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Giants Place Evan Longoria On IL With Thumb Fracture

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The Giants announced a series of roster moves prior to tonight’s game, with third baseman Evan Longoria being placed on the injured list due to a thumb fracture. Left-hander Thomas Szapucki was also placed on the injured list, with a hip strain being the culprit in his case. To take their spots on the active roster, outfielder Bryce Johnson was recalled while left-hander Andrew Vasquez had his contract selected. To make room on the 40-man roster for Vasquez, lefty Alex Wood was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Longoria suffered his injury yesterday when attempting to field a ground ball. X-rays revealed a fracture, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, which will finish Longoria’s season. The veteran had another strong year at the plate, hitting .244/.315/.451, production that was 15% above league average by measure of wRC+. However, various injuries limited him to just 89 games on the year, as he previously went on the IL due to hand surgery, an oblique strain and a hamstring strain.

Going forward, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Longoria. He is in the final guaranteed year of the huge extension he signed with the Rays back in 2012. There is a club option for 2023, though Longoria has at least considered retirement, discussing the matter with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle back in June.

After the IL placement was announced today, Longoria spoke to the media about his future, with Slusser and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic among those to relay the information on Twitter. He says that his wife and kids want him to continue playing in 2023 and that his first choice would be to return to the Giants. The option for next year comes with a $13MM base salary and $5MM buyout, though Longoria says he’s open to renegotiating the terms if the team wants him back. The club’s president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has already publicly spoken about a desire to run out a younger roster next year, which would seemingly be a point against bringing back Longoria, who turns 37 in a few days. However, if Longoria is willing to accept a lower salary, perhaps there is a price point where it makes sense for both sides to reunite. The surgery comes with a recovery time of about 4-6 weeks, per Slusser, meaning Longoria should have plenty of time to recover before Spring Training.

As for Vasquez, 29, he began the year with the Blue Jays but subsequently joined the Phillies and Giants on waiver claims before being outrighted about a month ago. He threw 6 2/3 innings with the Jays earlier this year but has otherwise been relegated to the minor leagues, pitching very well on the whole. In 32 1/3 innings in the minors on the year, he has a 2.23 ERA, 34.9% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate. He has less than a year of MLB service time and could be retained for next year if he holds onto his roster spot through the winter.

As for Wood, this today’s transfer is a mere formality as it had already been reported that he wouldn’t be returning this season.

Mets Rumors: Bell, Mancini, Szapucki

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There’s not much traction at present between the Nationals and Mets on a potential Josh Bell swap, reports SNY’s Andy Martino. Bell is one of several designated hitter candidates in whom the Mets are known to have interest, but it seems as though talks between the two parties haven’t proved fruitful. Pat Ragazzo and Michael Marino of Sports Illustrated/Fan Nation report that the Mets put forth an offer for Bell and a Nationals reliever that included an upper-level minor league starter and outfielder.

The Mets moved last week to begin augmenting their DH rotation, flipping reliever Colin Holderman to the Pirates in a trade that brought Daniel Vogelbach back to Queens. Vogelbach, however, figures to be a pure platoon option, whereas the switch-hitting Bell would be an everyday option who’d push Vogelbach into a bench role. The Mets have continued to look for potential DH upgrades even in the wake of the Voeglbach deal, Martino writes, with Trey Mancini, C.J. Cron and Willson Contreras among those who might still be under consideration.

They won’t have the opportunity to evaluate Mancini today, as he’ll take a seat on the heels of an 0-for-22 swoon at the plate. That offensive freefall has dropped Mancini’s batting line from a robust .285/.359/.429 (124 wRC+) to .268/.345/.404 (113 wRC+). Mancini has still been better than a league-average hitter on the whole, but it’s a poor time for him to struggle through his toughest patch of the season, particularly from a team vantage point.

The Orioles won 10 games in a row to thrust themselves onto the fringes of the American Wild Card chase prior to the deadline, but they’ve since gone 2-4 against the Rays and Yankees in a pair of road series. Mancini’s slump obviously isn’t the sole cause of the team’s momentum slowing down, but it was a contributing factor as Baltimore dropped a few close games. It’s also suboptimal for a club that could still move Mancini prior to next Tuesday’s trade deadline; an 0-for-22 doesn’t wipe out all of Mancini’s trade value, of course, but it’s tougher for a rival front office to give up a prospect of note for a hitter in such a pronounced slump.

