in its pitching staff this season, Lucchesi has been a valuable arm, able to work both in the rotation and out of the bullpen.  Lucchesi has a 4.46 ERA/3.72 SIERA over 38 1/3 innings (starting eight of his 11 games), and an above-average 26.1% strikeout rate and seven percent walk rate.  The southpaw added to this resume with a strong outing just last night, tossing 5 1/3 shutout innings against the Nationals.

The Mets have doubleheaders scheduled for today, Monday, and on Friday, so the rotation was already facing a crunch even before Lucchesi hit the IL (the club does have an off-day on Thursday to act as something of a reset).  Robert Gsellman is scheduled to start the second game tonight, and a solid outing could put him in line to act as Lucchesi’s replacement.

Almora has been on the IL since May 12 due to a shoulder contusion suffered after a big collision with the outfield wall.  The 27-year-old will settle back into his backup outfield role, and look to essentially restart his season after hitting only .048/.091/.048 in his first 22 plate appearances.

Latest On Mets’ Rotation

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The Mets announced a few noteworthy roster moves Wednesday, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. New York cut right-handers Corey Oswalt and Jordan Yamamoto from major league camp, and the club reassigned infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury and catcher Bruce Maxwell.

With Oswalt and Yamamoto on their way down, the Mets appear as if they’ll begin 2021 with left-hander Joey Lucchesi as the fifth starter in their rotation, DiComo suggests. Acquired from the Padres in a three-team trade during the offseason, the 27-year-old Lucchesi combined for 56 starts in San Diego from 2018-19, during which he piled up 293 2/3 innings and recorded a respectable 4.14 ERA/4.10 SIERA with decent strikeout and walk percentages of 24.6 and 8.0, respectively.

Lucchesi wasn’t able to build on his early success last year, as he threw a mere 5 2/3 innings in three appearances in his final season with the Padres. However, he has logged superior results this spring with 8 1/3 innings of three-earned run ball and 11 strikeouts against three walks.

Lucchesi did not look likely to make the Mets’ rotation until righty Carlos Carrasco suffered a torn hamstring last week. Carrasco could be out until at least sometime in May, which will give Lucchesi time to sink or swim in the Mets’ starting staff. Barring any unexpected developments in the next week, he’ll join Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker and David Peterson in New York’s top five when the season opens.

Mets Notes: Carrasco, Thor, Barnes, Lucchesi

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Right-hander Carlos Carrasco resumed throwing today, pitching one inning (about 20 pitches) in a simulated game setting, Mets skipper Luis Rojas tells reporters (Twitter link via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). The Mets remain hopeful that Carrasco can be ready for the Opening Day roster, though that much can’t be known until they see how he feels after throwing this morning and until he builds up more in subsequent throwing sessions. The Mets paused Carrasco’s throwing work last week after he reported some discomfort in his right elbow, but his shutdown was rather brief, lasting just eight days.

Some more notes out of Port St. Lucie…

  • Noah Syndergaard threw off a mound this morning, with Mike Puma of the New York Post providing some video footage for interested Mets fans (Twitter link). Rojas tells reporters that Syndergaard, who is on the mend from 2020 Tommy John surgery, is not yet to 100 percent but nevertheless reached 96 mph with his fastball in this morning’s session (via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). The 28-year-old won’t be ready for the Opening Day roster, of course, but based on his current trajectory he could be back in the mix by early summer. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.
  • Reliever Jacob Barnes is impressing Mets staffers thus far in Spring Training, writes Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Barnes, a 30-year-old right-hander who was claimed off waivers back in October, worked extensively with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner to deepen his understanding of the analytical side of pitching. “Up until this point, I didn’t really have that,” said Barnes of the data-focused approach taken by Hefner. “So I was just going out there just assuming what worked and didn’t. He pretty much gave me a blueprint of, ‘This fastball works really well here and here and the slider [there].'” Barnes is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to either make the Opening Day bullpen or else be designated for assignment.
  • Joey Lucchesi is another Mets newcomer impressing decision-makers, as Thosar explored last night. Rojas and others were pleased with yesterday’s start, as well as Lucchesi’s work in simulated games thus far in camp. He’s in the running for the fifth starter’s job, along with David Peterson and Jordan Yamamoto, both of whom have pitched well. Rojas notes that Lucchesi is stretched out and won’t be used in the bullpen for now, which suggests he’ll be optioned if he doesn’t break camp with a rotation gig. That’d be a disappointing outcome for Lucchesi himself, but the very presence of such a decision speaks to the improved pitching depth the Mets possess in 2021 — something they haven’t had as much of in recent seasons.

