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John Curtiss

Mets Sign John Curtiss To Major League Contract, Select Travis Jankowski

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The Mets are signing reliever John Curtiss to a major league deal, general manager Billy Eppler told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and Tim Healey of Newsday). The team is also selecting outfielder Travis Jankowski to the major league roster for Opening Day. Curtiss will make $770K this season, and next year’s option is valued at $775K, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).

Curtiss isn’t expected to pitch for the entire 2022 campaign. The 29-year-old righty suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament while pitching for the Brewers last August, an injury that eventually required Tommy John surgery. Milwaukee had just acquired Curtiss from the Marlins at that summer’s trade deadline. He’d had an excellent first half in Miami, pitching to a 2.48 ERA in 40 innings with a solid 24.8% strikeout percentage and tiny 5.6% walk rate.

Milwaukee no doubt envisioned Curtiss serving as an important bullpen piece both down the stretch and over the next few seasons, but he only managed six relief appearances as a Brewer. They non-tendered him in November, electing against carrying an injured pitcher on the 40-man roster all winter. Curtiss only has a bit more than two years of MLB service, so he’ll be controllable via arbitration even beyond the 2023 option year. The Mets will take a low-risk dice roll to see if Curtiss can be a member of the big league bullpen next year and beyond. While rehabbing, he’ll pick up a big league salary and MLB service time on the injured list.

Curtiss will spend the entire season on the 60-day injured list, but the Mets first have to clear a 40-man roster spot to sign him to a big league deal. To do so, they’ve designated utilityman Travis Blankenhorn for assignment. New York claimed the left-handed hitter off waivers from the Mariners in June. That concluded a series of waiver claims for the former third-round pick, who bounced from the Twins to the Dodgers to Seattle and then Queens in a span of a few weeks.

Blankenhorn has only tallied 28 plate appearances at the big league level. He owns a solid .253/.361/.460 slash in a pair of Triple-A campaigns, though, and can still be optioned to the minor leagues for another season. That could lead another club to acquire Blankenhorn via minor trade or waivers in the next week.

Once Curtiss’ deal is made official, the Mets will place him on the 60-day IL and free a 40-man roster spot. That’ll go to Jankowski, who cracked the Opening Day roster after signing a minor league contract this offseason. He adds a fleet-footed player with experience at all three outfield spots to the New York bench. He has played 400+ innings everywhere on the grass as a big leaguer, with the bulk of that experience coming in center field.

The 30-year-old will serve as a speed/defense specialist behind the starting outfield of Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte and Mark Canha. The lefty-swinging Jankowski has never been much of a threat at the plate, as he owns a .239/.322/.318 line in a bit more than 1,100 big league plate appearances.

Brewers Non-Tender Daniel Vogelbach

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The Brewers announced this evening that they have non-tendered both first baseman Daniel Vogelbach and right-handed pitcher John Curtiss. The power-swinging Vogelbach was projected to receive a $2MM salary through arbitration (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), which the team likely viewed as redundant with a fellow lefty bat on hand in Rowdy Tellez.

Claimed off waivers from Toronto during the 2020 season, Vogelbach’s bat erupted for a 161 OPS+ during a 19-game stint with the Brewers last season. His .219/.349/.381 slash line this year, however, registered slightly below the league average (97 OPS+). The 28-year-old continued to hit the ball with authority this year and even cut his strikeout rate to a personal best 22.1%, but his defensive limitations and middling offensive performance were enough for the budget-conscious Brewers to move on. The lefty slugger can be controlled through 2025 via arbitration if he latches on with another Major League team this winter.

The right-handed Curtiss came over to Milwaukee in a last-minute deal with the Marlins this past July. The deal proved ill-fated for both the Brewers and Curtiss after just six appearances out of the bullpen, as the reliever yielded six runs and headed to the injured list with a torn UCL. The 28-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in September and is unlikely to see action on a Major League roster until 2023, at the earliest. Dating back to 2020 Curtiss carries a 2.86 ERA across 69 innings and will remain a high-upside reliever play for teams if his recovery goes as planned. The Brewers now have 36 players on their 40-man roster.

John Curtiss Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Brewers reliever John Curtiss recently underwent Tommy John surgery, general manager David Stearns told reporters (including Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The right-hander is not expected to return until 2023.

That’s not especially surprising news, as Curtiss tore the UCL in his throwing elbow during an appearance last month. While Curtiss was hoping to avoid a surgical procedure, further evaluation evidently deemed it necessary. It’s an unfortunate way to end what had been a productive season, as the 28-year-old pitched to a 3.45 ERA over 44 1/3 innings split between the Marlins and Brew Crew. While Curtiss’s 23.5% strikeout rate is essentially league average, he did well to avoid walks and home runs. That solid showing prompted Milwaukee to trade catching prospect Payton Henry to land Curtiss at the trade deadline, but he blew out after just six appearances with his new team.

