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Lucas Duda

Mets Place Lucas Duda On DL With Stress Fracture In Back, Designate Dario Alvarez

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The Mets have placed first baseman Lucas Duda on the 15-day disabled list due to a stress fracture in his lower back, tweets Marc Carig of Newsday. There’s no definitive timetable for his return, but manager Terry Collins said that it “will be awhile,” tweets MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets that Collins added it’ll be “at least” four to six weeks for Duda, though that seems like a fairly optimistic timeline.

In a corresponding move, the Mets have selected the contract of infielder Ty Kelly from Triple-A Las Vegas. Carig tweets that Kelly will get some time at first base along with Eric Campbell, but the club could also try Wilmer Flores and even Michael Conforto at first base in his absence. To clear room for Kelly on the 40-man roster, the team has designated left-hander Dario Alvarez for assignment, Rubin tweets.

Duda, 30, has seen his batting average, on-base percentage and power output each take a significant hit this season, and Mets manager Terry Collins admitted over the weekend that he was “really concerned” about the status of his slugging first baseman’s back. Duda batted .249/.350/.483 and launched 57 homers from 2014-15 while providing offense that was roughly 35 percent better than that of a league-average bat (per metrics like OPS+ and wRC+), but he’s been a shade below average with the bat this season and has seen his struggles escalate rapidly over the past couple of weeks. In 13 games (11 starts) dating back to May 5, Duda is hitting .171/.292/.220. That endpoint is admittedly arbitrary in nature (Duda homered twice on May 4) but does speak to his recent struggles at the dish.

The indefinite loss of Duda is a blow to a Mets lineup that currently ranks 25th in Major League Baseball with 167 runs scored, especially considering the fact that they’ve recently seen one of their hottest hitters, Conforto, go into a lengthy slump with a significant increase in strikeouts. Travis d’Arnaud is already on the disabled list and doesn’t appear close to a return, and Curtis Granderson is hitting just .200/.297/.419 on the year. The rest of the Mets’ infield — Neil Walker, Asdrubal Cabrera, David Wright — has been productive, but Wright is currently mired in a slump of his own and comes with durability concerns due to his ongoing bout with spinal stenosis. Yoenis Cespedes has been a stabilizing force in the middle of the Mets’ lineup, hitting an incredible .298/.381/.660 with an MLB-best 14 homers and an NL-best 35 RBIs. (His .660 slugging also leads the Senior Circuit.)

It’s unlikely that Conforto sees any immediate time at first base, as he lacks experience at the position, though if and when he does get a lengthier look there, the Mets could make some use of the Juan Lagares/Alejandro De Aza platoon that was expected to patrol center field before Cespedes re-signed. One name that is not in consideration is Double-A first baseman and top prospect Dominic Smith, tweets Carig. Collins says that Smith, who has just 47 games above the Class-A level under his belt, will not be coming up anytime soon. Rubin tweets that Wright, too, offered to play some first base in Duda’s absence, but Collins said a move across the diamond for the team captain is not a consideration, either.

Mets Links: Duda, Cabrera, Harvey

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The Mets polished off a three-game sweep of the Brewers today and now head into a big three-game series with the NL East-leading Nationals.  New York goes into the series 1.5 games behind Washington.  Here’s the latest from the Amazins…

  • Lucas Duda underwent tests on his bad back this morning and he’ll be re-evaluated by team doctors on Monday, manager Terry Collins told reporters (including Peter Botte of the New York Daily News).  Collins admitted that he’s “really concerned” about his first baseman’s status, with David Wright also seemingly implying that Duda could miss some time.   Duda is off to a slow start, hitting .231/.297/.431 with seven homers through his first 145 PA.
  • Asdrubal Cabrera wasn’t considered a marquee signing during the Mets’ offseason but the veteran infielder has thus far delivered a very solid performance, the New York Post’s Zach Braziller writes.  Cabrera is hitting .278/.333/.373 through 171 plate appearances and despite some subpar defensive metrics, he’s been a valuable fill-in at shortstop with Wilmer Flores injured.
  • Does Stephen Strasburg’s extension with the Nationals offer any lessons for the Mets and Matt Harvey?  Newsday’s David Lennon notes that at the moment, the Mets are simply trying to get Harvey on track after a very rough start to his season.  The two aces invite comparison in many ways (i.e. both Scott Boras clients, both early-career Tommy John patients), though perhaps the most interesting point of divergence is how the Nats famously shut down Strasburg in the season following his TJ surgery rather than use him down the stretch and into the postseason, whereas the Mets used Harvey throughout their run to the World Series last year.

