Mets Notes: Carrasco, Thor, Barnes, Lucchesi
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.
Mets Acquire Jordan Yamamoto
The Marlins have traded right-hander Jordan Yamamoto to the Mets in exchange for minor league infielder Federico Polanco, the Mets announced Monday. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, the Mets have designated infielder Robel Garcia for assignment. Yamamoto was designated for assignment last week when Miami inked reliever Anthony Bass to a two-year contract.
The 24-year-old Yamamoto joined the Marlins as one of four players acquired in the lopsided deal that sent Christian Yelich to Milwaukee. Yamamoto showed promise in a 15-start debut in 2019, notching a 4.46 ERA through his first 78 2/3 MLB frames while striking out a quarter of the hitters he faced. While that strikeout rate sat above the league average, he also walked a greater-than-average 11 percent of the hitters he faced.
Despite that promising debut, Yamamoto’s 2020 season was an utter disaster. In 11 1/3 innings, he was clobbered for 23 earned runs on 27 hits — including an astonishing eight home runs — and seven walks. Clearly, giving up nearly a homer per inning isn’t conducive to success, but it’s worth noting that there may well have been some physical reasons for his struggles. Yamamoto’s 2019 season ended with an IL placement due to a forearm strain, and his 89.8 mph average fastball in 2020 was down nearly two full miles per hour.
Yamamoto may not factor into the Mets’ immediate rotation plans, but he’ll be a nice piece of optionable depth behind top starters Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson. At present, Yamamoto and fellow trade acquisition Joey Lucchesi might be the favorites for the fifth spot in the rotation now with Steven Matz now a Blue Jay, but the Mets could yet add another veteran starting pitcher to their Opening Day group.
In exchange for Yamamoto, the Marlins will get the 19-year-old Polanco — a versatile, left-handed-hitting infielder who has yet to advance beyond the Dominican Summer League. (He’d likely have done so in 2020 were it not for the absence of a minor league season.) Polanco signed as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 and most recently appeared with the Mets’ DSL affiliate in 2019, hitting .299/.383/.418 in 231 plate appearances. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked him outside the Mets’ Top 30 prospects earlier this year, noting that he lacked power projection and has a contact-oriented offensive profile.
Garcia, 27, made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2019 after after a highly unusual path to The Show. The former Indians farmhand was out of affiliated ball from 2014-18 before the Cubs caught a look at him playing for a professional team in Italy. They brought him in on a minor league pact, and Garcia showed off light-tower power at Triple-A in 2019 — 21 homers in 296 plate appearances — before being called up.
The Cubs gave Garcia 80 plate appearances in 2019, and he responded with a tepid .208 average and .275 on-base percentage, but he still slugged .500 thanks to five homers, two doubles and two triples in that short time. Garcia also punched out in 35 of those 80 plate appearances, so while the raw power he possesses is plain to see, there’s some obvious work to be done on his approach at the plate. He still has a minor league option remaining, so a team in need of some right-handed-hitting infield depth could roll the dice on his considerable raw power. The Mets have a week to trade him, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him.
Marlins Designate Jordan Yamamoto For Assignment
The Marlins announced on Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Jordan Yamamoto for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to right-hander Anthony Bass, whose previously reported two-year deal is now official.
Yamamoto, 24, was one of four players the Fish received from the Brewers in their ill-fated Christian Yelich swap. He debuted with Miami in 2019 and found some success, starting 15 games and working to a 4.46 ERA in 78 2/3 innings. Yamamoto punched out a quarter of the batters he faced but also struggled with control, issuing free passes at an 11 percent clip. The 2020 season, however, was a different story entirely. The right-hander was absolutely tattooed in 11 1/3 frames, yielding 23 earned runs on 27 hits and seven walks. Even more alarming was that eight of those hits cleared the fences for home runs.
Notably, Yamamoto’s 2019 season ended with an IL placement due to a forearm strain. In 2020, his already modest 91.5 mph average fastball dropped to just 89.8 mph. He didn’t spend any time on the injured list in 2020, but it’s certainly plausible that there were physical reasons for his drop in velocity and his abrupt downturn in production.