Curtiss is already on the 60-day injured list, where he’ll remain for the rest of the season. The Brewers can keep Curtiss on the 60-day IL all of next season, as well, but they’ll need to reinstate him to the 40-man roster over the winter. Curtiss remains under team control through 2025 and won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason.

Stearns added that fellow reliever Justin Topa is going for a second opinion on his own elbow injury. Topa, who has already undergone Tommy John surgery twice in his career, was placed on the 60-day injured list over the weekend due to elbow discomfort. (Jandel Gustave returned from the COVID-19 in a corresponding move). That ended Topa’s season, although it remains to be seen whether he’ll have a chance of being ready for Spring Training in 2022.

Brewers Reinstate Eric Lauer, Transfer John Curtiss To 60-Day IL

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The Brewers have reinstated Eric Lauer from the IL, per a team announcement. The lefty was one of many Brewers to test positive for COVID-19 recently and was placed on the IL August 4th. Justin Topa was optioned to make room for him on the active roster, with John Curtiss going on the 60-day IL to create room on the 40-man roster.

Lauer has been a solid member of the Brewers’ staff this season, appearing in 15 games, starting 11 of them. In 69 1/3 innings, he has an ERA of 3.50, with a strikeout rate of 22.9% and walk rate of 8.9%, both of those rates being around league average.

As for Curtiss, he was recently traded from the Marlins to the Brewers. But just two weeks later, he was diagnosed with a torn UCL and may need to undergo Tommy John surgery. Although the 28-year-old is getting a second opinion before going under the knife, this IL placement guarantees that he will miss the remainder of this season. Before going on the IL, he had thrown 44 1/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball between the two clubs.

Brewers’ John Curtiss Suffers UCL Tear

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Aug. 12: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes that Curtiss is getting a second opinion, but Tommy John surgery indeed seems to be on the table.

Aug. 11: The Brewers announced that right-hander John Curtiss has been diagnosed with a torn UCL in his throwing elbow. The reliever left his appearance against the Cubs last night with elbow soreness, and he’s unfortunately suffered a significant injury. The team didn’t specify the severity of the injury, nor did they make any mention of Tommy John surgery. It’s possible that Curtiss is still exploring alternative means of treatment, but it seems he’s in for an extended absence no matter which course of action he chooses.

Curtiss has made just six appearances with Milwaukee after being acquired from the Marlins in a deadline-day swap. He was blown up for five runs in his team debut, but Curtiss had better results in his five other contests and has had a strong season overall. The 28-year-old tossed 44 1/3 innings of 3.45 ERA ball between Miami and Milwaukee, following up on a quality campaign with the Rays in 2020. Going back the past two seasons, he has a 2.86 ERA across 69 1/3 frames. His 24.1% strikeout rate is league average, but he’s been excellent at avoiding free passes (5.2% walk rate) after struggling with wildness throughout much of his minor league career.

Milwaukee hasn’t specified a timeline for Curtiss’ recovery, but it would be very surprising if he didn’t miss the rest of this season. Should he ultimately require a Tommy John procedure, he’d very likely be sidelined for the entire 2022 campaign as well. Curtiss won’t reach arbitration eligibility until 2023, so there’d be little financial cost for Milwaukee in holding onto him even if he requires a lengthy rehab process. Curtiss would have to occupy a spot on the 40-man roster throughout the winter if the Brew Crew want to ensure they retain his rights long-term, though.

For the time being, Curtiss has been placed on the 10-day injured list, as has lefty Angel Perdomo (lower back strain). The Brewers activated righty Justin Topa from the 60-day IL and recalled southpaw Hoby Milner from Triple-A Nashville, with Topa’s reinstatement filling the 40-man roster. The 30-year-old hasn’t pitched all season on account of a flexor tendon strain.

Brewers Acquire John Curtiss

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The Brewers and Marlins have agreed to a swap sending right-handed reliever John Curtiss from Miami to Milwaukee in exchange for minor league catcher Payton Henry, the teams announced just prior to Friday’s trade deadline.

John Curtiss | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Curtiss, 28, was at one point a fairly well-regarded bullpen prospect in the Twins system but never panned out in Minnesota, Anaheim or Philadelphia after bouncing around in a series of transactions. Like so many others, however, he found a home with the Rays in 2020, pitching to a brilliant 1.80 ERA in 25 innings of relief and posting a 25.3 percent strikeout rate against a masterful 3.0 percent walk rate. The Rays nevertheless flipped Curtiss to the Marlins in a late offseason trade for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards — perhaps not sold on Curtiss being able to sustain his otherworldly command.

While Curtiss’ command has indeed backed up a bit — sustaining a three percent walk rate is a near impossibility for any pitcher — it’s still sitting at a brilliant 5.6 percent so far in what has been a terrific 2021 season. Curtiss pitched 40 innings for the Marlins and notched a tidy 2.48 ERA with a solid 24.8 percent strikeout rate.

