Mets Notes: Walker, Diaz, Lugo
The Mets have activated Taijuan Walker from the injured list, optioning Yennsy Diaz to Triple-A to free up the roster spot, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). Walker missed the minimum amount of time with tightness in his side. Walked has excelled in eight starts this season with a 2.05 ERA/2.84 FIP across 44 innings.
Diaz has thrown two scoreless innings in two appearances. He came to the Mets this winter from the Blue Jays as part of the Steven Matz trade. While Diaz was mostly a starter with the Blue Jays, the Mets have thus far used him exclusively out of the pen both in the Majors and in Triple-A.
The Mets also plan to get another arm back soon in Seth Lugo. The Mets plan to activate Lugo when he’s eligible to return on Monday, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). Lugo has been a huge piece of the Mets’ pitching staff over the past five seasons, but arm surgery has kept him from the mound so far this season. Over 167 games (38 starts) since 2016, Lugo has pitched to a 3.45 ERA/3.59 FIP in 383 1/3 innings, notching 25 wins, 32 holds and 12 saves.
Mets Place Michael Conforto, Jeff McNeil On Injured List
3:03pm: The Mets have announced the moves, Healey tweets . They also transferred Lugo to the 60-day IL, meaning he won’t return before May 31.
12:01PM: Khalil Lee will be called up from Triple-A along with Fargas, according to Newsday’s Tim Healey (via Twitter).
11:31AM: The Mets will place both Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil on the 10-day injured list due to hamstring injuries, Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News reports (Twitter link). Outfield prospect Johneshwy Fargas will be called up from Triple-A to fill one of the spots on the active roster.
The news isn’t a surprise, as both Conforto and McNeil left yesterday’s game due to injury — Conforto with tightness in his right hamstring, and McNeil with a similar issue in his left hamstring. McNeil already missed a couple of games earlier this week due to cramping problems, and he stated after yesterday’s game that his latest hamstring problem was related those previous cramps.
Usually two of the Mets’ more consistent offensive performers, both Conforto (.230/.356/.336 in 135 PA) and McNeil (.242/.336/.374 in 113 PA) have been pretty average thus far in 2021. Conforto’s performance has been under a particular microscope, as he is scheduled to hit free agency this winter and extension talks with the Mets didn’t seem to gain much traction.
While Conforto and McNeil hadn’t been hitting like their usual selves, they at least represented two active regulars on a Mets team that now has 12 players on the injured list. J.D. Davis and Seth Lugo could both soon be starting rehab assignments and ace right-hander Jacob deGrom could be back as early as Friday, but in the near term, the Mets are still very short-handed.
The outfield is a particular issue, with Dominic Smith and Kevin Pillar holding down the fort in left and center field, while converted infielders Jake Hager and Jose Peraza aren’t reliable fill-in options for Conforto. This opens the door for Fargas, a full-time outfielder who is now set to make his MLB debut after eight minor league seasons.
An 11th-round pick for the Giants in the 2013 draft, Fargas spent much of his career in San Francisco’s farm system before signing with the Mets in the 2019-20 offseason. The 26-year-old is known to have a solid glove (capable of playing all three outfield positions) and some notable speed, with 243 stolen bases in 344 attempts during his minor league career. Fargas has hit .255/.331/.343 over 2289 plate appearances in the minors, and hadn’t reached Triple-A prior to this season.
Peraza and Hager can likely handle McNeil’s duties at second base until Davis returns, which will give the infield some breathing room as Jonathan Villar can then move from third base to factor into the second base picture. Given this infield depth on hand, the Mets could opt to call up another outfielder to fill the other roster hole. Outfielder Khalil Lee could be a candidate for another promotion, as he was recently called up and sent back down to Triple-A without making an appearance in any big league games.
East Notes: Means, Mets, Yankees, Strasburg
The Mets made an attempt to acquire left-hander John Means from the Orioles during the offseason, but Baltimore rebuffed New York, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The Mets surely weren’t alone in trying to acquire Means, who’s making a minimal salary this year and still has three years of arbitration control remaining. Means proved himself as a capable mid- to back-of-the-rotation starter from 2019-20, but he has taken his game to an entirely different level this season. The 28-year-old has pitched to a microscopic 1.21 ERA with impressive strikeout and walk percentages of 28.0 and 5.3, respectively, over 52 innings. This has been a May to remember for Means, who no-hit the Mariners on the 5th and then tossed six scoreless innings against the team that wanted him, the Mets, this past Tuesday.