Cron has a robust .292/.347/.546 line on the year, but it’s questionable whether the Rockies would consider moving him when he’s cheaply signed for 2023, particularly since Colorado GM Bill Schmidt has already pushed back against a major sell-off. Contreras seems a virtual lock to move in the next eight days, but the Mets reluctance to deal from the top of the farm system would make landing perhaps the top rental bat available a challenge.

Bell, Mancini and Vogelbach were just a handful of the Mets’ reported targets as they look to bolster the lineup, and Martino reported last week that GM Billy Eppler and his team were exploring trade scenarios involving both Dominic Smith and J.D. Davis. Clearly, there’s some turnover to be expected. Martino even floats the possibility of the Mets dealing Vogelbach if they land an impact bat, although there’s no indication that’s especially likely.

The exact return the Mets might surrender in order to bolster the lineup is, of course, wholly dependent on the caliber of player on which they settle — but Mike Puma of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that minor league lefty Thomas Szapucki has drawn some interest from other teams as New York has poked around the trade market. The 26-year-old lefty has yielded a staggering 15 runs in just five Major League innings across the past two seasons, but Szapucki has had a nice year in Triple-A Syracuse, pitching to a 3.48 ERA with a huge 31.9% strikeout rate against an 11% walk rate in 62 innings.

Those 62 frames have been scattered over 16 starts, which comes out to an average of under four innings per outing. That’s a bit of a strange phenomenon, even in today’s game, but the Mets have been cautious with Szapucki’s workload after he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018 and season-ending surgery on his ulnar nerve last summer. He began the year throwing just two to three innings per start but has continued to build up his pitch count over the course of the year, peaking with a season-high 93 pitches back on July 6.

The Mets and other clubs may want to be cautious with his overall innings total and his pitch count on a game-to-game basis, but he’s a reasonably youthful lefty who can be controlled at least six years beyond the current campaign. Even if there’s some injury risk, he has three average or better pitches and could certainly operate as a multi-inning reliever down the road if his arm doesn’t prove capable of a starter’s workload. Speculatively, Szapucki would fit the billing of the “upper-level starting pitcher” the Mets are said to have offered to Washington in Bell talks, though there’s no specific indication that Szapucki was part of that offer.

Mets’ Travis Jankowski Out 6-8 Weeks Following Hand Surgery

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The Mets announced to reporters, including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, that outfielder Travis Jankowski underwent surgery today following a fracture of the fourth metacarpal on his left hand. He has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 26, with a recovery timeline of approximately 6-8 weeks. Thosar also relays word from manager Buck Showalter that the injury was sustained as Jankowski made a diving catch in Wednesday’s game. The club also optioned left-hander Thomas Szapucki, recalling right-handers Stephen Nogosek and Yoan Lopez to take the open spots on the active roster, per Tim Britton of The Athletic.

A veteran of eight MLB seasons now, Jankowski has never been a huge threat at the plate, but has continually been employed for his speed and defense. In 459 career games with the Padres, Reds, Phillies and Mets, he’s hit .238/.320/.314 for a wRC+ of 78. But thanks to 72 steals and good defensive numbers, he’s still produced 2.1 wins above replacement in that time, according to FanGraphs.

Signed to a minor league deal by the Mets in the offseason, he had his contract selected to start the season and has gotten into 33 games so far, but starting just 13 of those, often entering games as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He’s hit just .209/.292/.209 on the season but has swiped three bags and helped out with the glove.

With Jankowski on the shelf, the Mets will have a little less outfield depth. Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte and Mark Canha will get the the lion’s share of time on the grass, with Jeff McNeil occasionally joining them while Luis Guillorme plays second. It’s possible that McNeil gets a bit more time in the outfield, though perhaps Dominic Smith could factor in as well. He played some outfield in each of the previous four seasons but has only played first base so far in this campaign. Britton relays that Showalter has mentioned Nick Plummer as someone who could come up from the minors, with Plummer not in tonight’s lineup for Triple-A Syracuse.