NL Injury Notes: Duda, Montas, Smith

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First baseman Lucas Duda was scratched from the Mets’ lineup Saturday and had an MRI on his back, as ESPN’s Mark Simon notes. The nature and severity of Duda’s issue is unclear, although he’s batted just .192/.300/.404 in May. “Having him out of the lineup is a huge loss for us, especially against right-handed pitching, which we’re going to see two games here and two games in D.C. (next week),” says manager Terry Collins. “We have to look at the big picture. We can’t aggravate this thing to where it becomes a major issue. We hope that it won’t.” Here’s more on NL injuries.

  • The Dodgers are keeping an eye on Frankie Montas, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register writes. Montas, who’s recovering after having surgery on his rib in February, pitched two scoreless innings in extended spring training on Thursday and threw 100 MPH with what manager Dave Roberts describes as good command. Montas is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Double-A Tulsa this weekend. As Plunkett notes, Montas isn’t eligible to come off the 60-day DL until June 3. Montas, one of the keys to the Dodgers’ end of the Todd Frazier deal last winter, could turn out to be a significant asset for the Dodgers, given his velocity (his average fastball last year in a brief trial with the White Sox was 96.7 MPH) and the instability of the Dodgers’ bullpen beyond Kenley Jansen.
  • Brewers manager Craig Counsell says lefty Will Smith is ready to begin a rehab assignment and could return to the team in the first week of June, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (Twitter links). Smith tore his lateral collateral ligament late in Spring Training and opted to rehab it rather than having surgery. He began throwing off a mound last week. A quick return would be a boon for both Smith and the Brewers — he had figured to get at least some opportunities at closer this year, and if he does pile up saves or holds, he’ll likely get a nifty raise on his $1.475MM 2016 salary through the arbitration process next winter. Perhaps we would be getting ahead of ourselves in imagining he might close, however — Jeremy Jeffress has done well in the closer’s role, and there’s no urgent reason for the Brewers to remove him. The team surely would, however, enjoy the return of a reliever in Smith who posted a 2.70 ERA, 12.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in a terrific 2015 season. He and Jeffress could also be good trade chips for the Brewers this summer.

 

Mets Avoid Arbitration With Lucas Duda, Jenrry Mejia

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The Mets have reached agreements to avoid arbitration with first baseman Lucas Duda and reliever Jenrry Mejia, Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links).

Duda will receive $6.725MM for the 2016 season. The slugger will land slightly above the $6.65MM mid-point in their recently-submitted arbitration numbers. He had filed at $7.4MM, with the team countering at $5.9MM. His final number lands just shy of MLBTR’s $6.8MM projection.

Now entering his age-30 campaign, Duda has emerged as a significant force at the plate. He owns a .249/.350/.483 slash with 57 home runs since the start of 2014. New York will be able to control him for one additional season through the arb process.

Mejia, meanwhile, settled at $2.47MM. Notably, as Heyman adds, he will take a rare pay cut from his prior year’s salary. New York tendered him a contract but sought a reduction on the price tag after Mejia missed most of the year due to successive PED suspensions. Of course, he still owes time on the second and will miss a sizable portion of the coming season — meaning he won’t earn the full amount agreed upon.

2016 Arbitration Filing Numbers

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MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker is the place to go to see the arbitration contracts agreed upon thus far, as well as the figures exchanged between teams and players that were not able to reach agreement before today’s noon deadline to swap salary positions. Matt Swartz’s arbitration projections are available here.

As MLBTR has previously explained, 156 players officially filed for arbitration (after some eligible and tendered players had already reached agreement). Of those, 34 players have yet to reach reported agreements with their clubs. Of course, those players can still reach agreements before their hearings (which will take place between February 1st and 21st). If the case goes to a hearing, the arbitrator must choose one side’s figures, rather than settling on a midpoint.

We’ve gathered the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining — those where the player files for at least $4.5MM — in this post, but you can find them all in the tracker (with two as-yet-unreported exceptions).

NL Notes: Reyes, Duda, Young, Pirates

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Rockies shortstop Jose Reyes would welcome a trade to a winning team, writes Nick Groke of the Denver Post. “You come from a ballclub that was competing for a spot in the playoffs,” said Reyes. “And you come to a club in last place. You think about that.” Reyes said to Groke that winning is his top priority, particularly a this stage of his career. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my career on a last-place team,” he continued. Reyes wasn’t necessarily asking out of Colorado, adding, “We’ll see what happens here,” but he added that he doesn’t want to spend multiple years waiting on a rebuild, either.

