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Taylor Kohlwey

Taylor Kohlwey Signs With Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks

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Outfielder Taylor Kohlwey has signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League, per a post on X from Michael Pfaff, the president and CBO of the Ducks.

Kohlwey, 29, had signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the winter. He reported to their Triple-A club but hit a dismal .088/.162/.118 in 37 plate appearances. He was released last week as the Mets signed Mike Brosseau to a minor league deal.

The Padres gave Kohlwey a brief major league debut last year. He got into five games, stepping to the plate 13 times. He was struck out five times with two hits, both singles, and no walks. That leaves him with a current batting line of .154/.154/.154. The Friars non-tendered him after the season, which led to his deal with the Mets.

Prior to his struggles with Syracuse this year, Kohlwey’s results in the minors were strong. Over the 2021-23 seasons, he took 1,572 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. He walked in 12.3% of those while only striking out 17.5% of the time. He hit 31 home runs and produced a combined batting line of .294/.388/.442 for a wRC+ of 110. He also stole 35 bases while playing all three outfield spots and a bit of first base.

His slow start this year bumped him out of affiliated ball, but he’ll head to the Ducks and look to get himself back on track. If he’s able to put a few good weeks together, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him returning to a Triple-A club via a new minor league deal.

Mets Sign Mike Brosseau To Minor League Deal

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The Mets have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Mike Brosseau, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. They’ve also released outfielder Taylor Kohlwey from their Triple-A affiliate, per the MiLB transaction log.

Brosseau, 30, is a familiar face for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, who previously helmed the Brewers — where Brosseau played in 2022-23. The Former Brewers and Rays infielder is a career .242/.313/.438 hitter with 26 homers, 28 doubles, a triple and seven steals (in seven attempts) through parts of five big league seasons — a total of 647 plate appearances.

It’s a solid overall track record for Brosseau, who originally joined the Rays as an undrafted free agent. However, the bulk of his production came in a standout 2020 season that saw him slash .302/.378/.558 in 98 trips to the plate. He had lesser — but still productive — showings in 2019 and 2022, but since that excellent 2020 campaign he’s posted a tepid .217/.295/.385 line overall.

The right-handed-hitting Brosseau has substantial platoon splits. He’s a career .265/.326/.464 hitter against southpaws (117 wRC+) but owns just a .209/.293/.374 line against fellow righties (87 wRC+). Contact has been an issue throughout his career, as he’s fanned in 29.5% of his career plate appearances.

Brosseau has played all over the diamond in his relatively brief big league career, appearing at all four infield spots, in both outfield corners and even pitching 9 2/3 innings of mop-up duty (where he’s allowed three runs on eight hits and a pair of walks with one strikeout). The majority of his time has been spent at third base (778 innings), where he’s drawn poor ratings from Defensive Runs Saved (-5) and Outs Above Average (-8). Brosseau also has 404 innings at second base and has drawn positive grades there. He hasn’t appeared in even 150 innings at any of the other spots on the roster.

Kohlwey, 29, came to the Mets on a minor league deal back in December. He entered the season with a strong .296/.387/.444 slash in parts of four Triple-A seasons but has stumbled to an uncharacteristic .088/.162/.118 line in his first 37 plate appearances. The former 21st-rounder made his big league debut with the Padres last year and went 2-for-13 with a pair of singles in that brief call to the majors. Kohlwey has ample experience at all three outfield spots and at first base. He’ll be an option for teams seeking some left-handed-hitting outfield depth.

Mets Sign Taylor Kohlwey To Minor League Deal

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The Mets have signed outfielder Taylor Kohlwey to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, the team announced Friday.

A 21st-round pick by the Padres back in 2016, Kohlwey made his big league debut this season and went 2-for-13 with a pair of singles. The 29-year-old has minimal big league experience but a strong track record of getting on base in the upper minors, evidenced by a career .296/.387/.444 slash in parts of four Triple-A seasons. Kohlwey has walked in 12.1% of his Triple-A plate appearances and fanned at a lower-than-average 17.5% rate.