Padres Acquire Joe Musgrove In 3-Team Trade

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TODAY: The trade is official.  The Padres get Musgrove, the Mets get Lucchesi, and the Pirates receive the five prospects (Rodriguez, Head, Cruz, Fellows, and Bednar).

JANUARY 18, 5:47pm: This is a three-team trade, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray, who reports that the Mets will acquire Lucchesi. The Pirates will get catcher/outfielder Endy Rodriguez, per Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.

5:40pm: Pittsburgh will get five players in return, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Head and lefty Omar Cruz are among those going to the Pirates, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic. Southpaw Joey Lucchesi is also part of the trade, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports, as are righties David Bednar and and Drake Fellows, Lin relays.

5:18pm: The Padres have agreed to acquire right-hander Joe Musgrove from the Pirates, Jeff Passan of ESPN tweets. The Pirates will receive “a large package of prospects,” potentially including outfielder Hudson Head, according to Passan.

This is the fourth significant trade for a starter in recent months for the Padres, who first acquired righty Mike Clevinger from Cleveland before last August’s deadline. Clevinger was quite effective for the Padres after the trade, but elbow issues limited him to one inning during the team’s NLDS loss to the division-rival Dodgers in October, and he won’t pitch at all in 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November.

After losing Clevinger for the upcoming season, the Padres swung trades with the Cubs for Yu Darvish, a National League Cy Young contender in 2020, as well as with the Rays for former AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell. They’ll presumably have Darvish, Snell, Musgrove, Dinelson Lamet (if he’s healthy after dealing with bicep troubles last year) and Chris Paddack in their season-opening rotation, though prospects MacKenzie Gore, Ryan Weathers and Adrian Morejon could be among younger Pads pushing for starts in 2021.

In Musgrove, San Diego is getting a California native who owns a 4.33 ERA in 496 2/3 innings between the Astros and Pirates, but he entered the offseason as one of the majors’ most intriguing trade chips after a career-best campaign. The 28-year-old threw 39 2/3 innings and recorded a 3.86 ERA/3.50 SIERA, all while registering a personal-high 14.4 percent swinging-strike rate and placing 10th in the majors in strikeout percentage (33.1 percent). That production would have made it more difficult for the low-payroll Pirates to extend Musgrove, who’s due $4.45MM in 2021 and has one more year of arbitration control left after that.

Lucchesi could have been part of the Padres’ rotation next season, but he’ll instead go to New York and compete for the No. 5 spot in its starting group. The Mets’ staff looked terrific before this deal with Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson comprising their top four, but Steven Matz had been the front-runner for the fifth position after a dismal 2020. He’ll now have to go against Lucchesi, who recorded ERAs in the 4.00s in 2018 and ’19 before tossing just 5 2/3 innings in the bigs last year. Lucchesi’s not eligible to become a free agent until after 2024.

With no chance to contend in the near future, it made sense for the Pirates to move on from Musgrove in favor of a package of younger players.  For Musgrove, they’re receiving at least four well-regarded prospects in Head, Cruz, Bednar and Rodriguez, whom MLB.com ranked among the top 20 farmhands in their teams’ farm systems.

