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P.J. Conlon

Minor MLB Transactions: 8/13/19

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The latest minor moves from around baseball…

  • The Pirates have reinstated right-hander Rookie Davis from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis, the team announced. Davis had been out since early June with hand and forearm injuries. The 26-year-old has given up eight earned runs on 12 hits and eight walks (with 10 strikeouts) in 10 2/3 major league innings this season.
  • The Athletics have released righty Jake Buchanan, according to Kegan Lowe of Baseball America. The 29-year-old, who joined the Athletics on a minors pact last winter, struggled to a 6.16 ERA with 6.4 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 99 1/3 innings with their Triple-A affiliate this season. The former Astro, Cub and Red last appeared in the majors in 2017.
  • More from Lowe, who reports the Mets recently released southpaw P.J. Conlon. The Belfast-born Conlon had been with the Mets since they used a 13th-round pick on him in 2015. Conlon, 25, threw 7 2/3 innings with the Mets in 2018 but spent far more time in Triple-A ball, where he put up a 6.71 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 across 122 frames in the Mets organization.
  • The Tigers announced that they’ve re-signed righty Sandy Baez to a minor league contract. The club released the 25-year-old last Friday. He has recorded a 5.59 ERA with 7.8 K/9 against 4.2 BB/9 over 116 innings with the Tigers’ Double-A team.
  • The Royals have signed righty Nick Howard to a minors contract, per Roster Roundup. Howard, the 19th overall pick of the Reds in 2014, hasn’t gotten past Double-A ball yet. The 26-year-old owns a 4.22 ERA with 5.9 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 21 1/3 innings at that level.

Mets Outright Conlon, Montero, Evans, Callahan

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The Mets have outrighted four players from their 40-man roster, per a club announcement. Lefty P.J. Conlon was assigned to Triple-A after clearing waivers, while Rafael Montero, Phillip Evans, and Jamie Callahan also cleared but are all now free agents.

Conlon, who’ll soon turn 25, is a rarity as a Belfast-born big leaguer. He had a rough all-around campaign in 2018 despite reaching the majors, with poor results there and at Triple-A. However, the southpaw has had greater success previously in the minors and could still have a chance to reestablish himself.

Of these players, Montero certainly has the most name recognition. Once considered a future rotation stalwart, his career had largely stalled out before he underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2017 campaign.

Callahan is another righty with some former prospect notoriety. He was a second-round pick in 2012, and had some successes in the minors after moving to a relief role. After a brief 2017 call-up, though, Callahan lost almost all of his 2018 season to shoulder surgery.

Evans has spent his entire career with New York to this point and saw MLB action in each of the past two seasons. A versatile defender who has plenty of experience at shortstop, Evans will mostly be considered as utility infield depth. He did launch a career-high 14 home runs in only 245 Triple-A plate appearances in 2018, though, which could increase his appeal to other organizations.

Mets Place Todd Frazier On DL Amid Series Of Roster Moves

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, most notably placing third baseman Todd Frazier on the disabled list due to a left rib cage strain. Additionally, the Mets recalled left-hander P.J. Conlon and right-hander Ty Kelly from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned righty Chris Flexen to Vegas. Right-hander Jacob Rhame is also up with the team as the 26th man for today’s twin bill, and Tim Britton of The Athletic further reports that right-hander Drew Gagnon will have his contract selected tomorrow and start Tuesday night’s game.

It’s the second DL stint of the season for Frazier, 32, who previously missed nearly a month due to a hamstring strain. It’s not clear just how long he’ll miss at present, but the injury certainly won’t do any favors for Frazier’s already limited trade stock. Through 260 plate appearances on the season, Frazier is hitting .217/.300/.385 with 10 homers. As James Wagner of the New York Times points out (via Twitter), Frazier’s second trip to the DL in 2018 comes after a previous seven-year run in which he avoided the DL entirely.

Frazier has played solid defense at third base, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating, but Frazier’s walk rate has dropped from 14.4 percent in 2017 to 10.4 percent in 2018, leading to sub-par OBP contributions despite his still-strong power output (.239 ISO). He’s in the first season of a two-year, $17MM contract with the Mets.

The 28-year-old Gagnon will be making his MLB debut when he takes the mound for the Mets on Tuesday. The longtime Brewers farmhand is in his first season with the Mets organization and has pitched to a 4.40 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 with a ground-ball rate just shy of 50 percent. Gagnon’s K/BB numbers and ground-ball tendencies are encouraging, but he’s been plagued by the long ball — perhaps not entirely surprising given the hitter-friendly nature of both the Pacific Coast League in general and his home environment.

 

Mets Claim P.J. Conlon From Dodgers, Designate Phillip Evans

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The Mets have re-claimed left-hander P.J. Conlon off waivers from the Dodgers and designated infielder Phillip Evans for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the team announced to reporters following this afternoon’s game (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). Conlon has been optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Conlon’s time with the Dodgers, clearly, will prove to be abbreviated. Los Angeles only claimed him off waivers from the Mets last week, and the southpaw had yet to even pitch in a game with his new organization before being placed back on waivers. It’s nothing new for the Dodgers to claim a player and then try to run him through waivers themselves as a means of keeping him in the organization without committing a 40-man roster spot. It’s a move they’ve had a fair amount of success with in past seasons, though the Mets clearly didn’t see fit to let Conlon get away and seized the opportunity to reclaim the depth they lost last week.