Yamamoto has never been considered a high-end prospect, but he’s had success in the upper minors and in the big leagues despite being more than three months from turning 25 years of age. He also has above-average spin on his four-seamer and curveball in addition to still possessing a minor league option. All of that could make him appealing to another club via waivers or a minor trade. Miami will have a week to trade Yamamoto, place him on outright waivers or release him.
Marlins Announce Series Of Roster Moves
The Marlins announced a series of roster moves Tuesday, including the contract selections of right-hander Brett Eibner and lefty Brandon Leibrandt. They also optioned righties Jordan Yamamoto and Justin Shafer and infielder Lewin Diaz to their alternate training site; moved righty Mike Morin to the 45-day injured list; placed lefty Brian Moran on the 10-day IL with right knee patella tendonitis; recalled righty Humberto Mejia from their training site; and reinstated outfielder Corey Dickerson from the paternity list.
Eibner, a former Royals and Dodgers outfielder, last appeared in the majors in 2017. He switched to a two-way role thereafter and performed well enough as a pitcher in independent ball for the Marlins to recently purchase his contract from the Eastern Reyes del Tigre of the Constellation Energy League.
Leibrandt also isn’t far removed from joining the Marlins, who inked the ex-Phillies farmhand to a minors pact earlier this month. Most recently a member of the independent Somerset Patriots, the 27-year-old has never pitched in the bigs. He did enjoy a productive season in Triple-A ball in 2018, though, before succumbing to Tommy John surgery.
Marlins Announce Numerous Roster Moves
As they prepare to resume play, the Marlins have announced a flurry of additions to the active roster (as covered on Twitter by reporters including Jordan MacPherson of the Miami Herald). Just who’ll move to the COVID-19 injured list remains to be seen.
Most of these players were picked up in the last week or so as the organization’s coronavirus outbreak unfolded. The Fish will select the contracts of righties Nick Vincent and Josh A. Smith, infielders Logan Forsythe and Eddy Alvarez, and catcher Ryan Lavarnway.
Also coming up are a host of other fill-ins that had already gone onto the 40-man roster. Outfielders Matt Joyce and Lewis Brinson are coming off of the injured list. Righties Justin Shafer, James Hoyt, and Mike Morin will join lefties Josh D. Smith, Richard Bleier, and Brian Moran in the bullpen.
Most notably, perhaps, are the additions of youngsters Jordan Yamamoto, Monte Harrison, and Jorge Guzman. Yamamoto had 15 solid starts in 2019 and will be looking to lock down a job for the foreseeable future. As for Harrison, a former top-100 prospect, it’ll be his first taste of the bigs. Guzman is a live-armed young hurler who’ll get his first look.
In other news from Miami, both president Derek Jeter and manager Don Mattingly pushed back on the prevailing narrative surrounding the team’s coronavirus issues. While the leaders acknowledged that some players may have let their guard down, they rejected any rumors that players had recklessly engaged in risky activities away from the ballpark.
Jeter also rejected the notion that the Marlins’ players had made their own decision to take the field against the Phillies after several players tested positive. He says the organization simply played a scheduled game and noted that the league and opposing team had full knowledge of the testing results.
Marlins Notes: Rotation, Smith
The Miami Marlins haven’t had a lot to feel good about in recent seasons, but the rebuild is beginning to bear fruit. The Marlins rotation has been a talking point since around the All-Star break of 2019, and though they’re not yet a fearsome unit, they’re worth keeping an eye on. They finished the year 16th in the majors by ERA, 20th by FIP, 14th in HR/9, and 22nd by fWAR. They didn’t generate a lot of groundballs, but that’s playing to strength given their ballpark. The biggest area of improvement looking ahead to next season will be control, as they finished second-to-last with 3.50 BB/9. Still, given where the franchise has been in recent seasons, any unit climbing from the cellar is noteworthy.