Here’s more on the Mets and a couple other East Coast clubs:
- The Yankees announced Friday that designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with tightness in his left quad. The issue sidelined Stanton on Friday, and he’s now “day to day, hopefully nothing more than that,” manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com and other reporters. Stanton endured a pair of injury-ruined seasons from 2019-20, in which he played in 41 of a possible 222 games, but has mostly stayed healthy this year. The 31-year-old slugger has been in excellent form with a .282/.347/.534 line and nine home runs in 144 plate appearances.
- Sticking with the Yankees, right-hander Luis Severino is at the “start of spring training mode” as he works his way back from February 2020 Tommy John surgery, Boone said Friday (via Marly Rivera of ESPN). Severino threw 23 pitches of live batting practice Friday and averaged between 96 and 97 mph. The 27-year-old was one of the game’s elite starters from 2017-18, leading the Yankees to sign him to a four-year, $40MM extension, though he totaled only 12 innings in 2019 as a result of shoulder problems and hasn’t pitched since. To its credit, New York’s rotation has done well this year without Severino; nevertheless, the team will surely be glad to welcome him back if he’s healthy.
- Nationals righty Stephen Strasburg will make a Triple-A rehab start on Sunday, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com tweets. Manager Dave Martinez said the hope is that Strasburg will go five innings and throw 75 to 80 pitches. Washington has barely gotten anything in 2021 from Strasburg, who’s in the second season of a seven-year, $245MM contract, as a result of shoulder inflammation. This is the second straight injury-limited year for the former World Series MVP, who has totaled just 15 innings since 2020.
- Mets third baseman J.D. Davis and reliever Seth Lugo will soon begin rehab assignments at the Triple-A level, Bill Ladson of MLB.com writes. While the Mets hoped Davis would exit the 10-day injured list Saturday, he’s still not ready to come back since suffering a left hand sprain on May 1. The club has gone all season without Lugo, who underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow in February. Lugo started in seven of 16 appearances last season, but he’ll return to a relief role when he rejoins the Mets, per manager Luis Rojas.
Quick Hits: deGrom, Mets, Robert, Mondesi, Cron
Jacob deGrom is scheduled to start Sunday’s game against the Diamondbacks, as the Mets ace reported no ill effects after a bullpen session. DeGrom was scratched from his last start on Tuesday due to inflammation in his right lat, but “as we did the due diligence and work on it, it wasn’t something that anyone thought was a major issue,” Mets GM Zack Scott told The New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar and other reporters.
In other Mets injury news, Scott said that Seth Lugo and Noah Syndergaard will begin rehab outings “in a week or so,” with Lugo (bone spur removal surgery) expected to make his 2021 debut by the end of May, and Syndergaard (Tommy John surgery) still ticketed for sometime in June. The news isn’t as good for infielder Luis Guillorme, as Thosar tweeted yesterday that Guillorme is still feeling discomfort in his injured right oblique when he takes swings. Guillorme is eligible to be activated from the injured list on Sunday, but he might not return for another week.
More from around baseball…
- Luis Robert is facing a long absence from the White Sox lineup, but the outfielder will apparently avoid surgery on his Grade 3 hip flexor strain, the team revealed in its pregame notes package (hat tip to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin). That likely counts as a small bit of good news for Robert, though it probably won’t materially change the possibility that his season could already be over. The Sox have already announced that Robert will need 12-to-16 weeks just to resume baseball activities.
- Adalberto Mondesi has yet to play this season due to a right oblique strain, though Royals manager Mike Matheny provided reporters (including MLB.com’s Bill Ladson) with another positive update on the shortstop’s condition. The switch-hitting Mondesi cannot yet hit from the left side of the plate, though he can take batting practice and swing normally as a right-handed hitter. Mondesi will soon be working out at the Royals’ Spring Training facility, and it isn’t yet known when he might embark on a rehab assignment.
- Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron has missed the team’s last two games due to lower back tightness, and manager Bud Black told The Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders and other reporters that it isn’t yet clear if Cron will require an IL placement. “We’re hoping it resolves itself the next day or two, to avoid the injured list…I think tomorrow and Monday are really big days when we evaluate C.J.,” Black said. Signed to a minor league deal during the offseason, Cron has been a huge contributor for the Rockies, hitting .290/.394/.495 with five homers over his first 109 PA in a Colorado uniform.
NL Notes: Tatis, Mets, Lugo, Thor, McCutchen
As if Joe Musgrove‘s no-hitter wasn’t enough good news for the Padres, Fernando Tatis Jr. was taking grounders prior to yesterday’s game and is now also taking part in hitting and running drills. Tatis is on the 10-day IL recovering from a slight tear in his left labrum, though the ugly-looking injury may only keep Tatis out of action for a relatively short amount of time. Tatis’ shoulder inflammation has decreased to the point that he has been able to do some fielding work, and he could keep gradually ramping up his baseball activity as long as his shoulder remains sound, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote yesterday.
Manager Jayce Tingler sounded cautiously optimistic talking to Acee and other reporters today. “We want to take it day by day, but we feel confident if we can continue down this road, we’re going to be in a good position for him to be activated” by April 16, Tingler said. That would be the first day Tatis would be eligible to leave the injured list, and it would put Tatis on pace to be in the lineup as the Padres began a big series with the Dodgers.
More from around the National League…
- Mets GM Zack Scott provided reporters (including the New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar) with updates on Noah Syndergaard and Seth Lugo, saying that both right-handers are on schedule with their injury rehab. Lugo underwent bone spur surgery on his throwing elbow in February, and is expected to be back at some point in May. Syndergaard is set to throw a live batting practice today, in the latest step in his recovery from Tommy John surgery in March 2020. If all continues to go well for Syndergaard, he is on pace to rejoin the Mets’ rotation before the end of June.
- Between a torn ACL in 2019 and then a tough time recovering from that injury (on top of all the other unusual elements last season) in 2020, Andrew McCutchen has some unfinished business as he enters the last guaranteed season of his three-year, $50MM contract with the Phillies. “I had a lot of catching up to do last season,” McCutchen told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb, noting that it wasn’t until the Phillies’ last few games in September that he really felt comfortable. Now, however, McCutchen is entering the year with the benefit of a full Spring Training, and there are “no limitations for myself. No hindrance. No thinking, second-guessing. Really pushing myself to where I didn’t I feel like I had to guard….So, going into this spring, I was just saying, ‘I feel like myself. I can squat and play and do what I need to do here in the games.’ ” It’s a good sign for McCutchen as he enters his age-34 season as the Phils’ regular left fielder, and he also pointed out that there aren’t many everyday outfielders of his age remaining in a sport that has become increasingly less inclined to regularly play veteran players.
Injury Notes: K. Calhoun, Lugo, Wick, Pearson
The latest injury updates from around the majors…
- Diamondbacks outfielder Kole Calhoun underwent surgery on a torn right meniscus Wednesday, but he expects to recover on the shorter end of the four- to six-week timetable, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com relays. Either way, it doesn’t appear the Diamondbacks will go too long in the regular season without Calhoun, who was one of their most productive players in 2020. The former Angel batted .226/.338/.526 in 228 plate appearances and led the team in home runs (16) and fWAR (1.8.).
- Mets reliever Seth Lugo said Thursday that he is “on track” in his recovery from mid-February surgery on bone spurs in his right elbow, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Lugo, however, did not offer a timetable for his return from the procedure; it was reported then that Lugo would need at least six weeks to begin throwing again, making it likely he’ll miss the beginning of the season. Lugo has been tremendous out of the Mets’ bullpen since 2018, though his numbers dipped when the club experimented with him in a starting role last year.
- Cubs righty Rowan Wick, who’s recovering from an intercostal strain, is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. Wick has been working back from the injury since last season, when he didn’t pitch past Sept. 16. That cut off a second consecutive solid year for Wick, who has managed a 2.66 ERA/4.02 SIERA with an above-average 25.7 percent strikeout rate in 50 2/3 innings out of the Cubs’ bullpen dating back to 2019.
