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Rafael Montero

Rangers To Sign Rafael Montero

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The Rangers have reportedly agreed to a minor-league pact with right-hander Rafael Montero. The Roster Roundup site indicated a deal was in place, with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News citing a source who indicated Montero had indeed signed.

Once a top prospect with the Mets, Montero is still working back from Tommy John surgery. He’ll also be looking to get his career on track after running into difficulties in transitioning to the majors.

Montero has already thrown 192 1/3 innings at the game’s highest level, most of which came in 2017, but carries only a 5.38 cumulative ERA. He has averaged nearly a strikeout per inning in the bigs, but also has surrendered 5.2 free passes per nine. There were some positives in 2017, as Montero worked in the 94 mph range with his average fastball and produced a healthy 48.1% groundball rate.

Now 28 years of age, and rehabbing a TJ procedure from last March, Montero will not be at full health in time for compete for a job in camp. But he ought to be ramping up for a return to action by the middle of the upcoming season and could certainly put himself on the radar of the pitching-needy Rangers if he’s able to rediscover some of his former promise.

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.

Rafael Montero Will Undergo Tommy John Surgery, Miss 2018 Season

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TODAY: Montero is headed back to New York this weekend and will undergo Tommy John surgery soon, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets.

YESTERDAY: Mets righty Rafael Montero has been diagnosed with a complete UCL tear, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports on Twitter. It is expected that he’ll require Tommy John surgery.

The news represents the latest disappointment for a pitcher who was once viewed as a future part of the New York rotation. Entering the coming season without an option year remaining, Montero had been fighting for one of the final bullpen slots this spring. He has allowed an earned run for each of the nine Grapefruit League innings he threw and therefore was already at risk of being outrighted.

To this point, Montero has worked to a middling 5.38 ERA in his 192 1/3 MLB innings. But he had earned his most extensive action to date in 2017 as the club dealt with a bevy of injuries, and there were some positive signs. Montero sat at 94 mph with his fastball, recorded a personal-best 10.1% swinging-strike rate, and drew groundballs at a 48.1% rate. He was likely unlucky to have surrendered a .366 BABIP, too, with Statcast showing a big split in his xwOBA (.316) and wOBA (.362).

For Montero to earn another shot at the majors, he’ll first have to undergo an extensive rehab process. The 27-year-old will accrue a full season of MLB service time while recovering, meaning he’ll be eligible for arbitration next fall. Though Montero likely won’t command a terribly steep rate of pay, salary and roster pressures may well compel the Mets to remove him from the 40-man at some point.

NL East Notes: Braves, Newcomb, Mets, Montero, Vargas

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Left-hander Sean Newcomb will open the year in the Braves’ rotation, Gabriel Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. He’ll be part of a quintet that should also include Julio Teheran, Brandon McCarthy and Mike Foltynewicz, though it’s not yet clear who will occupy the fifth spot. The 24-year-old Newcomb debuted in the majors last season and recorded a 4.32 ERA/4.19 FIP across 100 innings, also posting a promising K/9 (9.72) but a troubling BB/9 (5.13). Braves manager Brian Snitker is impressed with the progress Newcomb has made since last year, saying: “Amazing where he’s at to me right now from where he was a year ago. How much improvement that guy’s made. The confidence, his mound presence, the competitiveness, the whole thing from a year ago today. It’s so much better.”

Now for the latest on one of Atlanta’s division rivals…

  • The Mets are considering trading out-of-options right-hander Rafael Montero, who’s drawing some interest from other teams, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports. A deal is not imminent, though, according to Ehalt. The 27-year-old struggled in the majors last season during his first extensive action in the bigs, with a 5.52 ERA and a 5.07 BB/9 over 119 innings (34 appearances, 18 starts). He did strike out 8.62 batters per nine and log a 4.37 FIP, though, to go with a 48.1 groundball percentage.
  • Mets southpaw Jason Vargas took a line drive off the right hand Friday, and now his status for the start of the season is in question, per Tim Healey of Newsday. X-rays came back negative, but Vargas noted that “it’s sore,” and he’s set to see a hand specialist (though he seems largely unconcerned). Manager Mickey Callaway added that he’s “not quite sure” whether the Mets will be able to open the year with Vargas, who’s currently in line to start their third game of the season. The Mets added Vargas on a two-year, $16MM deal in the offseason, hoping he’d provide a competent innings eater to a rotation that lacked those during an injury-plagued 2017.
  • More on the Mets, who utilized infielder Wilmer Flores in left field on Saturday. If the Mets are serious about Flores as an outfield option, it could benefit the rest of their roster, Tim Britton of The Athletic observes (subscription required). Flores as a fifth outfielder would give the Mets the ability to assemble a 13-man pitching staff, including eight in the bullpen, Britton notes. Regardless, Callaway is intent on finding at-bats for Flores, who was an above-average hitter from 2016-17. “You saw why he needs to be playing multiple positions, because the kid can hit,” Callaway said. “We need to get him as many at-bats as we can this season.”