That said, the first wave of talent often becomes the last wave of prospect-gathering trade bait. At least for the time being, however, the Marlins aren’t overeager to move their starting pitching. Still, that doesn’t stop teams from asking, particularly about Caleb Smith, per MLB Network Insider Jon Heyman. Smith, 28, is the veteran at the front of their young group, and his trade value remains high due to having just over two years of service time. He struggled with the long ball in 2019, but it was an overall successful campaign: 10-11, 28 starts, 4.52 ERA/5.11 FIP, 153 1/3 innings. Smith definitely made strides in securing his spot as a major leaguer, though it would not be surprising were the Marlins to pivot and decide to move him.
Regardless, President of Baseball Ops Michael Hill suggested the Marlins are secure in their starting options heading into 2020, and they’re unlikely to make a major acquisition in that regard, per Wells Dusenbury of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The current group includes Smith, 2019 All-Star Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez, Jordan Yamamoto, Jose Urena, Elieser Hernandez, and Robert Dugger. Alcantara and Smith are probably the only two with their rotation spots guaranteed. The rest of the group should have no trouble conjuring a sense of urgency, as top prospect Sixto Sanchez finished the year in Double-A, as did Edward Cabrera, perhaps their most promising arm after Sanchez.
The Marlins felt secure enough in this group (and the intriguing group of prospects coming behind them) that they dealt Zac Gallen to the Diamondbacks for young shortstop Jazz Chisholm. The position player side of the ball should soon see an influx of intriguing young talent get their chance in the big leagues. Along with Chisholm, the Marlins added JJ Bleday with the 4th overall pick in the draft and acquired another top prospect in Jesus Sanchez from the Rays. Chishold and Sanchez are likely to reach the majors in 2020, along with centefielder Monte Harrison. Chisholm, Sanzhez, and Harrison are the Marlins #3, 4 and 5 ranked prospect by MLB.com. On both sides of the ball, patience will carry the day for now in Miami. Given the gusto with which their division mates have approached the offseason, Miami is all but assured to finish 2020 in the NL East cellar for the third consecutive season.
Marlins To Promote Jordan Yamamoto, Place Jose Urena On IL
9:40pm: Urena’s battling lower back tightness, Wells Dusenbery of the Sun Sentinel tweets.
7:10pm: Right-hander Jose Urena, who had been lined up to start tomorrow’s game, will be placed on the injured list, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. It’s not yet known what type of injury Urena is dealing with. The team has yet to formally announce either move.
5:16pm: The Marlins will promote right-handed pitching prospect Jordan Yamamoto to make his Major League debut tomorrow, Yamamoto himself confirmed to FishStripes.com’s Ely Sussman (Twitter link). He’s already on the 40-man roster, so the team will only need to make a 25-man roster move to accommodate his arrival.
Yamamoto, 23, is one of the four players Miami received in the 2017-18 offseason blockbuster that sent future MVP Christian Yelich to the Brewers. Being a part of such a high-profile trade will always lead to some unfair expectations, but to this point in his tenure with the Miami organization, Yamamoto has looked like a rather intriguing pitching prospect. In 68 2/3 innings split primarily between Class-A Advanced and Double-A last year, the Hawaiian-born righty notched a 1.83 ERA with a tremendous 85-to-14 K/BB ratio (11.1 K/9, 1.8 BB/9). He also pitched to a 2.08 ERA in 26 inning during the Arizona Fall League.
So far in 2019, he’s turned in a strong 3.58 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.96 HR/9 and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate through 65 1/3 innings of work. In all, he has a 3.28 ERA with better than a strikeout per inning and roughly average ground-ball tendencies in 82 1/3 innings of Double-A ball.
MLB.com ranks Yamamoto as the Marlins’ No. 17 prospect, calling his curveball a “consistent plus pitch” and adding that high spin rate on his fastball helps to offset the pitch’s fairly pedestrian velocity. Fangraphs tabbed him 23rd among Miami farmhands to open the season, noting that there’s a wide variety of outcomes on Yamamoto — all of which are somewhat dependent on his secondary offerings. He’s a potential back-of-the-rotation starter who could also find some success as a multi-inning reliever if he’s ultimately unable to survive multiple trips through the batting order.
