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Mariners Sign Roenis Elias, Paul Sewald To Minor League Deals

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The Mariners announced that they have signed left-hander Roenis Elias, righty Paul Sewald and infielder Jantzen Witte to minor league contracts.

This will be the third Mariners stint for Elias, who was previously with the team from 2014-15 and again from 2018-19. Formerly a starter, the 32-year-old has put up a 3.75 ERA over 377 innings in Seattle to this point. He has also taken the mound for the Red Sox and Nationals, though Elias has not pitched in the majors since 2019, owing in part to a flexor strain he suffered last season. Overall, Elias has logged a 3.97 ERA with a strikeout percentage of 19.7 and a walk percentage of 9.0 during his 388-inning big league career.

Sewald spent the first four seasons of his MLB tenure as a Met, but the 30-year-old struggled to a 5.50 ERA in 147 1/3 frames during that span. Witte, 31, has not played in the majors yet. The former Red Sox farmhand took 1,227 plate appearances at the Triple-A level for them and hit .261/.333/.370.

National League Non-Tenders

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With revenue losses expected to result in reduced payrolls around baseball, a larger number of players than usual are expected to be let go by their current teams by tonight’s 7pm CT non-tender deadline.  Some of these players could end up re-signing with their teams for salaries below what they were projected (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) to earn through the arbitration process, or teams could end up simply opting to explore other options…with many of those options arriving on the market through this same non-tender process.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through the list of National League players who have been let go in this post.

Earlier Non-Tenders

  • The Cardinals non-tendered righty John Brebbia and outfielder Rangel Ravelo, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. Brebbia had played a significant role in the St. Louis pen for his first three MLB campaigns but is still recovering from mid-2020 Tommy John surgery.
  • Right-handed reliever Clay Holmes has been non-tendered by the Pirates, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to cover on Twitter. The 27-year-old hurler made it into just one MLB contest in 2020 owing to a forearm injury.
  • The Marlins have decided not to tender a contract to righty Ryne Stanek, Craig Mish of Sports Grid first tweeted. He joins fellow right-hander Jose Urena in departing via non-tender. (Urena had already been designated for assignment.) Stanek, 29, struggled with the free pass in limited action this year but has been a quality, high-strikeout arm in the past and could be an interesting name to watch on the open market.
  • In addition to Shreve, the Mets announced the non-tenders of righties Ariel Jurado, Paul Sewald, and Nick Tropeano.
  • The Mets will not tender a contract to left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve, Robert Murray of FanSided tweets. Shreve performed reasonably well in 2020, logging a 3.96 ERA/3.99 FIP with 12.24 K/9 and 4.32 BB/9 in 25 innings, but the Mets will nonetheless move on instead of paying him around $1MM in arbitration.
  • The Padres won’t tender a contract to infielder Greg Garcia, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Garcia, 31, posted a woeful .200/.279/.250 batting line in 2020, albeit in a tiny sample of 71 plate appearances. In parts of two seasons with the Friars, he slashed .240/.351/.337, but the team opted not to give him a raise on last year’s $1.5MM salary.
  • The Reds have non-tendered outfielder Brian Goodwin, he announced on Twitter (hat tip to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Goodwin, whom the Reds acquired from the Angels over the summer, slashed .215/.299/.417 with six home runs and five stolen bases over 164 plate appearances between the teams in 2020. He was due to earn a projected $2.7MM to $3.6MM in arbitration.
  • The Cubs have told Jose Martinez he isn’t being tendered a contract, ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers reports (Twitter link).  Acquired from the Rays in a deadline deal, Martinez went hitless over 22 plate appearances with Chicago, only reaching base once on a walk.  The 32-year-old mashed for the Cardinals from 2016-18, but delivered closer to league-average production in 2019 with St. Louis and with the Rays last season prior to the trade.

Mets Option Paul Sewald, Daniel Zamora

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The Mets announced Thursday that they’ve optioned right-hander Paul Sewald and left-hander Daniel Zamora to Triple-A Syracuse.

This will mark the final option year for the 29-year-old Sewald, who has been up and down between the Mets and their top minor league affiliate for much of the past three seasons. The 2012 tenth-round pick made 57 appearances and racked up 65 1/3 innings out of the ’pen in his debut effort back in 2017. His time in the big leagues since that time has been more sparse. He spent just 19 2/3 frames with the Mets this past season. To date, Sewald has posted a 5.16 ERA in 141 1/3 innings — an ugly number despite strong marks of 9.5 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9. Fielding-independent metrics are more bullish on him, in part because of his abnormally low strand rate (64.3 percent). Given Sewald’s prior MLB experience, he’ll likely be called upon again in 2020 as injuries arise.

Zamora, 26, has only pitched 17 2/3 innings in the Majors, but he’s managed 24 punchouts against six unintentional walks in that tiny sample (a 31.1 percent overall strikeout rate). A rare 40th-rounder who’s made it to the big leagues, Zamora has steadily posted quality ERA, strikeout and walk marks throughout his minor league tenure and should continue to receive opportunities to establish himself in the big league bullpen.