Beyond his excellent production, Curtiss was no doubt appealing to the Rays due to the fact that he’s not yet arbitration-eligible and is controlled through the 2025 season. Curtiss won’t even reach arbitration until the 2022-23 offseason, so there’s potential for him to step up as a long-term bullpen piece for the Brew Crew.

The Brewers will gain those four and a half years of control at the expense of the 24-year-old Henry, whom they selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft. Henry ranked among the Brewers’ top 30 prospects at Baseball America each season from 2018-20 but fell off this year. He’s still 25th among their farmhands over at FanGraphs, where Eric Longenhagen notes that he was a bat-first catcher in the draft who has made enough defensive gains to stick behind the plate. Henry’s raw power is his best tool.

So far in 2021, however, that pop hasn’t really been on display. He’s batted a combined .297/.372/.390 with just two homers between Double-A and Triple-A. That said, Henry has curbed his once-problematic strikeout rates by a wide margin this year; he fanned in 32 percent of his trips to the plate in Class-A as recently as 2018, but he’s down to an even 25 percent between Double-A and Triple-A this year (with fewer punchouts in Triple-A).

The Marlins are known to have been looking for potential long-term options behind the dish, and while Henry is a long shot to step up as their everyday option back there, he gives the Fish an upper-minors option who is producing at the dish and may not be too far from getting a shot in the big leagues.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the deal (Twitter link).

Marlins Place Pablo Lopez On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins have placed right-hander Pablo Lopez on the 10-day injured list due to a right rotator cuff strain.  The placement is retroactive to July 14.  Right-hander John Curtiss has been reinstated from the 10-day IL to take Lopez’s spot on the active roster, while righty Jordan Holloway was optioned back to Triple-A after serving as the 27th man for yesterday’s doubleheader with the Phillies.

Lopez heads to the IL in the aftermath of a history-making achievement, as his last start on July 11 saw Lopez become the first MLB pitcher to ever strike out his first nine batters faced in a game.  That entry into the record books has been the highlight of an overall strong season for the righty, who has a 3.03 ERA/3.48 SIERA over 101 innings for Miami and above-average strikeout (27.1%) and walk (6.1%) rates, to go along with a 47.3% grounder rate.

Lopez’s 2020 numbers were also good, and the 25-year-old is now looking like a nice building block within a Marlins pitching mix that has plenty of intriguing arms.  As Man On Second’s Joe Frisaro notes, however, several of these pitchers are already nearing career highs in innings pitched, so particularly in the wake of the shortened 2020 season, it remains to be seen how the Marlins will manage their rotation innings the rest of the way.

In Lopez’s case, his previous career high was 145 1/3 IP in A-ball back in 2017, so this 10-day IL stint might act as something of a natural rest point that allows him to pitch regularly the rest of the season, assuming a relatively quick return.  That said, Lopez has also had shoulder issues in the past, and the Marlins will undoubtedly carefully monitor his condition to prevent any further injury.  Depending on the severity of his rotator cuff strain, it’s possible Lopez could be shut down entirely for the season, considering that Miami already seems to be looking ahead to 2022.

If the Marlins opted for a starter-by-committee or an opener/bulk pitcher approach to fill Lopez’s rotation spot, Curtiss might be in line for more “starts,” after receiving a few opener assignments with the Rays and Marlins over the last two years.  Curtiss was placed on the 10-day IL due to neck stiffness back on July 4, and he has pitched well in his first season as a Marlin — a 2.67 ERA over 33 2/3 innings, despite some lackluster hard-hit ball numbers.  Curtiss is controlled through the 2025 season, so the Marlins are probably less likely to move him before other relievers in potential deals prior to the July 30 trade deadline.

Rays Trade John Curtiss To Marlins

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The Marlins and Rays are in agreement on a trade sending right-hander John Curtiss from Tampa Bay to Miami in exchange for minor league first baseman Evan Edwards, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link).

John Curtiss

Curtiss, who’ll turn 28 in early April, had his first taste of Major League success with the Rays in 2020. The former Twins draftee ranked as one of the more promising relief prospects in the organization as he climbed through the minors, but he struggled in the big leagues with two teams (Twins, Angels) and in Triple-A with a third (Phillies) before finally landing with the Rays and ostensibly breaking through.

In 25 innings last year, Curtiss posted a 1.80 ERA with a 25.3 percent strikeout rate and just a three percent walk rate. He’s never displayed that level of command before last year’s shortened season, however, and walks have often been his undoing when he’s struggled. Curtiss also benefited from an 87.2 percent strand rate that he’s not likely to sustain. Curtiss has slightly above-average spin and velocity on his fastball, though he also yielded one of the highest average exit velocities in the game last year (92 mph).