Head (No. 7) went in the third round of the 2019 draft and then signed a record bonus for $3MM. The 19-year-old possesses an “extremely high” ceiling, according to MLB.com. Cruz (17) and Bednar (20) were also solid Padres prospects, with MLB.com calling Cruz a possible back-end starter and Bednar a hard thrower with promise. Fellows did not rank among the Padres’ top 30 prospects at MLB.com, and Baseball America wrote before the club drafted him that his 93 to 94 mph fastball is “often hittable because he struggles to hit his spots.” However, BA added that Fellows’ slider could at least help make him a legitimate major league reliever.

Rodriguez, 20, was the Mets’ 14th-ranked prospect at MLB.com before the trade. MLB.com writes that Rodriguez has “an advanced approach and natural bat-to-ball skills” that will be all the more valuable if he sticks at catcher, though a future in the outfield does seem like a possibility.

The main takeaway here is that the Padres remain serious about vying for a World Series – something they have never won – in the near future. Even if it doesn’t happen in the short term, though, the Padres appear to be set up to succeed for the long haul. Their MLB roster is one of the game’s best, and as BA notes on Twitter, the Padres still lead the league with seven top 100 prospects.

NL West Notes: Taylor, Padres, Myers, Giants, Luciano

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The Dodgers may not have a key player available for today’s Game 6 against the Braves, as Chris Taylor suffered an ankle injury in last night’s game.  Taylor suffered the injury while chasing down a Freddie Freeman double in the eighth inning of Game 5, and Taylor managed to finish the inning before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the ninth.  Manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Taylor would undergo tests to determine the severity of the problem.

It hasn’t been a great postseason for Taylor, who has hit only .161/.257/.226 over 35 plate appearances during Los Angeles’ playoff run.  Still, Taylor’s regular-season performance and his versatility (he has been used as a second baseman and left fielder this October) make him a valuable roster asset, and it’s not like Taylor hasn’t had success in the playoffs — he was the 2017 NLCS MVP.  If Taylor can’t play in Game 6, the Dodgers could turn to Max Muncy or Enrique Hernandez to play second base.  The Dodgers would also be reduced to a three-man bench, as they used 15 of their 28 roster spots for the NLCS on pitchers.  [UPDATE: Taylor isn’t in the Game 6 lineup, but Roberts told Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times and other reporters that Taylor is available off the bench and is “moving around much better today.  It’s better than he expected.”]

More from around the NL West…

  • Several Padres-related topics are addressed by The Athletic’s Dennis Lin as part of a reader mailbag piece, with a particular focus on San Diego’s offseason plans.  Lin doesn’t think the Padres will make a play for Trevor Bauer this winter, and re-signing Jurickson Profar could be difficult since his asking price may be beyond the Friars’ comfort zone.  “The team isn’t interested in paying handsomely for a secondary option,” Lin writes, though Profar ended up being essentially an everyday player in 2020.
  • Of course, more regular playing time could emerge for a player like Profar if the Padres were to trade Wil Myers.  Lin figures San Diego will again look into trades for Myers, whose once-negligible trade value has been boosted by an outstanding 2020 season (.288/.353/.606 with 15 homers in 218 PA).  The $41MM that Myers is owed through the 2022 season may still make a trade hard to complete, though naturally the Padres wouldn’t mind keeping Myers if he keeps producing as he did this year.  At the outskirts of the Padres’ roster, Lin thinks Francisco Mejia, Joey Lucchesi and Trey Wingenter could also be trade candidates.
  • In a Giants mailbag, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle believes shortstop Marco Luciano is the Giants’ only truly “untouchable” prospect in trade talks.  This doesn’t mean that other highly-touted youngsters like Joey Bart or Heliot Ramos are anywhere near being available, but rather that San Francisco perceives Luciano as “the main driver for a winning era.”  Luciano emerged as a favorite of top-100 prospect lists (ranked 14th by Fangraphs, 17th by Baseball America, 29th by MLB.com) after a big breakout in last year’s Arizona Fall League, though the 19-year-old has only one official year of pro ball under his belt.  It remains to be seen if he’ll stay at shortstop or move to third base or the outfield in the future, but the 19-year-old Luciano’s batting potential has already drawn raves.

