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Stephen Ridings

T.J. McFarland Elects Free Agency

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July 18: McFarland has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker.

July 17: The Mets have sent reliever Stephen Ridings outright to Triple-A Syracuse, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. Since New York hadn’t previously announced he was on waivers, the move creates a vacancy on the 40-man roster. The count drops to 39.

Ridings joined the organization on a waiver claim from the Yankees last November. A lat strain kept him on the injured list though mid-June. New York promptly optioned him to Triple-A upon reinstating him from the IL and he has yet to make a big league appearance as a Met.

The 6’8″ righty has made seven appearances with Syracuse, allowing six runs with six strikeouts and walks apiece over 6 1/3 innings. There’s some understandable signs of rust after the 27-year-old missed almost the entire 2022 campaign with a shoulder issue. Ridings’ sole MLB experience consists of five innings of two-run ball for the Yankees two seasons back.

This is the first time in Ridings’ career in which he has cleared waivers. He also has less than three years of MLB service, so he won’t have the ability to test free agency. Ridings will stick in the organization as a non-roster player and try to pitch his way back into the MLB mix. If he’s not added back to the 40-man roster by season’s end, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency to start the offseason.

The transaction log also indicates that veteran southpaw T.J. McFarland cleared outright waivers. Unlike Ridings, McFarland had been designated for assignment before he was placed on waivers, so he was already off the 40-man roster. He made just three MLB appearances with New York but has had a strong season in Syracuse, working to a 2.76 ERA with a 25.9% strikeout rate in the minors.

McFarland has more than enough service time to decline an outright assignment while retaining what remains of this year’s salary. It isn’t clear if he’ll head back to free agency or return to Syracuse and hope for another opportunity in Queens.

NL East Notes: Chavez, Ridings, Doolittle

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The Braves dodged a bullet yesterday when righty Jesse Chavez was hit in the leg by a comebacker and helped off the field, as initial x-rays did not reveal a fracture. The team originally believed Chavez would be able to avoid an IL stint entirely, that didn’t prove to be the case. Atlanta placed Chavez on the 15-day injured list, per a club announcement, and recalled right-hander Ben Heller from Triple-A Gwinnett in his place. Losing Chavez even just for two weeks or so will sting. The 39-year-old has been outstanding for Atlanta, pitching to a 1.55 ERA with a career-best 30.8% strikeout rate against a 7.7% walk rate. Chavez has already picked up a save and a dozen holds for the Braves, and he was on an 11-inning scoreless streak prior to his injury.

A few more notes from the NL East…

  • The Mets announced Thursday that they’ve reinstated right-hander Stephen Ridings from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. The move fills a spot on the team’s 40-man roster, increasing their count from 37 to 38 players. Ridings, 27, has yet to throw a pitch for the Mets, spending the entire season to date on the injured list due to a lat strain. The Mets claimed the right-hander off waivers from the Yankees back in mid-November, just before teams set their rosters in advance of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft. Shoulder troubles derailed Ridings’ 2022 season, but he posted a 1.24 ERA and 42-to-4 K/BB ratio in 29 innings between High-A and Double-A in the Yankees system back in 2021.
  • Veteran lefty Sean Doolittle was transferred from the Nationals’ Double-A affiliate to their Triple-A club Thursday, signaling that he’s completed his rehab work and is now considered fully healthy. The 36-year-old Doolittle, who signed a minor league deal with the Nats over the winter, is being formally reinstated from the injured list and will try to pitch his way back into the Majors with a strong showing in Rochester. Doolittle allowed three runs and posted a 10-to-2 K/BB ratio in seven rehab frames between Class-A and Double-A. The lefty pitched just 5 1/3 frames for the Nats in 2022 before requiring an internal brace procedure in his elbow over the summer.

Mets Select Zach Muckenhirn

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3:35pm: Between games of today’s doubleheader, the Mets have now announced they’ve selected Muckenhirn to the roster. In a corresponding move, right-hander Stephen Ridings was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He’s been on the IL all year due to a lat strain and now won’t be eligible to return until late May at the earliest. The 60-day count goes from his initial IL placement, not today’s transfer. Additionally, righty Denyi Reyes was optioned between games of the twin bill while José Butto was recalled.

11:28am: The Mets are set to select the contract of left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn in advance of today’s doubleheader against the Braves, reports Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). He’s not yet on the 40-man roster. The team has not formally announced the move, so it’s not yet clear whether Muckenhirn will be up for both games of the doubleheader or just the nightcap.

