Mets Add Francisco Alvarez, Matthew Allan To 60-Man Player Pool
The Mets have added two of their top prospects to their 60-man player pool, as the team announced that catcher Francisco Alvarez and right-hander Matthew Allan will head to the alternate training site in Brooklyn.
Joining the player pool allows Alvarez and Allan to be eligible for a big league call-up, though such a promotion would seem a bit unlikely given how both players only began their pro careers last season. Alvarez appeared in 42 games in rookie ball in 2019, while Allan pitched just 10 1/3 innings in rookie ball before making one appearance for the Mets’ lower A-ball affiliate.
It should be noted that being added to the player pool also makes Alvarez and Allan eligible to be traded prior to the August 31 deadline. However, The Athletic’s Tim Britton tweets that the Mets “aren’t looking to move” either prospect, and that today’s transaction was only made help the two youngsters continue their development.
Alvarez was rated as a top-100 prospect in preseason rankings from The Athletic’s Keith Law (who had Alvarez 48th), MLB.com (63rd), Baseball America (67th), and Baseball Prospectus (88th). Signed to a $2.7MM bonus during the 2018-19 international signing window, Law praised Alvarez’s well-rounded hitting potential and described his swing as “arguably the best in the Mets’ system.” Defensively, Alvarez is unsurprisingly a little raw considering he is only 18 years old, though MLB.com’s scouting report cited his athleticism, “accurate, plus arm strength” and “energy level and willingness to learn” as reasons why Alvarez could eventually become at least an average defender behind the plate.
A third-round pick in the 2019 draft, Allan was heavily targeted by the Mets, who signed several other picks to underslot deals to free up enough pool money for a $2.5MM bonus for the righty. The strategy paid off, as Allan opted to join the Mets rather than pitch at the University Of Florida. Allan already boasts a strong fastball (in the mid-90’s range) and curveball, and is widely seen as a future rotation member, perhaps even a front-of-the-rotation type if all goes well.
Mets Notes: Matz, Ramos, Allan
Steven Matz has been a staple in the Mets’ rotation (when healthy) since his 2015 debut, but he’s recently been shifted to the bullpen in a move that manager Mickey Callaway hasn’t fully termed as temporary, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. While Callaway called Matz one of the team’s top five starters, the manager also declined to definitively state that Matz will return to the rotation. “I expect that after the All-Star break [he’ll be back in the rotation],” said Callaway, “but we’ll adjust if we need to.” That statement came prior to Matz’s bullpen debut last night — a scoreless outing. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes that after the game, Callaway “hesitated multiple times” when asked about Matz’s return to the rotation and did indicate that he could stay in the ‘pen for a longer period of time. Matz himself spoke to DiComo and other reporters about the different feel of relief pitching and took a team-first approach, stating that he’s willing to pitch in any role the club feels will help win games.
More Mets talk…
- SNY’s John Harper opines that trading Wilson Ramos should be a priority for the Mets at the deadline, citing defensive issues that have led multiple pitchers to prefer throwing to Tomas Nido. Both Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard look like they’ll be paired with Nido moving forward, Harper writes. He quotes one unnamed official who suggests that part of Syndergaard’s 2019 struggles have come from pitching up in the zone more, some of which could be tied to Ramos’ struggles to block pitches in the dirt following a significant knee surgery late in his Nationals tenure. There’s no clear indication in the report that New York will actually look to jettison Ramos, who is an objectively better hitter than Nido even in a down season. Ramos has slashed .275/.348/.414 with nine homers while the 25-year-old Nido has displayed a continued inability to get on base. In 180 career plate appearances, Nido is a .209/.233/.308 hitter, including a .263 OBP in 80 trips to the plate in 2019. Defensive prowess aside, a .233 OBP is a tough sell even for a backup. Nido has walked only six times in his career despite primarily hitting eighth ahead of the pitcher.
- The Mets reached a deal last week with their third round pick, highly-touted high school right-hander Matthew Allan. The signing was the culmination of a bold gambit from the club’s front office, as The Athletic’s Tim Britton (subscription required) details how carving out the bonus pool space to meet Allan’s high asking price led to the Mets “manipulating our entire draft” to accommodate Allan, as GM Brodie Van Wagenen put it. After the third round, the Mets spent the rest of their picks in rounds 4-10 on college seniors, who had less negotiating leverage and thus signed for bonuses of $20K or less. A strong endorsement from scout Jon Updike also gave the Mets confidence that Allan would ultimately sign and begin his pro career, rather than attend college.
Mets, Matthew Allan Agree To Terms
June 28: Allan will sign his contract today, Heyman tweets. He’s expected to receive a $2.5MM signing bonus.
June 26: The Mets are in agreement on a deal with third-round selection Matthew Allan, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). Allan had been considered a first-round talent who came with some signability issues, so the Mets have likely promised the high school righty a bonus that is considerably higher than his $668K slot value in order to forgo his commitment to Florida. Notably, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that Allan has yet to take his physical.
Heading into the draft, Allan ranked as the No. 11 prospect in the draft, per ESPN’s Keith Law. MLB.com’s top 200 listed Allan at No. 13, while he was 16th on the top 500 over at Baseball America and 20th at Fangraphs. Law called Allan the best high school pitcher in this year’s draft, praising him for a 92-95 mph fastball and a curveball that is already regarded as a plus pitch. MLB.com’s report notes that Allen’s changeup took a step forward this season as well, giving the 6’3″, 210-pound righty the potential for a third above-average offering.
The Mets saved about $470K on top pick Brett Baty but also went considerably over slot in giving second-round pick Josh Wolf a $2.15MM bonus when his slot value was roughly $1.37MM. However, the Mets selected college seniors in each of the fourth through tenth rounds of the draft, leaving them a considerable bit of cash to allocate to Allan. Each received bonuses of $20K or less, and while that leaves New York with a topheavy draft class, they’ll come away with a pair of players who were widely considered to be among the 20 best talents available. Obviously, there’s plenty of variance in all MLB draftees — high schoolers in particular — so the Mets are taking a fairly high-risk approach in so aggressively frontloading their draft resources to secure this trio of prep stars.