- Blue Jays hurler Nate Pearson has a Grade 1 right groin strain, but the team is hoping he’ll return “pretty quickly,” according to general manager Ross Atkins (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet). The touted right-hander, 24, figures to make a good amount of starts for the Blue Jays this year if he’s healthy. Pearson debuted in 2020, but elbow issues limited him to 18 innings and five appearances (four starts), in which he pitched to a 6.00 ERA/5.95 SIERA.
- Padres righty Javy Guerra will miss “at least” two to four weeks because of a Grade 1 UCL sprain, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com writes. Guerra (not to be confused with the Nationals’ reliever of the same name) is a former infielder who moved to the mound and threw 22 innings out of the Padres’ bullpen from 2019-20, but he has struggled to an 8.18 ERA thus far in his major league career. The 25-year-old is out of minor league options, so it’s up in the air whether he’ll still be part of the San Diego organization when the season starts.
Seth Lugo To Undergo Bone Spur Surgery
Mets right-hander Seth Lugo will undergo elbow surgery to fix a broken bone spur on Tuesday, the team announced. The issue was discovered after Lugo had been suffering from elbow inflammation during his offseason workouts. Lugo won’t begin throwing for at least six weeks following his procedure, so he will surely begin the season on the injured list as he continues to build up arm strength.
Lugo posted a 5.15 ERA over 36 2/3 innings for New York in 2020, beginning the season in the bullpen but then starting his final seven outings. Advanced metrics indicate that he pitched better than that 5.15 ERA would indicate, as Lugo’s numbers were skewed by two very poor starts against the Phillies and Nationals (Lugo was touched for 12 runs over three total innings) and a big home run rate. The righty had a 3.29 SIERA and very strong strikeout (29.4%) and walk (6.3%) percentages, while also posting a 48.5 grounder rate and some elite curveball spin.
A 34th-round pick for the Mets back in 2011, Lugo rose through the organizational ranks and broke into the Show as a starter in 2016-17, and also made five starts during the 2018 season. For much of 2018-19, however, Lugo was a very effective reliever out of the Amazins’ bullpen, and he was slated to return to that role (perhaps with the odd spot start) in 2021. While it doesn’t seem like Lugo’s surgery is overtly major, it obviously isn’t a good sign for him to miss such a big chunk of Spring Training, and he’ll need at least a month to properly prepare and ramp back up.
With Lugo gone for at least some time at the start of the season, Robert Gsellman and the newly-acquired Jordan Yamamoto look like the Mets’ top options for rotation depth should one of their projected starting five also suffer an injury prior to Opening Day. The Mets are still reportedly looking into starting pitching options, and if a new arm is added, Joey Lucchesi will likely be the odd man out who is moved into the bullpen.
Mets, Edwin Diaz Avoid Arbitration
The Mets are avoiding arbitration with relievers Edwin Díaz, Seth Lugo and Miguel Castro. Díaz will make $7MM next season, reports MLB.com Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Lugo comes in at $2.925MM, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter). Castro, meanwhile, will make $1.6875MM, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. All three pitchers are controllable through the end of the 2022 season.
Díaz comes in above his projected salary range of $5.1MM — $6.5MM. After a rocky first season in Queens, he was brilliant last year. The 26-year-old pitched to a 1.75 ERA with a 45.5% strikeout rate that ranked third among qualified relievers.
Lugo and Castro, meanwhile, fall within their projected ranges. Lugo had some tough bottom line results last year but much more impressive underlying numbers. Castro was adequate for the Mets, who acquired him midseason from the Orioles. Earlier today, New York also came to terms with Robert Gsellman and Dominic Smith.
East Notes: Mets, Jays, Lindor, Red Sox, Devers
The Mets won the Francisco Lindor sweepstakes when they acquired the star shortstop from Cleveland in a blockbuster trade earlier this week. It turns out that the Blue Jays finished second in the derby, Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com reports. While Castrovince isn’t sure which other players were involved in the teams’ trade talks, the Blue Jays offered “what is probably a higher ceiling,” he writes. The problem for Toronto is that the prospects it put on the table weren’t that close to being ready for the majors, so Cleveland accepted an offer that it expects to be beneficial in both the short and long term.