Position Player Rumblings: Red Sox, Machado, White Sox, Cards/Donaldson, Jays/Cain, Mets

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The Red Sox have designs on adding the two top position players on the free agent market, according to the Boston Herald’s Michael Silverman, with ongoing pursuit of both J.D. Martinez and Eric Hosmer. Interestingly, Silverman notes that Boston would likely look to shed some of its obligations to Hanley Ramirez by dealing him away in the event it can acquire both players.

That scenario seems to be one of several possibilities still remaining for the Red Sox, who are one of the many teams with plenty of work yet to do in settling their regular lineups. Here’s a look in at the latest notes on bats from around the game:

  • Orioles VP of baseball ops Dan Duquette made clear today that he does not foresee striking a deal involving third baseman Manny Machado that is contingent upon extension negotiations, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post was among those to report on Twitter. In other words, it seems any acquiring team would be gaining just one year of control over over Machado. Sherman also hears that the odds are in favor of a deal at this point, tweeting that the White Sox and Cardinals are the “most aggressive” teams in pursuit of the young superstar.
  • For the White Sox, the interest in Machado does not include an intention to flip him in a later swap, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). While Chicago has made an “impressive” bid for Machado, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, Nightengale also says that the belief on the South Side is that others have offered more. Meanwhile, GM Rick Hahn said that the team’s “focus remains on the long term” and says he won’t “make any sort of move that’s aimed at jumping up” into immediate contention. Despite that cold water, he did say the organization is willing to “take some calculated risks along the way.” Just what the team has in mind with this reported pursuit remains a bit of a mystery, but we’ll have to wait and see how things shake out.
  • While evidently maintaining interest in Machado and pursuing other fronts, the Cardinals are also still “pushing” the Blue Jays to offer up their own star third baseman, Josh Donaldson, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter). At this point, though, there’s no reason to believe that Toronto will budge from its stance on Donaldson — namely, that it’s not interested in moving him for anything approaching a reasonable return.
  • Far from dangling Donaldson, it seems the Blue Jays are at least weighing a major addition. The club has interest in free agent center fielder Lorenzo Cain, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). In theory, Cain could coexist with current center fielder Kevin Pillar, though Cain is also most valuable up the middle. The Jays are interested in committing up to four years, says Heyman, but it seems there are indications Cain will have an opportunity to secure a better deal elsewhere. MLBTR predicted that Cain would land four years in free agency; to this point, we haven’t heard much public discussion of his market, but he’s rather clearly the top available center fielder.
  • While the Mets were able to come away from the Winter Meetings with a relief arm, they have yet to fill their opening at second base. Per Marc Carig of Newsday, Ian Kinsler was not willing to waive his no-trade rights to go to New York. (All links to Twitter.) The club has a variety of other options still in play, Carig explains, adding that the organization was discussing righty Rafael Montero in talks regarding Kinsler.

Mets Notes: Payroll, Catchers, Rotation, Conforto, Wright, Montero

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Mets general manager Sandy Alderson met with the media yesterday to discuss a host of topics, ranging from next year’s payroll and roster to the health of several key players. Some highlights from his comments and a bit more on the Mets to kick off Wednesday morning…