Players Added To The 40-Man Roster
Tonight marks the deadline for players to be added to their respective organizations’ 40-man rosters. Over the nine hours, there’ll be a flurry of moves, ranging from minor trades (like the one the Indians and Rays made yesterday), waiver claims and players being designated for assignment or outrighted. Each will be made to clear room for players who need protection from this year’s Rule 5 Draft. As a reminder, players who signed at 18 years of age or younger and have five professional seasons are eligible, as are players who signed at 19 or older and have four professional seasons under their belts.
Here’s a rundown of players who’ve been added to their respective 40-man rosters (which will be updated throughout the day)…
- There are three additions for the Twins: outfielder LaMonte Wade and infielders Nick Gordon and Luis Arraez.
- The Giants announced that they have added a trio of righties: Melvin Adon, Sam Coonrod, and Logan Webb.
- Lefty Justin Steele is now a member of the Cubs‘ 40-man, per an announcement.
- The Rangers announced that they are protecting veteran hurler Edinson Volquez, who’s returning from Tommy John surgery, along with outfielder Scott Heineman, righty Wei-Chieh Huang, and lefty Taylor Hearn.
- Righties Mitch Keller and JT Brubaker, infielder Cole Tucker, and outfielder Jason Martin are all joining the Pirates‘ 40-man, per Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects (via Twitter).
- The Blue Jays will add righty Patrick Murphy to their 40-man, per Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca (via Twitter). Toronto has announced his addition, along with those of fellow righties Trent Thornton, Yennsy Diaz, Hector Perez, and Jacob Waguespack.
- Three Indians players have been boosted up to the 40-man, the club announced: first baseman Bobby Bradley, southpaw Sam Hentges, and righty Jean Carlos Mejίa.
- Righty Joe Harvey is joining the Yankees‘ MLB roster, the club announced.
- The Phillies have added shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa along with righties Edgar Garcia and Adonis Medina to the 40-man, per a club announcement.
- Former first-round draft pick Dillon Tate, a right-handed pitcher, was selected to the Orioles‘ 40-man.
Marlins Add Seven Players To 40-Man Roster, Designate Three Others For Assignment
The Marlins announced an avalanche of roster moves in advance of tonight’s deadline for protection from the Rule 5 Draft. Being selected to the 40-man roster are right-handers Jorge Guzman, Jordan Yamamoto, Jordan Holloway and Kyle Keller, infielder Isan Diaz, outfielder Monte Harrison and left-hander Jose Quijada. Adding that group required the creation of three spots on the 40-man roster, which led the club to designate left-hander Dillon Peters, outfielder Braxton Lee and right-hander Ben Meyer for assignment.
Of the players to be designated for assignment, Peters is perhaps the most interesting. It’s not long ago that the 26-year-old lefty was deemed one of the more promising arms in an admittedly thin Marlins system on the heels of a 2.38 ERA between Class-A Advanced and Double-A in 2016. Peters didn’t have gaudy strikeout numbers but showed excellent control, and he followed up that season with a 1.57 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 through 63 innings between Double-A and Triple-A in 2017.
He’s been shelled in the Majors, though, surrendering a 6.10 ERA in 59 innings while displaying walk issues that weren’t present as he worked through the minors. At this point, he’s 26-year-old (27 next August) who’s yet to even pitch at Triple-A and hasn’t had success in the Majors — but one who did draw praise for an above-average breaking ball in the past. A year ago at this time, he was viewed as a largely MLB-ready back-of-the-rotation starter.
Lee, meanwhile, drew plus running grades as a prospect and was said to have an average or better glove with a chance to play center. He’s never shown any semblance of power but has previously had excellent contact skills and even won a Double-A batting title in 2017. His 2018 campaign was a disaster, though, as Lee hit just .233/.316/.294 across three minor league levels and didn’t hit in a tiny sample of 18 MLB plate appearances.
Meyer, 26 later this offseason, debuted in 2018 and was clobbered for 22 runs in 19 innings of work. He was sensational in 2017, pitching to a 2.02 ERA with 10.8 K/9 against 1.9 BB/9 in 111 1/3 innings — but those numbers came against much younger opposition, as Meyer was a college pitcher in his third full pro season splitting the year between Class-A and Class-A Advanced. He logged a 4.24 ERA with 6.9 K/9 against 2.7 BB/9 in 63 2/3 Triple-A innings this season.