Muckenhirn, 28, inked a minor league deal with the Mets over the winter and has had a strong start in Triple-A Syracuse, where he’s held opponents to one run on 10 hits and four walks in 11 2/3 frames. The former 11th-round pick (2016, Orioles) also boasts a strong 51.3% ground-ball rate, but he’s punched out just four of his 47 opponents on the year so far (8.5%).

With Brooks Raley landing on the injured list due to elbow inflammation over the weekend and David Peterson being optioned to Syracuse as well, the Mets’ only lefty on the big league roster had been Joey Lucchesi, who’s currently working out of the rotation, Muckenhirn will give manager Buck Showalter an option in the bullpen for today’s twin bill and perhaps for the foreseeable future, depending on today’s bullpen usage.

Muckenhirn has spent the majority of his career in the Orioles organization, but he was with the White Sox organization in each of the past two seasons, generally pitching well with their Double-A and Triple-A clubs. In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level, Muckenhirn has a 3.45 ERA with a 22.2% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and a 44% ground-ball rate.

Mets Claim Stephen Ridings From Yankees

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The Yankees announced that right-hander Stephen Ridings was claimed off waivers by the Mets.

Ridings, 27, was drafted by the Cubs in 2016 but was traded to the Royals and later released. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees prior to 2021 and briefly got up the majors as a COVID replacement. He only tossed five innings in that stint, spending most of the year in the minors but putting up very impressive numbers on the farm. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he threw 29 innings with a 1.24 ERA, 38.2% strikeout rate and 3.6% walk rate.

That was enough to get him added to the Yankee roster prior to the Rule 5 draft one year ago. However, shoulder issues landed him on the 60-day injured list in April and he never returned. He did start a rehab assignment in September, but only got into two minor league games before the offseason arrived.

Various teams are facing roster squeezes this week, since today is the deadline to add prospects to 40-man rosters in order to protect them from being selected in the Rule 5 draft. As such, some other players are going to get nudged out of their spots, and it seems that Ridings was once such player for the Yanks.

For the Mets, they are looking to rebuild essentially an entire bullpen as they saw Edwin Diaz, Mychal Givens, Adam Ottavino, Trevor Williams, Joely Rodriguez, Seth Lugo, Trevor May and Tommy Hunter all reach free agency as the season ended. They have already re-signed Diaz to return as their closer but they will have a lot of work to do in order to get the entire staff ready for 2023. Ridings has injury concerns but has yet to reach arbitration and still has option years remaining, meaning there’s little cost for the Mets to take a look and see how his arm looks going forward.

Yankees Select David McKay

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APRIL 5: New York has formally selected McKay onto the 40-man roster. Fellow reliever Stephen Ridings was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move.

APRIL 4: The Yankees are acquiring reliever David McKay from the Rays, report Ken Rosenthal and Lindsey Adler of the Athletic (Twitter link). The right-hander will be added to New York’s 40-man roster. It’ll be cash considerations heading back to the Rays, tweets Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

McKay, who joined the Rays in February via minor league deal, had already been reassigned to the minors. With the Yankees willing to give him a roster spot the Rays were not, Tampa Bay will flip him to a division rival with a clearer path to big league time. McKay does still have a minor league option year remaining, so the Yankees can shuttle him between the Bronx and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre all season.

The 27-year-old has appeared in two big league campaigns. He suited up with the Mariners and Tigers between 2019-20, tossing 26 2/3 innings over 26 appearances. McKay pitched to a 6.08 ERA in that time, walking an elevated 15.3% of opponents. To his credit, he punched out a strong 28.8% of batters faced, albeit with just an 8.6% swinging strike percentage.

McKay owns a 4.82 ERA in 46 2/3 Triple-A frames, but he’s fanned an excellent 36.5% of opponents at the minors’ top level. The Yankees will add him to a righty relief group that thinned out a bit over the weekend when New York shipped Albert Abreu to the Rangers for catcher Jose Trevino.

Yankees Designate Clint Frazier, Rougned Odor And Tyler Wade For Assignment

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The Yankees announced they’ve designated Clint Frazier, Rougned Odor and Tyler Wade for assignment. The moves create roster space for the selections of prospects Oswaldo Cabrera, Ron Marinaccio, Everson Pereira, Stephen Ridings and JP Sears to the 40-man roster. That keeps all five from being selected in the Rule 5 draft.