Conlon, 24, allowed seven earned runs in his first two big league starts with the Mets this season, spanning just 5 2/3 innings. His struggles weren’t contained to the MLB level, either, as he posted a whopping 6.58 ERA in 39 2/3 innings spanning eight starts with Vegas this year. However, Conlon possesses solid numbers up through the the Double-A level and turned in promising K/BB numbers in Triple-A this year even while struggling with his bottom-line run prevention numbers. He’ll now return to the organization that originally drafted him and continue on as a depth piece.

As for the 25-year-old Evans, this’ll be the second time he’s been designated for assignment by the Mets in the past calendar year. He’s just 1-for-9 on the young season but hit .303/.395/.364 in a tiny sample of 38 plate appearances in the Majors last year. Evans is a career .273/.337/.445 hitter in 671 PAs at the Triple-A level and has experience at every position other than center field, first base and catcher. If he clears waivers, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, given that he was outrighted the last time he was designated by the Mets.

Dodgers Claim P.J. Conlon

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The Dodgers have claimed left-hander P.J. Conlon off waivers from the Mets; the club announced the move. Conlon will be assigned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, and left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu has been transferred to the 60-day DL in order to make room on the 40-man roster.

Conlon hasn’t exactly impressed in his first taste of big league action; he’s allowed seven earned runs in his first two big league starts spanning just 5 2/3 innings. The Mets apparently didn’t need to see much more, as they designated him for assignment on Thursday in order to clear room to add a pair of right-handers to the roster. Juan Lagares was also transferred to the 60-day disabled list at that time.

Even in Triple-A last season, Conlon pitched to a whopping 6.58 ERA in 39 2/3 innings spanning eight starts. A mid-round pick of the Mets back in 2015, Conlon rocketed up the minor league ladder to make his MLB debut while spending no more than one year at each level of the minors. It’s almost curious that the Mets gave up on Conlon without ever giving him more than ten starts above the Double-A level, particularly given his serviceable results at Double-A in 2017.

The Dodgers have some rotation issues of their own, and Conlon could provide some decent minor-league depth. After all, they just learned they’ll be without fellow lefty Clayton Kershaw for another month (though obviously Conlon wouldn’t be much of a consolation prize in that regard).

Mets Designate P.J. Conlon For Assignment

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The Mets announced that they’ve designated left-hander P.J. Conlon for assignment and transferred Juan Lagares to the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to right-handers Tim Peterson and Scott Copeland, each of whom has been selected to the Major League roster (as was reported earlier today). Furthermore, New York optioned right-hander Jacob Rhame and infielder Phillip Evans to Triple-A Las Vegas and recalled left-hander Buddy Baumann from Triple-A.

Conlon, 24, enjoyed a strong season with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate in 2017, tossing 136 innings of 3.38 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9, but he’s endured a disastrous 2018 campaign so far. Though Conlon has had one significant milestone in 2018, making his MLB debut, his results on the mound have been ugly in both the Majors and the minors. The former 13th-round pick (2015) was tagged for seven runs on 12 hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings for the Mets, and he’s limped to a 6.58 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 39 2/3 innings out of the rotation in Las Vegas.

The Mets will have a week to trade Conlon or place him on outright or release waivers. He’s not considered to be an elite prospect, but he entered the year ranked 24th among Mets farmhands, per MLB.com, where Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo suggested that he could ultimately function as a multi-inning bullpen piece capable of setting down both lefties and righties.

Mets Place Jacob deGrom On DL

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10:42am: The Mets have placed deGrom on the DL, retroactive to May 3, and selected the contract of lefty P.J. Conlon from Triple-A, per a team announcement. The Belfast-born Conlon has been with the Mets since they chose him in the 13th round of the 2015 draft. In his first Triple-A action this season, the 24-year-old has logged a bloated 6.75 ERA over 24 innings, despite respectable strikeout and walk rates (7.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9).

9:50am: The Mets will place right-hander Jacob deGrom on the 10-day disabled list, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to report. The likelihood is that deGrom will only miss one start, DiComo adds.

DeGrom succumbed to a hyperextended right elbow during an at-bat Wednesday in his most recent start, though the initial fear was that he had suffered a far more significant injury. And while deGrom isn’t experiencing any symptoms at the moment, per manager Mickey Callaway, the Mets decided it would be best to act in an “overly cautious” manner in this situation. As a result, deGrom won’t take the ball Monday against the Reds. It’s unclear whether the Mets will call someone up from the minors to start in deGrom’s place or simply make it a bullpen game, according to DiComo.

As has been the case since he debuted in 2014, deGrom has been among the Mets’ elite players this season. The 29-year-old has pitched to a 1.87 ERA/2.10 FIP with 11.22 K/9, 2.28 BB/9 and a 45 percent groundball rate in seven starts and 43 1/3 innings. He and co-ace Noah Syndergaard have been the only obvious bright spots in the Mets’ rotation, which helps explain why the team has fallen off dramatically since a 12-2 start and currently owns a 17-14 record.

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