Clearly the Marlins are of the belief that Curtiss can continue to thrive in the big leagues, even if he takes a step back from last year’s sub-2.00 ERA. Curtiss does have multiple minor league option years remaining, so he’ll give the club some depth and flexibility in the ’pen for the foreseeable future. He’s controllable all the way through the 2025 campaign if he can manage to solidify himself as a consistent big league presence.

In return for Curtiss, the Rays will receive the 23-year-old Edwards — a 2019 fourth-rounder out of North Carolina State. He only has half a season’s worth of pro experience due to last year’s lack of minor league games, but Edwards was productive in that time. In 308 plate appearances following the draft, Edwards batted .281/.357/.442 with nine homers, 15 doubles and a triple.

It should be noted, though, that the Marlins weren’t particularly aggressive with Edwards’ assignments that year, sending him to short-season Class-A and then the Class-A Midwest League where most of the competition he faced was younger than him. He also posted a 26.9 percent strikeout rate, so he’ll likely need to improve his bat-to-ball skills as he climbs the minor league ladder. Edwards didn’t rank among the Marlins’ top 30 prospects heading into the 2021 season, per Baseball America.

Rays, Astros Set Game 5 Starters

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The Rays and Astros have set their starters for Thursday’s Game 5 of the ALCS. Tampa Bay will give the start to right-handed reliever John Curtiss in what should be a bullpen game, while Houston is turning to rookie right-hander Luis Garcia with their season on the line. Garcia has yet to pitch in the playoffs and pitched just 12 1/3 regular-season frames — his first career work above the Class-A Advanced level.

The 27-year-old Curtiss proved to be the latest gem unearthed by the Rays, as he gave the club 25 innings of 1.80 ERA ball with a 25-to-3 K/BB ratio during the regular season. The former Twins prospect was greeted rudely in his playoff debut earlier this month when the Yankees clobbered him for five runs in just two thirds of an inning, but he’s bounced back with a trio of scoreless outings. Curtiss didn’t pitch more than 2 2/3 innings in any appearance this season and hasn’t thrown more than 43 pitches in an outing, so it’ll be an all-hands-on-deck approach for the Rays today.

Garcia, 23, hasn’t pitched in a game since Sept. 27 and wasn’t asked to pitch more than two innings at any point after a five-inning effort back on Sept. 9. The Astros won’t be asking for bulk innings from the rookie today, as manager Dusty Baker told reporters his hope is that Garcia can navigate a potent Rays lineup once through the order (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart). It’s a stark contrast from last year’s Astros club, which rode the trio of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke to Game 7 of the World Series, but it’s also a testament to the club’s young pitching that their arms have been able to take them this far in spite of so many key injuries to veteran pitchers.

In other lineup news, Baker revealed that x-rays taken after Michael Brantley fouled a ball into his foot were negative. He’s batting second as the Astros’ DH in today’s elimination game.

Rays Announce Multiple Roster Moves

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The Rays announced several roster moves this morning (MLB.com’s Juan Toribio was among those to tweet the full list), including the news that Manuel Margot has been activated from the COVID-19 injury list.  The club also selected the contract of right-hander John Curtiss from its alternate training camp, and also called righty Ryan Thompson back up to the MLB roster.  To create room, Oliver Drake has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right biceps tendinitis, while left-hander Sean Gilmartin and catcher Kevan Smith have been designated for assignment.

Margot’s placement on the COVID list as a matter of procedure, as he was away from the club for personal reasons and had to undergo mandatory intake screening upon returning.  Thompson is also “back” with the team in pretty short order, as he started yesterday’s game against the Yankees and was then optioned to the minor league training grounds.  Continuing the trend of rapid-fire Rays transactions, Gilmartin’s contract was only selected two days ago, and he recorded one appearance of 3 1/3 innings (giving up three runs in an 8-4 loss to the Yankees in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader) before being sent into DFA limbo.

Smith was also a pretty new entry to the roster, as the Rays selected his contract back on July 30.  Manager Kevin Cash told reporters (including Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times) that the Rays would ideally like to retain both Gilmartin and Smith if they aren’t claimed on waivers by another team.

Drake pitched the final inning of the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader, and now has a 3.38 ERA in 5 1/3 innings this season.  The well-traveled Drake has seemingly found some stability in Tampa Bay, with a 3.23 ERA, 3.36 K/BB rate, and 10.9 K/9 over 61 1/3 relief innings since the Rays acquired him prior to the 2019 season.

Curtiss signed a minor league deal with Tampa during the offseason and is now on pace to appear in his fourth big league season.  The right-hander has a 6.75 ERA over 17 1/3 career innings scattered across the 2017-19 seasons, as a member of the Twins and Angels.  Curtiss was also briefly in the Phillies organization last season but didn’t receive any MLB playing time.

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