Here’s more from the Senior Circuit…

  • Lucas Duda’s troublesome back — a lumbar strain, to be specific — forced him to exit Friday’s game early, and Saturday the Mets placed the first baseman on the disabled list, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes. The Mets are hopeful that Duda will only be sidelined for the minimum 15 days, which would mean he’d return to the club in early September. Duda will have a consultation with back specialist Dr. Robert Watkins next week. Michael Cuddyer got the start at first base last night.
  • The Mets are considering trade acquisition Eric Young Jr. as a September call-up, DiComo writes in a second piece. New York immediately optioned Young to the minors upon acquiring him, but a lack of speed and base-stealing threats on the current active roster make him a strong candidate for a September appearance. Manager Terry Collins seemed to be in favor of the idea as well. “It’s a dimension we don’t have,” said Collins, in reference to Young’s speed. “It would be very important for us to have a guy like that.”
  • The offseason additions of Francisco Cervelli and Jung Ho Kang have fueled what will likely be a third straight playoff berth for the Pirates, writes Joe Lemire in a column for USA Today. GM Neal Huntington tells Lemire that Kang has exceeded the organization’s expectations in terms of how well he’s adapted to the U.S. culture. Lemire also spoke to Huntington about Cervelli, and the GM said that his team was aggressive in is pursuit of the former Yankees catcher due to his defensive prowess. Cervelli talked with Lemire about how he improved defensively with the Yankees as well as his passion for painting and cooking, which he uses as stress relievers and refers to as “good therapy in the offseason.”

East Notes: Syndergaard, Duda, Castillo, Red Sox

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While neither pitcher toed the rubber in tonight’s tilt, Nationals reliever Aaron Barrett and veteran Phillies starter Aaron Harang played an interesting role in the action by squaring off in a notable pre-game National Anthem stand-off. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post provides a nice account of the duel, which lasted until after the first pitch was thrown and ultimately mirrored the game itself in producing a tightly-fought victory for Washington.

Here are the latest notes from the eastern seaboard:

  • The Mets continue to fall back in the standings, but have at least received solid initial returns on prized righty Noah Syndergaard, who was something of a tough-luck loser tonight but owns a 3.63 ERA with 16 strikeouts and five walks in 17 1/3 innings. As Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News reports, the team intends to keep Syndergaard on the active roster when righty Dillon Gee is activated this weekend. In fact, the club may utilize a six-man rotation of some kind for a stretch. That’s good news for Syndergaard, who profiles as a likely Super Two qualifier if he can stick in the big leagues the rest of the way.
  • One of the few bright spots for the Mets on the offensive side of the equation is first baseman Lucas Duda, as Craig Edwards of Fangraphs explains. Duda’s big numbers last year came in spite of struggles against left-handed pitching, but Edwards writes that his overall body of work in that area, including excellent early numbers this year, show promise that he can be a strong everyday option at first.
  • Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo told reporters before today’s game that he does not expect to be a savior for the scuffling club, as John Tomase of WEEI.com reports. “Obviously, I’m very excited, but right now it’s just important to keep in mind the job at hand and try to keep the same momentum I had at Triple-A,” said Castillo. His first appearance in 2015 was not a memorable one for him or his team, but Castillo does look like he could be an important piece as Boston tries to work a turnaround.
  • While the Red Sox outfield logjam perhaps no longer holds quite the promise of abundance it once did, managing the roster remains a challenge — and a story to watch as the trade market begins to take form. As Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com reports on Twitter, manager John Farrell says that he plans to rotate Castillo in at both center and right in some kind of time share with Mookie Betts and Shane Victorino. All three hit right-handed, as does left fielder Hanley Ramirez, seemingly leaving at least some role for the switch-hitting Daniel Nava, particularly with Ramirez and Victorino nursing injuries.

Heyman’s Latest: A-Rod, BoSox, Bryant, Ventura, Gordon, Duda

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In this week’s edition of his Inside Baseball column, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports begins by looking at the contentious courtroom showdown that stands between Alex Rodriguez and as much as $30MM worth of home run milestone bonuses. As Heyman notes, people on all sides of the case have reasons to dislike A-Rod. Rodriguez filed a lawsuit (that was eventually dropped) against the MLBPA, and he parted ways with agent Scott Boras more than six years ago. The Yankees’ reasons for resenting Rodriguez are obvious, as are those of the league, with whom Rodriguez battled to reduce a 212-game suspension to a still-significant 162 game ban. Heyman looks at the arguments that can be made by both sides as well as the potential fallout once the situation is finally resolved.