Frazier and Wade are arbitration-eligible, but the Yankees evidently determined they weren’t going to bring either player back. It’s easy to envision both attracting interest over the coming days, and New York will ten days to explore offers.

Frazier was a middle-of-the-order presence as recently as last year, when he mashed at a .267/.394/.511 clip. That came in a small sample of 160 plate appearances during a truncated season, but it was the kind of offensive upside talent evaluators have lauded for the former #5 overall pick. While Frazier’s a limited defensive player with swing-and-miss concerns, he also flashed a tantalizing blend of raw power and plate discipline.

The 2021 season was a disaster, though. Not only did the 27-year-old’s line fall to a miserly .186/.317/.317, he didn’t play past the end of June due to recurring vertigo-like symptoms. It’s certainly not how either he or the team would’ve envisioned his time in pinstripes coming to an end.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Frazier for a modest $2.4MM salary if he were to proceed through the arbitration process. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see another team roll the dice on his upside for that affordable sum, either via trade or waiver claim. If Frazier were to clear waivers, he’d have the right to elect minor league free agency.

That’s also the case for Wade, who’s projected for an affordable $700K arb salary. The 26-year-old doesn’t bring much power potential, but he draws a fair amount of walks, runs well and can handle multiple positions. Wade is coming off a .268/.354/.323 showing in 145 plate appearances, and it’d register as a surprise if he didn’t land elsewhere in the coming days.

The Yankees swung a deal to acquire Odor from the Rangers just before the start of the 2021 season. While the left-handed hitter had some timely hits, his overall production was lackluster. Odor managed just a .202/.286/.379 mark over 361 plate appearances. The 27-year-old will be guaranteed $12MM next season, the final year of his contract. Texas remains on the hook for essentially all of that sum, so any team that acquires Odor would only owe him the league minimum salary.

Turning to the prospects involved, Ridings may be the best known. The big right-hander already made his MLB debut this past season as a COVID replacement. While he only worked five innings of relief, he looked like a potential late-game weapon. Ridings averaged 97 MPH on his fastball and generated whiffs on a massive 18.9% of his offerings. The 26-year-old also posted dominant numbers in the high minors.

Cabrera is the highest-regarded of the group, according to Baseball America. BA’s #8 organizational farmhand, Cabrera is coming off a solid .256/.311/.492 showing with 24 homers over 478 plate appearances at Double-A Somerset. He’s regarded as a high-end defensive infielder with strong bat-to-ball skills and burgeoning power.

Pereira, a lefty-hitting center fielder, was limited to 221 low minors plate appearances by injuries. The 20-year-old probably isn’t a near-term big league option, but the Yankees didn’t want to chance another team taking a shot on his upside. A highly-regarded amateur coming out of Venezuela in 2017, he raked at a .303/.398/.686 clip when healthy enough to take the field this year. Neither Sears nor Marinaccio has ever made an organizational ranking at FanGraphs or BA, but both posted strong numbers in the high minors and could be big league options in 2022.

Yankees Activate Jordan Montgomery, Gary Sanchez

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8:58 am: Indeed, the Yankees announced this morning they’ve activated Montgomery and Sánchez from the injured list. Luis Gil has also been recalled as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader.

8:20 am: The Yankees announced last night they’ve returned reliever Stephen Ridings and catcher Rob Brantly to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Both players were selected to the big league roster as replacements for players who had tested positive for COVID-19, so they could removed from the active and 40-man rosters without being exposed to waivers.

While New York has yet to formally announce corresponding roster moves, it’s apparent they’re made with the intention of activating left-hander Jordan Montgomery and catcher Gary Sánchez from the COVID-19 injured list before today’s doubleheader against the Red Sox. New York had already indicated Montgomery would get the ball for one half of the twin bill. It was less clear whether Sánchez would be ready to return today, but Brantly’s removal leaves Kyle Higashioka as the only catcher on the big league roster — suggesting Sánchez will indeed make it back onto the field this afternoon.

Ridings was selected two weeks ago and has made his first five MLB appearances this year. He allowed two runs over five frames, punching out seven while issuing a pair of walks. Ridings averaged a huge 97.2 MPH on his sinker and generated swinging strikes on a fantastic 18.9% of his offerings during his brief big league time. Between that impressive showing and his ludicrous minor league numbers this season — a 1.24 ERA with a 38.2% strikeout rate split between Double-A and Triple-A — the 26-year-old figures to get another MLB look before long.