  • Via Mike Puma of the New York Post, Alderson didn’t commit to matching 2017’s Opening Day payroll of roughly $155MM. As Puma notes, the Mets have will see more than $60MM come off the books with Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Addison Reed and Fernando Salas no longer on the roster (plus the potential buyout of Asdrubal Cabrera’s option). Per Alderson, though, the Mets’ payroll was “beyond” expected levels. “So I’m certainly not sitting here and saying, ‘OK, [the payroll] is going to be at least as high this year as it was last year,’” the GM stated, later adding that an “undetermined” portion of the money coming off the books will be reinvested into the on-field product.
  • One potential area of need, on paper anyhow, looks to be behind the plate. However, Alderson strongly suggested that Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki are still in good standing with the organization and could be the primary catching tandem in 2018 (link via Peter Botte of the New York Daily News). Alderson indicated that d’Arnaud has improved in terms of some of the “esoteric metrics” that the Mets value, though he didn’t specify in what regards. The 28-year-old d’Arnaud has had a poor season at the plate (.232/.281/.397) and has thrown out just 17 percent of attempted base thieves while turning in slightly above-average framing marks. Perhaps more interesting, though, were his comments on Plawecki. “…I think Plawecki did himself a tremendous service going to (Triple-A) Las Vegas and applying himself and recognizing that he didn’t have to simply accept a backup role going forward as a major-league catcher and that he could work toward the possibility of being an everyday guy.” Plawecki slashed .328/.375/.514 in Las Vegas this year, albeit in a very hitter-friendly environment.
  • Via Newsday’s Marc Carig, Alderson also noted that the Mets may be in the market for a veteran starting pitcher to help stabilize the rotation in the wake of another injury-marred campaign for the club’s ballyhooed group of starters. A “Bartolo-type” of starter that can be relied upon for 180-plus innings would indeed seem a logical pursuit for the Mets, and the 2017-18 free agent market will have no shortage of options. Bartolo Colon himself will of course be available, as will innings eaters like John Lackey, Clayton Richard and Doug Fister, among many others.
  • Alderson revealed that Michael Conforto’s timeline for a recovery from surgery to repair the posterior capsule in his left shoulder is “roughly six months,” via the Post’s Greg Joyce. That’d put him on track to be ready for Spring Training, although the uncommon nature of his injury makes an exact timeline more difficult to nail down. The GM added that doctors have given no indication that there’s a risk of Conforto needing to alter his swing upon returning: “…[T]he fact that it’s his left shoulder, the fact that it’s his back shoulder when he swings, not his throwing shoulder, according to the doctors, is a positive.”
  • David Wright’s status moving forward is “uncertain at best,” Alderson stated, adding that the Mets will have to account for the lack of a definite hot corner option as they enter the offseason (via Carig). Wright, who required surgery to repair his right rotator cuff, is still owed $47MM through the end of the 2020 season. However, 75 percent of that sum is insured while Wright is on the disabled list, so the Mets will receive a sizable amount of compensation from 2018’s $20MM salary if the most recent surgery sidelines Wright for a lengthy period of time. Mike Moustakas will headline a fairly thin crop of free-agent third basemen, and A’s infielder Jed Lowrie figures to be one of several names available on the offseason trade market.
  • Right-hander Rafael Montero looks to be pitching his way into the team’s 2018 plans, writes Newsday’s Steven Marcus. Since returning from a demotion to Triple-A, he’s worked to a 4.44 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 and a 46.7 percent ground-ball rate in 77 innings. “We said we either see strikes or, you know,” said manager Terry Collins of the message given to Montero when he was last sent down to the minors. “He went down and threw strikes. And he’s come back and he’s done exactly the same thing. When you have good stuff and you throw it in the strike zone, you’re going to get outs.” Montero will be out of minor league options next season, so he’ll need to break camp with the team or else be exposed to waivers.

Injury Notes: Shields, Walker, Harvey, Johnson, Zobrist, Skaggs, Hamels, Cosart, Urias

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The White Sox will activate righty James Shields to make a start on Sunday, as JJ Stankevitz of CSN Chicago reports (Twitter links). That’ll leave plenty of time for the veteran to show not only that he’s back from a lat strain, but also that he still has some gas left in the tank. Shields, 35, turned in three solid starts to open the year after a terrible 2016 season. Possible trade suitors will be looking to see whether he can manage extended productivity between now and the deadline.

