White Sox To Sign Nate Fisher To Minor League Deal
The White Sox have an agreement with left-hander Nate Fisher on a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Fisher will receive an invite to next year’s Spring Training.
As mentioned by Murray, Fisher is known as “The Banker,” a reference to his unusual journey to the big leagues. He was released by the Mariners in May of 2020 and took on a job with the First National Bank of Omaha until re-signing with the Mariners in June of 2021. He was able to throw 37 1/3 innings that year, posting a 2.89 ERA along with a 31.8% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate. Though he reached free agency at the end of the year, he intrigued the Mets enough to get a minor league deal with them.
He continued getting good results in the minors this year, enough to get selected to the Mets’ roster and make his MLB debut in August, though he was designated for assignment and outrighted after one scoreless, three-inning appearance. In the minors, he eventually logged 84 2/3 innings with a 4.15 ERA, 22% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate.
After reaching free agency again, he already has a new deal in place with the Sox. The club has five lefties on the roster, with all of those having question marks to some degree. Aaron Bummer has posted strong results in recent years but missed about half the 2022 season due to a lat strain. While he was out, the club acquired Jake Diekman from the Red Sox, who posted a 6.52 ERA after the trade. Garrett Crochet underwent Tommy John surgery in April and will miss at least part of the 2023 campaign. Then there’s Tanner Banks and Bennett Sousa, who both just debuted in 2022 and could potentially be optioned and recalled throughout the season. The club could add to this mix throughout the offseason via free agency or trade, but have bolstered the depth for now by bringing in Fisher.
Mets Release Johneshwy Fargas, Outright Nate Fisher
The Mets have released outfielder Johneshwy Fargas and infielder Tzu-Wei Lin from their Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, per Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle. They’ve also assigned lefty Nate Fisher to Syracuse after he passed through outright waivers unclaimed, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets.
Fargas, 27, made his big league debut with the 2021 Mets after their outfield was hit with a barrage of injuries last summer. Fargas himself fell victim to that injury deluge after just seven games, suffering a sprained AC joint when colliding with the outfield wall on a leaping catch. He went 6-for-21 with a few highlight-reel moments in the outfield that, paired the effusive energy he displayed on both sides of the ball, made him a quick fan favorite in Queens. Fargas was designated for assignment, claimed by the Cubs, and eventually returned to the Mets on a minor league deal over the winter.
It’s been a tough season in the minors for Fargas, who carries a combined .212/.305/.340 batting line in 301 plate appearances between the Double-A and Triple-A levels. He’s still gone 28-for-30 in stolen base attempts, underscoring speed that allows him to provide value both on the bases and in the outfield. He’s played all three outfield positions in the minors this season, though the bulk of his time has been spent in center.
Fisher, meanwhile, just received his first major league call over the weekend. The 26-year-old tossed three scoreless innings of mop-up work and was promptly designated for assignment. After going unclaimed on waivers, he’ll head back to Syracuse, where he has a 3.12 ERA across 43 1/3 frames in 12 appearances (ten starts). The Nebraska product remains in the organization but no longer occupies a spot on the 40-man roster.
Mets Designate Rob Zastryzny, Nate Fisher; Select Connor Grey
The Mets have announced a series of roster moves, including selecting the contract of right-hander Connor Grey. Additionally, catcher Tomas Nido has been cleared to return from the COVID-19 IL, retaking his place on the roster. To make room on the active roster, left-hander Nate Fisher has been designated for assignment and right-hander Jose Butto has been optioned down to Triple-A Syracuse. Left-hander Rob Zastryzny was designated for assignment to open up another spot on the 40-man.
Grey, 28, was selected by the Diamondbacks in the 20th round of the 2016 draft. He got as high as Triple-A in Arizona’s system but was released in May of 2020. After reaching free agency, he signed a minor league deal with the Mets. This year, he’s made 12 appearances for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets, 11 of those being starts. In 93 innings, he has a 5.52 ERA, 17.9% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 49.3% ground ball rate.
Fisher, 26, was just selected to the club’s roster yesterday with the feel-good story of having been out of baseball and working at a bank just over a year ago. He threw three shutout innings for the Mets, helping them secure a 10-9 victory in a seesaw battle. Unfortunately, he will have to relinquish his roster spot after that Cinderella story. He’s logged 72 innings in the minors this year between Double-A and Triple-A, registering a 3.37 ERA with a 23.2% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate.
It’s a somewhat similar trajectory for Zastryzny, 30, who was just selected to the Mets’ roster two days ago. He pitched one inning for the club on Saturday before being optioned yesterday and designated today. He’s thrown 47 1/3 innings for Syracuse this season with a 3.61 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate.
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, the Mets will have no choice but to put Fisher and Zastryzny on waivers, either the outright variety or the release variety. Zastryzny has been previously outrighted in his career, meaning he would have the ability to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if he clears waivers. Fisher, on the other hand, would not have that right.
Tim Healey of Newsday first relayed that Grey had a locker in the Mets clubhouse. Mike Puma of the New York Post tweeted the news of Butto’s optioning and Fisher’s DFA (Twitter links).
Mets Select Nate Fisher, Designate Sam Clay
11:30am: Tim Britton of The Athletic relays the full slate of moves. Fisher has been selected while Jose Butto has been recalled. To make room on the active roster, Zastryzny was optioned, righty Stephen Nogosek was placed on the 15-day IL with a left oblique strain and lefty Sam Clay was designated for assignment.
11:25am: The Mets are selecting the contract of left-hander Nate Fisher, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Fisher is not currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move of some kind will be required.
To say that Fisher is not a top prospect would be underselling his journey. As noted by Passan, he was out of baseball and working a finance job in Omaha last year. He joined the Mariners’ organization in 2019 but was released in May of 2020. He signed another minor league contract with Seattle in June of 2021, eventually throwing 37 1/3 innings with a 2.89 ERA cross multiple levels of the minors.
He reached free agency in the offseason and was signed to a minors deal by the Mets. He’s split his time between Double-A and Triple-A this season, throwing 72 innings with a 3.37 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. Now 26 years old, Fisher has made the improbable jump to the big leagues after not even being in the sport just over a year ago.
Though Fisher has made some starts this year, it seems the Mets likely try to utilize him for left-handed relief. Joely Rodriguez has been the only southpaw in the club’s bullpen for most of the year, with Rob Zastryzny just getting added yesterday.