Padres Option Joey Lucchesi, Josh Naylor

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The Padres announced last night that they’ve optioned left-hander Joey Lucchesi and outfielder/first baseman Josh Naylor to their alternate training site. The moves trim San Diego’s roster to the requisite 28 players that will serve as the maximum roster size from this point forth.

Every club made some moves to drop their roster to 28 players yesterday, but the Padres’ specific choices create a bit of intrigue. Lucchesi had been lined up to start today’s game against the D-backs, but that clearly won’t happen now. San Diego is, at least temporarily, left with a four-man rotation which has already led to speculation among fans about the potential promotion of MacKenzie Gore — ranked by many as the top pitching prospect in all off Major League Baseball.

The anticipation is understandable, but it’s also perhaps best to temper expectations. The Padres had an off day yesterday, so they could simply move everyone else in the rotation up a day. Zach Davies can start on normal rest today, followed by Chris Paddack on Saturday and Dinelson Lamet on Sunday.

San Diego also has other options on its current roster. In both of Lucchesi’s starts this season, he’s been followed up my a multi-inning relief appearance from righty Cal Quantrill. The Padres could turn the spot over to Quantrill to see how he fares in a start or two. Elsewhere on the roster, 20-year-old Luis Patino is considered one of the game’s better pitching prospects himself. The club has said he’ll begin in a bullpen role, and he’s not an option Friday after pitching two innings of relief Wednesday. However, if everyone is pushed up a day thanks to Thursday’s off-day, Patino could easily make a start this weekend or early next week.

All that said, it’s surely tempting to consider Gore. The Padres have lost four of their past five games, allowing an average of 6.2 runs per contest in that time. Their two prior wins to that were slugfests in which the pitching staff still yielded a combined 14 runs. Overall, San Diego ranks 21st in the Majors in ERA (4.70), 17th in FIP (4.23) and 18th in xFIP (4.30). The rotation, anchored by Paddack and Lamet, has been better than the bullpen to this point, but there’s still room for improvement. And in a short season where every win is magnified, the Padres currently sit in third place in the NL West behind the Dodgers and the surprising Rockies. Anyone promoted to the big leagues at this point would fall shy of a full year of MLB service. At the very least, the rotation now becomes an intriguing storyline to follow with a watchful eye.

As for Lucchesi himself, it’s a disappointing outcome after the 2016 fourth-rounder had held down a rotation spot for the two prior seasons. The now 27-year-old southpaw debuted early in 2018 and immediately impressed the club to the point that he stuck for a full year, ultimately making 26 starts with a 4.08 ERA and an average of 10 punchouts per nine innings. His 2019 season was similar: 163 2/3 frames of 4.18 ERA/4.17 FIP ball with solid control, plenty of grounders and nearly a strikeout per inning.

But Lucchesi also struggled to a 4.60 ERA in the second half of the 2019 season, and the Padres have generally been averse to letting him pitch to opposing lineups a third time. The reason for that is glaring; opponents have hit Lucchesi at a .233/.293/.397 clip the first time through the order, a near-identical .233/.288/.407 clip a second time — and a disastrous .312/.395/.548 pace once the lineup turns over a third time. Viewed through that lens, it’s not surprising that Lucchesi has averaged only five innings per start in the Majors (299 innings, 58 starts).

Looking to Naylor, opportunities for the 23-year-old have been limited. Trent Grisham, Wil Myers and Tommy Pham are all producing in the outfield, and Jake Cronenworth has hit well in lieu of injured first baseman Eric Hosmer, who’ll likely return this weekend. Naylor, the No. 12 overall pick by the Marlins back in 2015, has received just 14 plate appearances this year. He made a pair of early starts at DH, but the Friars have rotated several players through that spot rather than committing to a primary option at the newly created post.

Naylor tallied 279 trips to the dish in 2019 but didn’t force his way into a larger role with that showing. In all, he’s a career .248/.314/.402 through 293 PAs. Injuries or slumps in that outfield/first base/DH mix figure to get him another look later this season, but for now he’ll hone his approach at the team’s alternate site.

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