Here’s more on the injury front:

  • Mets second baseman Neil Walker appeared to suffer a left hamstring injury while trying to leg out a bunt single in tonight’s game. The club did not reveal any details in an official announcement, though the team did state that Walker is already slated to undergo an MRI tomorrow. Not coincidentally, perhaps, infielder Gavin Cecchini was removed from the Triple-A Las Vegas lineup, as Betsy Helfand of the Las Vegas Review Journal tweets.
  • There were also some fresh concerns on the pitching side of the equation for the Mets. Matt Harvey was hooked after four innings and 58 pitches, as David Lennon of Newsday reports (Twitter links). He’ll head in for a medical check tomorrow after what he called a “fatigued” outing in which his fastball velocity dropped as low as 87 mph — a level that, per Harvey, he hadn’t visited since he was a freshman in high school. Also, before the game, the Mets placed lefty Josh Smoker on the DL with a left shoulder strain. New York was forced to lean on the reliever for four innings and 81 pitches last night. Righty Rafael Montero will return to the majors in his stead.
  • The Red Sox saw another starter leave with an injury tonight, as southpaw Brian Johnson exited with what the team is calling left shoulder discomfort, as Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com reports. While all involved expressed hope that the issue wouldn’t turn out to be anything significant, Johnson will be given a full checkup in Boston tomorrow to be sure.
  • The Cubs are weighing a DL move for Ben Zobrist, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to report. His left wrist isn’t healing up as hoped, so Zobrist will be looked at more closely tomorrow. If he’s not able to suit up, then a DL placement seems likely.
  • There’s some positive news on Angels southpaw Tyler Skaggs. As Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register tweets, the 25-year-old is heading to the team’s spring complex with an eye on making back to the majors by early July. Hell be hoping to finally put an end to the string of injuries that have slowed his promising career. Skaggs is currently working back from an oblique strain.
  • Also now looking toward a return is Rangers lefty Cole Hamels. As Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports, Hamels could take a rehab start on Friday — the same day that Tyson Ross is set to make his Rangers debut. That could potentially line Hamels up to return to the majors before month’s end. That’s promising news for a Texas team that is off to a middling start to the season. The Rangers are also likely to welcome back first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Carlos Gomez in the coming days.
  • Things aren’t looking as promising for Padres righty Jarred Cosart. According to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, on Twitter, Cosart has been diagnosed with a flexor strain. He’s not yet ready to begin throwing and will partake in some rehab efforts at the club’s spring facility.
  • Finally, the Dodgers are holding their breath as prized young lefty Julio Urias reports to Dr. Neal ElAttrache for a look at his shoulder. As Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter links), soreness in the joint has forced the 20-year-old to the DL at Triple-A. Things haven’t gone as hoped this year for Urias, who showed immense promise in 2016. He largely struggled in five MLB starts and was carrying higher-than-usual walk totals at Triple-A.

Mets Activate Jeurys Familia From Restricted List

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The Mets announced on Thursday that closer Jeurys Familia has been activated from the restricted list after serving his 15-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. The team also recalled catcher Kevin Plawecki from Triple-A Las Vegas and optioned right-hander Rafael Montero and left-hander Sean Gilmartin to Vegas.

Familia, 27, will rejoin a Mets bullpen that currently ranks in the middle of the pack, league-wide, in terms of earned run average. Of course, that includes some problematic innings from Montero (seven earned runs, 6 2/3 frames), who was optioned out today upon Familia’s activation. While manager Terry Collins has said Familia will be eased back into the closer’s role, Addison Reed figures to see a few more save opportunities before Familia fully reclaims his previous role.

Familia was arrested back in early November after allegedly assaulting his wife, but the charges were dropped at his wife’s request the following month. As we saw last year in the suspensions of Aroldis Chapman and Jose Reyes, however, a lack of criminal charges is not necessarily an impediment to a suspension under the league’s still fairly new policy. Beyond his 15-game suspension (and the lost salary that accompanies that punishment — about $730K, in Familia’s case), the right-hander agreed to make a donation and speak to several rookie players on the matter. Familia also underwent extensive counseling sessions this offseason.

From a purely on-field vantage point, the return of Familia will be a boon to the Mets’ relief corps. Over the past three seasons, the hard-throwing righty has amassed 233 innings with a 2.20 ERA, 243 strikeouts and 70 unintentional walks. He led the National League with 51 saves in 2016, saved 43 games the year before and has led the Senior Circuit in games finished in each of the past two seasons (a combined 132 games).

Latest On Mets’ Pitching Injuries

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The Mets enjoyed a solid Opening Day win today on the back of a strong performance from starter Noah Syndergaard. But there are some new health concerns for the team’s pitching staff — though their gravity isn’t yet clear.