The Mets brought Brad Brach back for the 2020 season and also inked Dellin Betances, adding that pair of righties to the existing core of Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, Jeurys Familia, Justin Wilson and Robert Gsellman. That limited the chances of either Sewald or Zamora earning Opening Day roster spots, although if the league does begin with expanded rosters this summer when teams ramp up (as has been rumored), it’s possible that either could again be considered for a bullpen spot.

Mets Select Paul Sewald, Designate Tim Peterson

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As they continue to cycle through right-handed relief arms, the Mets have made a few tweaks to the makeup of their bullpen and roster. The club announced that it has selected the contract of Paul Sewald. To create 40-man space, Tim Peterson was designated for assignment, while an active roster spot was freed by optioning Drew Gagnon.

The 29-year-old Sewald has now regained the 40-man roster spot he lost earlier this season. He hasn’t found much success in the majors, with a 5.18 ERA over 128 2/3 career innings, but has managed a bit better than a strikeout per nine at the game’s highest level. Sewald has matched his career MLB strikeout rate (9.2 K/9) this year at Triple-A, combining that with 2.6 BB/9 to produce a 3.35 ERA over 51 innings.

Peterson, 28, was similarly useful in his 46 2/3 innings with the club’s top affiliate, working to a 3.09 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. But he has struggled in limited MLB work, allowing 5.91 earned per nine in 35 frames over the past two seasons.

Minor MLB Transacations: 5/26/19

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Here are the latest minor moves from the baseball world…

  • The Blue Jays outrighted left-handed pitcher Ryan Feierabend to Triple-A, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The knuckleballer cleared waivers after he was designated by Toronto on Friday. In two outings for the Blue Jays, including one start, Feierabend was largely ineffective, conceding seven runs in 5 2/3 innings, including two home runs.
  • Mets relievers Paul Sewald and Tim Peterson, each of whom was designated for assignment, have also cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Control was an issue for Peterson, who walked six batters in his five appearances. Sewald misses a decent amount of bats, but is the owner of a mediocre 5.18 career ERA.
  • The Tigers claimed 32-year-old right-handed pitcher Austin Adams, who had been designated by the Twins. According to Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group, Adams was subsequently placed on the active roster, replacing left-handed pitcher Matt Hall, who was optioned today after spending just one day with the Major League club.

Mets Designate Paul Sewald, Select Rajai Davis, Send Brandon Nimmo To 10-Day IL

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The Mets have announced a series of roster moves, including the placement of outfielder Brandon Nimmo on the 10-day IL due to a stiff neck (placement retroactive to May 21).  Veteran outfielder Rajai Davis will be coming up to replace Nimmo, as the Mets have selected his contract.  To create 40-man roster space for Davis, reliever Paul Sewald has been designated for assignment.

The 38-year-old Davis was one of several veteran players signed to minors deals by the Mets last winter, and he now joins Carlos Gomez and Adeiny Hechevarria as names from that list who have seen their contracts selected in the wake of multiple injuries on the Mets’ roster.  Davis will now suit up for his 14th MLB season and eighth different team to help New York fill its outfield void.

Davis has long been known more for his speed (415 career stolen bases) and fielding ability than his bat, though he hasn’t delivered an above-average season at the plate since 2015.  This includes a .224/.278/.281 slash line over 216 PA with the Indians last season, though Davis was still a threat when he did get on base, swiping 21 bags in 28 chances.

Sewald has a 5.18 ERA over 128 1/3 relief innings for the Mets since the start of the 2016 season, including an 3.86 mark in seven frames this season.  He misses a fair number of bats (career 9.2 K/9) for a pitcher whose average fastball sits around the 90mph threshold, though Sewald doesn’t generate many grounders, and has a career 1.2 HR/9.

After a breakout 2018 season that saw him hit .263/.404/.483 with 17 homers in 535 plate appearances, Nimmo had gotten off to a much slower start (.200/.344/.323) in his first 161 PA of the 2019 campaign.  The neck issue could be somewhat to blame for this performance, as MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo notes that Nimmo has been bothered by neck soreness since April.

Today’s moves leave the Mets with an outfield mix of Davis, Gomez, Juan Lagares, converted infielder J.D. Davis, and Jeff McNeil, though McNeil isn’t in today’s lineup due to hamstring tightness.  While McNeil told DiComo and other reporters that he expects to be back as soon as tomorrow, the lack of depth has left the Mets exploring their options.  Manager Mickey Callaway said today that the Mets could consider using Dominic Smith in the outfield again, as the erstwhile first baseman has been lobbying for more outfield work as a way of getting back into the lineup.  (SNY.tv’s Scott Thompson was among those to report the news).  Smith has hit well in limited time this season, as he has made only 48 PA due to Pete Alonso’s emergence as the everyday first baseman.

Michael Conforto also began some light baseball activities today as he continues his recovery from a concussion suffered last weekend.  There wasn’t yet any timetable on when Conforto could return, Callaway said.

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