Brantly has come up as a COVID replacement on two separate occasions, tallying 21 plate appearances in a backup role. He’s had a very good season with the RailRiders, hitting .286/.397/.496 over 141 plate appearances.

The Yankees are moving closer to returning to full strength after the recent spread of the coronavirus throughout their clubhouse. Assuming Montgomery and Sánchez are activated today, that’ll leave just Anthony Rizzo and Clay Holmes on the COVID IL. It’s an opportune time for New York to get two key players back, as the Yankees kick off a three-game set against their archrivals in Boston, whom they trail by two games in the American League Wild Card race (with the A’s 1.5 games up on New York for the final AL postseason spot).

Yankees Claim Jonathan Davis Off Waivers From Blue Jays

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The Yankees announced a series of roster moves before this evening’s game against the Orioles. Most notably, outfielder Jonathan Davis has been claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays. New York also selected the contracts of right-handers Brody Koerner and Stephen Ridings. They’re replacing Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery, who landed on the COVID-19 injured list after testing positive for the virus.

Davis lost his 40-man roster spot when the Jays acquired Joakim Soria before last Friday’s trade deadline. The 29-year-old appeared in the majors with the Jays in each of the past four seasons, tallying a combined 241 plate appearances of .180/.285/.263 hitting. While he hasn’t performed well at the big league level, Davis has a decent .256/.357/.421 line over parts of three seasons at Triple-A.

Koerner and Ridings are both in line to make their big league debuts. Koener, a 17th-round pick of the Yankees back in 2015, has done very well at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. Through 61 innings, the Clemson University product has a 2.95 ERA, the seventh-lowest mark among the 49 Triple-A East pitchers with 50+ innings pitched. His 18.3% strikeout rate is below-average, but Koerner has also issued walks at a lower than typical 7.8% clip.

Ridings began his career as an 8th-round draftee of the Cubs out of Haverford College. He was a starting pitcher early in his minor league tenure (which also included some time in the Royals system).  This year, though, he’s worked exclusively in relief, splitting the campaign between Double-A Somerset and Scranton. Altogether, the 25-year-old has pitched to a sterling 1.24 ERA in 29 innings, striking out an elite 38.2% of opponents while walking just 3.6%.

Because Koerner and Ridings were selected to the roster as COVID replacements, they can be returned to the minor leagues and removed from the 40-man without being exposed to waivers upon others’ returns from the IL.

Royals Trade Donnie Dewees To Cubs For Stephen Ridings

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The Royals have acquired right-handed pitcher Stephen Ridings from the Cubs in exchange for Donnie Dewees, the team announced (via Twitter).

Ridings, 23, was an 8th round draft pick of the Cubs in 2016. Last season for the Eugene Emeralds, the Cubs short season A-ball club, he went 3-3 with a 4.15 ERA in 34 2/3 innings across 22 relief appearances. In his short professional career, the 6’8″ product of Haverford College has shown the classic power-pitcher profile, missing bats (11.4 K/9) while struggling with command at times (3.9 BB/9).

The Royals originally acquired Dewees from the Cubs in February of 2017 in exchange for right-hander Alec Mills. Currently competing for a spot in the Cubs bullpen, Mills produced solid small-sample results for the Cubs in a swing role last season, a role he’s angling to reprise in 2019 – though he’s likely ticketed for the Triple-A rotation at least to start the season. In two starts and five relief appearances for the Cubs in 2018, Mills, 27, earned a 4.00 ERA in 18 innings at the big league level.

Dewees returns to for his second stint with the Cubs after struggling to hit for much power in the Royals system. The lefty outfielder hit .258/.310/.383 in Double-A and Triple-A last season. The Cubs selected him in the 2nd round in the 2015 draft, topping out in Single-A with a strong .282/.337/.414 with 15 doubles, 12 triples, and 3 home runs in the season before the Cubs sent him to KC.

He can capably handle all three outfield positions, though without a standout offensive skill, the 25-year-old lefty will probably begin the year in Triple-A. He’ll have a chance to crack the 25-man roster, as the Cubs don’t have a natural 5th outfielder on the roster. They are, however, flush with outfield options, as Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ, Jason Heyward, Albert Almora Jr., Ben Zobrist, Kris Bryant, David Bote, and Daniel Descalso have all seen time in the outfield. Johnny Field, Mark Zagunis, Jacob Hannemann, and Jim Adduci fill out the next tier of outfielders that will compete with Dewees in his second stint with the Cubs.

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