He’s played primarily left field in his professional career but also has nearly 1800 innings in right field, more than 750 innings in center and more than 800 innings at first base. He marks yet another depth pickup for new president of baseball operations David Stearns, who’s been active in minor league free agency, on the waiver wire and with big league signings on the fringes of the Mets’ 40-man roster early in the offseason. The Mets have yet to make any major splashes under Stearns, though they’ve been connected to several of the top remaining free agent names — most notably NPB ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Padres Non-Tender Austin Nola, Three Others

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The Padres announced the non-tenders of catcher Austin Nola, outfielder Taylor Kohlwey and pitchers Tim Hill and Jose Espada.

Nola’s non-tender marks the end of a three-and-a-half-year tenure in San Diego. The Friars picked him up alongside Dan Altavilla and Austin Adams in a now clearly lopsided (in the other direction) swap that sent a four-player package of Ty France, Andres Munoz, Luis Torrens and Taylor Trammell to the Mariners back in 2020. At the time, Nola had been an unmitigated steal for the Mariners in free agency, signing a minor league contract and coming out of nowhere to deliver a .280/.351/.476 batting line in 377 plate appearances while playing catcher, first base, second base, third base and the outfield corners.

Nola’s production almost immediately took a nosedive following the swap, however, and in 819 career plate appearances with the Padres he’s a .234/.314/.320 hitter — including a particularly woeful .146/.260/.192 slash in 154 plate appearances this past season. (France and Munoz, meanwhile, have gone on to become key players for a rebuild Mariners roster, although the former struggled himself in 2023.)

With Nola projected for a $2.35MM salary (via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz), the Padres cutting payroll, and fellow catcher Luis Campusano breaking out to the tune of a .319/.356/.491 batting line in 49 games, Nola no longer had a clear fit in the organization. He’ll turn 34 next month and look to latch on with new club between now and Opening Day.

Hill, also 33, has built a quietly solid track record over a six-year career between the Royals and Padres, though he stumbled to a career-worst 5.48 ERA in 44 1/3 frames this past season. Hill’s 2023 included a lowly 12.9% strikeout rate, although his 6.9% walk rate and particularly his 61.2% grounder rate were both strong marks.

From 2019-22, Hill totaled 165 1/3 innings of 3.70 ERA ball between Kansas City and San Diego, fanning 20.2% of his opponents against an 8.1% walk rate and superlative 58.9% ground-ball rate. He’s long had rather glaring platoon splits, however, making him a victim of the rule that stipulated pitchers must face at least three opponents per outing (or finish the inning). Hill has held opposing lefties to a dreary .223/.302/.304 batting line in his career but yielded an unsightly .284/.351/.460 slash against right-handers. He’ll hit the market in search of a rebound opportunity, likely on a one-year contract or minor league deal.

Kohlwey, 29, made his big league debut this season and went 2-for-13 with a pair of singles. The former 21st-round pick is a career .296/.387/.444 hitter in parts of four Triple-A seasons. The 26-year-old Espada pitched a scoreless inning for the Padres in his MLB debut in 2023. They plucked him out of indie ball in 2022, and he notched a 2.81 ERA with a big 31.4% strikeout rate but a concerning 12.8% walk rate in 83 1/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season. Both players will look for new opportunities as minor league free agents.

Padres Designate Rougned Odor For Assignment, Option Austin Nola

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The Padres announced a broad-reaching slate of roster moves Tuesday, most notably designating infielder/outfielder Rougned Odor for assignment and optioning catcher Austin Nola to Triple-A El Paso. San Diego also optioned utilityman Brandon Dixon to El Paso.

That trio of moves creates space for the team to reinstate catcher Luis Campusano from the 60-day injured list, select the contract of outfielder Taylor Kohlwey and recall infielder Alfonso Rivas from Triple-A. The Padres also announced that righty Reiss Knehr has been transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. He’s been on the shelf with elbow discomfort since late June and will now be sidelined until at least late August.