- The Red Sox and third baseman Rafael Devers have not discussed a multiyear contract to this point, agent Nelson Montes de Oca told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. For now, the focus is on agreeing to a salary for 2021 by next Friday’s deadline to file figures. The Red Sox renewed Devers for a near-minimum $692,500 heading into last year, even though he was coming off a tremendous campaign. The 24-year-old is now eligible for arbitration, where he’s projected to collect anywhere from $3.4MM to $6.3MM. Unfortunately for Devers, he’s going into the process off a down season in which he slashed .263/.310/.483 with 11 home runs in 248 plate appearances. Barring an extension, Devers won’t be eligible for free agency until after 2023.
- Back to the Mets, who seem primed to move right-hander Seth Lugo back to the bullpen in 2021, Jon Heyman of MLB Network relays. Lugo has been highly successful as a reliever in the past, but he had a tough time last year after the Mets moved him into their rotation. They’re now largely set there with Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson in line to comprise their top four when next season opens. They’ll also get righty Noah Syndergaard back from his Tommy John surgery sometime during the summer.
- The Blue Jays have signed hitting coach Guillermo Martinez to a two-year contract extension, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet relays. Martinez has been on the job since 2018. The Blue Jays’ offense finished seventh in the majors in runs and 11th in wRC+ under his tutelage last season.
Mets Rotation Update
A month ago, the New York Mets made the bold move to transition two of their highest-volume relievers to the rotation. Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo each came to the majors with expectations of starting, but after years of working effectively out of the bullpen, the Mets gambled by moving the pair back to the rotation mid-season. The experiment is over for Gsellman, writes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.
Gsellman’s longest outing was a 4-inning stint in which he allowed one run while striking out four and walking none. While the Mets eventually lost that game 2-1, it was the only game of the four Gsellman started that went that way. Still, short outings and an 8.68 ERA suggest Gsellman is better suited to returning to his usual role in the bullpen, where the Mets rank 11th as a team by ERA and 12th by FIP.
Besides, the Mets’ rotation is full again with ace Jacob deGrom followed by Rick Porcello, David Peterson, and Michael Wacha. The 25-year-old Peterson has been a pleasant surprise, going 4-1 with a 3.03 ERA/4.02 FIP. His emergence has been especially important considering the de-evolution and subsequent injured list stint for fellow southpaw Steven Matz. Matz slumped to a 0-4 mark with an unsightly 8.63 ERA/6.69 FIP before being placed on the injured list for shoulder bursitis.
The right-handed, non-deGrom, veteran division of the rotation – consisting of Porcello and Wacha – have produced subpar results by measure of ERA, but take a look at an ERA-indicator like FIP and you’ll find a much different story. Porcello boasts just a 1-4 record over 8 starts (39 innings) with a 5.54 ERA – but a 2.97 FIP. Wacha, similarly, has a horrid 7.20 ERA over 5 starts (20 innings) – but a much more respectable 4.40 FIP. Wacha in particular has shown an impressive 12.2 K/9, easily a career high, but he’s also surrendered 12.6 hits per nine innings, a mark that’s equally outside his career norms. A .429 BABIP against might be partially responsible for the discrepancy between FIP and ERA, giving the Mets cause to believe in their rotation over the season’s final three weeks.
Lugo will continue to hold down the fifth spot in the rotation. Long one of New York’s most reliable relievers, Lugo has continued to impress from the rotation. While no stranger to the rotation – Lugo made 31 starts from 2016 to 2018 – he worked exclusively out of the pen in 2019 for an identical 2.70 ERA/FIP across 61 appearances covering 80 innings. He’s been their most reliable bullpen arm in recent seasons, but having acquired Miguel Castro from the Orioles at the deadline and moving Gsellman back to the pen, the Mets are betting that they can afford to keep Lugo in the rotation for now. The 30-year-old has done an admirable job stretching himself to starter’s minutes, culminating in a 5-inning outing his last time out. In total, Lugo has a 1.54 ERA across 11 2/3 innings since moving to the rotation.