Syndergaard himself departed after six innings with a blister, as Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News writes. It’s not expected to be a major issue, but the team is looking to get out ahead of things by giving him an added day of rest. Blisters can turn into significant injuries, to be sure, but there’s no reason at this point to think it’s more than a minor issue to be managed.

There’s more worry with lefty Steven Matz, who is already on the DL with elbow inflammation. The team’s position remains that he has been cleared of structural damage, as Marc Carig of Newsday reports, but Matz provided further information on the issue. He says that he has been diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain, which would seem to be a distinct injury from the bone chips that he had surgically removed over the offseason. Regardless, his timeline will surely be dictated by how he feels and what kind of progress the doctors observe, but the news adds to the 25-year-old’s growing list of arm ailments in his young career.

In theory, any such gaps in pitching coverage were to be covered by Seth Lugo, who filled in with aplomb last year. But as John Harper of the New York Daily News reports, manager Terry Collins hinted after today’s game that there may be some concern with Lugo’s status. “We lost Seth Lugo today for a period of time,” said Collins, who later added that “it’s going to be a couple of weeks, for sure,” before Lugo is able to return. There are no known details to this point, but clearly the Mets are anticipating that they won’t be able to use the 27-year-old for at least some fairly significant stretch.

In light of these new concerns, Collins stressed the need to maintain the health of the current five-man rotation, which explains the proactive move to get Syndergaard extra rest. As Harper notes, resurgent righty Rafael Montero — who’s currently operating out of the MLB bullpen — now seems to occupy a position of much greater importance than had been anticipated. If there’s a silver lining to this early test of the organization’s pitching depth, it’s that they had so much to begin with, so the current roster is still stocked with high-quality starters.

Roster Notes: Brewers, Mets, Royals, Red Sox, Rangers

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The Brewers are down to 24 players after demoting relievers Tyler Cravy and Rob Scahill on Saturday, but general manager David Stearns declined to address whether he’ll add a player from outside the organization, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Both Cravy and Scahill are unhappy that they didn’t earn the 25th spot, per Haudricourt, with Cravy claiming he could seek “a 9 to 5 job where I get treated like a human, at this point.” Continued the 27-year-old: “It would just be nice to have the honesty straight up front instead of, ‘Hey, you’re competing for a job,’ then literally out-compete everyone and be told, ‘Sorry, we have other plans.’ “It says a lot about the integrity, or lack thereof, of the guys running the show, but what are you going to do?”

While Cravy isn’t sure if he’s willing “to play for guys who treat you like this,” Stearns seemed to chalk the right-hander’s comments up to frustration. “Tyler, in particular, went through this last year,” said Stearns. “He made the trip with us (to play Class AA) Biloxi and was sent out at Biloxi. Dealing with this two years in a row is not a pleasant experience. We’re sensitive to that.”

More of the latest roster news:

  • Mets righty Seth Lugo will begin the season on the 10-day disabled list with a tired arm, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Lugo doesn’t have any structural damage, relays DiComo, who notes that Rafael Montero will claim a spot in the bullpen for as long as he’s out. Lugo spent most of the spring vying for one of the two vacancies in the Mets’ rotation, but the team chose Robert Gsellman and Zack Wheeler over him Thursday.
  • The Royals have optioned infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield to Triple-A, meaning Christian Colon has won a bench job in Kansas City. Merrifield was easily the better of the two last season, having hit .283/.323/.392 to Colon’s .231/.294/.293, but the latter is out of options and could have ended up with another organization had KC demoted him.
  • With Josh Rutledge on the shelf because of a hamstring injury, the Red Sox have tabbed first baseman/outfielder Steve Selsky for a reserve job. As a right-handed hitter, Selsky is a better fit for the role than the lefty-swinging Marco Hernandez, whom the Red Sox optioned to Triple-A. Selsky, a January waiver claim from the Reds, is likely to platoon at first with the left-handed Mitch Moreland, as Hanley Ramirez (shoulder) still isn’t healthy enough to play the field.
  • Righty Mike Hauschild has made the Rangers’ Opening Day roster, according to TR Sullivan of MLB.com. The Rangers took Hauschild from the AL West rival Astros in December’s Rule 5 draft. The 27-year-old is now in line to make his major league debut, having spent the previous five years in the minors after going to Houston in Round 33 of the 2012 amateur draft. He worked exclusively as a starter at Triple-A over the past two seasons and posted a 3.33 ERA, 7.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 227 1/3 innings.
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