It’s a notable shakeup for a struggling Padres club that has gotten negligible production from the bench and from its catching position this season. Odor, who’ll be traded or released within a week’s time (he can reject an outright assignment), has batted just .210/.306/.370 in 157 trips to the plate this season. Nola (.146/.260/.192 in 154 plate appearances) and Dixon (.204/.244/.329 in 86 plate appearances) have been even less productive. They’ll both remain in the organization in Triple-A, at least for the time being.

The Padres were Odor’s fourth team in as many years. He hasn’t had an above-average season at the plate since 2016 but has continually gotten looks around the league thanks to his glove and considerable left-handed pop. He’s been with the Rangers, Yankees and Orioles in the past three seasons, respectively, and cracked the Padres’ Opening Day roster in 2023 despite a combined .199/.269/.374 showing from 2020-22. In doing so, he continued the long line of former Rangers who’ve made cameos with the Padres under president of baseball operations AJ Preller — a longtime assistant GM in Texas (e.g. Ian Kinsler, Keone Kela, Mitch Moreland, Nelson Cruz, Nomar Mazara, Jurickson Profar, Yu Darvish, Nick Martinez, Carl Edwards Jr.).

Nola, 33, has been San Diego’s primary catcher in recent seasons after coming over from the Mariners in what’s become a lopsided deal for Seattle. San Diego acquired Nola, Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla in exchange for infielder Ty France, reliever Andres Munoz, outfielder Taylor Trammell and catcher Luis Torrens. France has since settled in as the Mariners’ primary first baseman and made the All-Star team in 2022. Munoz has stepped up as Seattle’s closer.

While Nola had been enjoying a breakout with the Mariners in 2019-20 and was solid in his first season-plus with San Diego, his bat has since cratered. Dating back to Opening Day 2022, he’s a .222/.304/.291 hitter (75 wRC+) in exactly 162 games and 551 plate appearances. His once-strong framing ratings have also deteriorated, and Nola has thwarted just 16.8% of stolen base attempts over the past two seasons.

With Nola now in El Paso, the Padres will rely on Campusano and Gary Sanchez behind the plate. Sanchez started hot after signing in San Diego, clubbing five dingers in his first 50 plate appearances. However, he’s since gone ice cold at the dish, batting just .150/.253/.250 in his past 91 turns at the plate.

That could open the door for Campusano to at last get a legitimate look behind the plate. The longtime top prospect has appeared in each MLB season since 2020 but has only 114 career plate appearances to his name. He’s mustered only a .198/.237/.302 output in that time, but Campusano is a career .297/.366/.513 hitter in 702 Triple-A plate appearances and has outstanding batted-ball metrics in his limited MLB work. Despite the pedestrian bottom-line results, Campusano has an average exit velocity of 90.6 mph and a massive 48.7% hard-hit rate, per Statcast. Opponents have gone 16-for-16 against him in stolen bases at the MLB level, but Campusano has a 25% caught-stealing rate in the minors.

Also joining the Padres’ roster will be Kohlwey, who’ll be in line for his MLB debut just two days prior to his 29th birthday. A 21st-round pick out of the University of Wisconsin La Crosse back in 2016, Kohlwey has experience at all three outfield spots and is batting .261/.377/.437 with nine homers, 16 doubles, a pair of triples, 10 steals and nearly as many walks (50) as strikeouts (51) in 328 trips to the batter’s box.

Rivas, 26, signed with the Padres over the winter after spending the past two seasons with the Cubs. He’s gone 2-for-7 with a double in his limited sample with the Friars so far this year and is a career .248/.332/.325 hitter in 344 MLB plate appearances. Rivas boasts a colossal .332/.462/.582 slash in Triple-A this season and carries a lifetime .313/.424/.492 line in 150 games at that level.

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