Some highlights from the latest edition of Heyman’s newest weekly column…

  • Though the Red Sox aren’t blinking when it comes to trade talks with the Phillies regarding Cole Hamels, one rival GM considers Boston the favorite. The Phillies quite like center field prospect Manuel Margot, and Boston does have other nice pieces. Heyman notes that one scout actually expressed concern to him about Mookie Betts’ ability to hit the ball on the outer half of the plate, but the Sox remain steadfast in their refusal to part ways with Betts.
  • The Cubs aren’t concerned with a potential grievance being filed against them on behalf of Kris Bryant. Rather, their main concern is trying to find a way to extend him beyond his current allotment of team control. Heyman hears that Cubs are already considering trying to make him a Cub for life, though he also notes that it’s a bit early for those discussions.
  • White Sox skipper Robin Ventura signed an extension of an unreported length prior to the 2014 season, and Heyman now hears that Ventura is under contract through the 2016 season. The contract length is said to be of little importance to ChiSox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who loves Ventura.
  • The Royals plan to try to do “whatever they can” to retain Alex Gordon beyond the 2015 season. The 32-year-old Gordon’s $12.5MM player option has increased to $13.25MM based on performance escalators, per Heyman. While Gordon has implied that he will exercise the option in the past, it’s exceptionally difficult to envision him merely picking up the option rather than trying for a highly lucrative multi-year deal. The Royals never felt they had a great shot at retaining James Shields, but their hope with Gordon is that the career Royal and Nebraska native might be easier to retain. Heyman adds that while the club is interested in trying to extend Salvador Perez beyond the 2019 season, those talks aren’t likely to come until after the season.
  • Juan Uribe is off to a decent start with the Dodgers, but the hot play of Alex Guerrero and the addition of Hector Olivera in Spring Training could eventually lead to Uribe becoming available on the trade market. Uribe’s at hasn’t lined up with his previous seasons to this point, but he’s hit a perhaps surprisingly strong .293/.333/.435 dating back to Opening Day 2013.
  • Rival executives are anxiously anticipating a Brewers fire sale following the club’s awful 5-17 start to the season, Heyman hears. One exec listed Carlos Gomez, Khris Davis, Jean Segura, Gerardo Parra, Kyle Lohse and Francisco Rodriguez as players who will draw interest, noting that Jonathan Lucroy is probably untouchable, while Matt Garza and Ryan Braun are somewhat overpriced.
  • The Mets were trying for a three-year extension that contained a club option and would’ve guaranteed Lucas Duda a bit shy of $30MM. I’d imagine that with Duda could end up the beneficiary in that scenario, particularly if he can sustain the increase in his walk rate and the more notable decrease in his strikeout rate.
  • Multiple Yankees people have shot down the notion that the team would pursue Hamels when asked by Heyman. One replied that the team is “not looking” at Hamels, while another wondered if Hamels is still a legitimate ace or more of just a big name.

Extension Notes: Cueto, Zimmermann, Duda, Melvin

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We just heard that the Angels and Huston Street could continue their efforts to find a new deal before he hits the open market, but the same may not be true of several other prominent free agents-to-be. Here’s the latest:

  • Johnny Cueto and the Reds are not expected to reach agreement, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports tweets, confirming the expectations from recent reports. As Cincinnati takes the field, it appears the start of Cueto’s last year with the club.
  • The same holds true of Jordan Zimmermann and the Nationals, who as Morosi tweets never made progress on a new deal that could have kept him in D.C.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson says that he does not foresee restarting talks with first baseman Lucas Duda, as Matt Ehalt of the Record tweets. Of course, it seems likely that Alderson is merely referring to the notion that the team will not look to re-open talks during the coming season, not that it sees no future possibility of discussing a longer-term arrangement.
  • Meanwhile, it appears that an extension is all but a formality for the Brewers and GM Doug Melvin, as Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports (Twitter links). Owner Mark Attanasio says that he is still talking about a new deal with Melvin, with the major question being how long the veteran executive wants to stay at the helm.

Extension Notes: Kluber, Tillman, Reds, Porcello

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In negotiations for his recent extension, Corey Kluber was forthright about wanting to continue to pitch for the Indians, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian writes (on Twitter). “Corey was really upfront,” says GM Chris Antonetti. “He said, ’This is where I want to be. I want to be in Cleveland for a long time. Ideally, I’d like it to be a lifetime contract.’” Here are more notes on extensions.

  • The Orioles will not extend Chris Tillman before Opening Day despite recent discussions between the two sides, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports tweets. As of late last week, it did not appear that the two sides were close, and Tillman does not want to continue extension discussions once the season begins. He has three more years before he’s eligible for free agency, however, so it’s not impossible the two sides could negotiate again next offseason.
  • The Reds have discussed a new contract with Johnny Cueto recently, but the two sides are unlikely to strike a deal before the season begins, Heyman writes. It’s looking extremely likely that Cueto will hit the free agent market next winter. Heyman also notes that the Reds have not pursued extension talks with Mike Leake.
  • Another free-agent-to-be, Rick Porcello of the Red Sox, reiterates that he will not discuss an extension during the season, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports. “I don’€™t want any distractions when we start the season,” says Porcello. The two sides did have at least some dialogue in March regarding a possible deal, Bradford writes.
  • A Mets representative says Lucas Duda and the team have not discontinued their contract talks, Matt Ehalt of the Record tweets. A previous report had indicated that the two sides had stopped talking as Opening Day approached. The two sides have reportedly discussed an extension in recent weeks.
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