Mets Activate Brandon Nimmo From Injured List

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The Mets announced they’ve reinstated center fielder Brandon Nimmo from the 10-day injured list before this evening’s game against the Phillies. Reliever Jake Reed was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move.

Nimmo returns after missing just under two weeks with a right hamstring strain. At the time he went down, the club was still above .500 and within three and a half games of the division-leading Braves. They’ve gone just 3-7 in the ten games since, falling five and a half back of Atlanta and five games behind the Cardinals in the Wild Card race. Their playoff odds, in FanGraphs’ estimation, have dipped from 10.2% to 1.9% in the process, as it’s probably too late for Nimmo to make a meaningful contribution in a postseason push.

The team’s disappointing season hasn’t been the fault of Nimmo, who has continued to excel when healthy. Always one of the game’s best at drawing walks and reaching base, the left-handed hitter owns a .302/.420/.415 line with five home runs over 320 plate appearances. Nimmo doesn’t hit for much power, but he’s one of just five hitters with 300+ plate appearances and an on-base percentage north of .400 (Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Yasmani Grandal and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. being the others).

In an additional roster move, the Mets activated righty Jordan Yamamoto from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to Syracuse. Doing so required opening space on the 40-man roster, so New York recalled minor league lefty Thomas Szapucki and placed him on the major league 60-day IL. Szapucki, who is out for the year after undergoing ulnar nerve transposition surgery in mid-July, will receive big league pay and service time for the season’s final few weeks.

Mets’ Thomas Szapucki To Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

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Mets left-hander Thomas Szapucki needs ulnar nerve transposition surgery, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports (Twitter link).  The procedure will end Szapucki’s season, though the expectation is that he’ll be recovered in time for Spring Training.

The southpaw is just two weeks removed from his MLB debut, as Szapucki allowed six runs over 3 2/3 innings of relief work in New York’s 20-2 blowout loss to the Braves on June 30.  That unfortunate outing stands as Szapucki’s lone appearance in the Show, as the Mets optioned him back to Triple-A two days later.  (He was also called up to the big league roster in May but was optioned back a day later without seeing any game action.)

Nonetheless, Szapucki can now officially call himself a Major League player, following an injury-plagued pro career that began when the Mets selected him in the fifth round of the 2015 draft.  Szapucki only pitched 145 innings from 2015-19, in large part due to a Tommy John surgery that entirely erased his 2018 season and a good chunk of his 2017 campaign.  This latest procedure represents another significant setback, and it continues a trend of ulnar nerve transposition surgery for current and former Mets pitchers (such as Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler) in recent years.

Despite all these setbacks, Szapucki still carries some potential.  MLB Pipeline ranks the left-hander 10th on their current list of Mets minor leaguers.  As per Pipeline’s scouting report, Szapucki’s signature pitch is a 60-grade curveball, which he pairs with a fastball that only has low-90’s velocity but still grades as a 55 on the 20-80 scouting scale.  It remains to be seen if Szapucki can stay healthy enough to work as a starter at the big league level, but he has started 42 of 49 minor league games, posting a 2.80 ERA and an impressive 28.91% strikeout rate over 186 2/3 total innings in New York’s farm system.

Mets Designate Jerad Eickhoff For Assignment

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The Mets announced they’ve recalled left-hander Thomas Szapucki from Triple-A Syracuse. Righty Jerad Eickhoff was designated for assignment to create active roster space.

It’s the first big league call for Szapucki. New York’s fifth-round pick out of a Florida high school back in 2015, he’s been regarded as one of the more promising pitching prospects in the system for the past few years. Szapucki carved up low minors hitters over his first few pro seasons, drawing praise from scouts for low-mid 90s velocity and a pair of quality breaking balls. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in July 2017, knocking him out of action for almost two seasons.

Szapucki returned in 2019 and performed well across two levels of A-ball before earning a brief promotion to Double-A at the end of the season. Obviously, he didn’t log any game action last year due to the COVID-19 forced cancelation of the minor league season. Instead, he spent all of 2020 at the alternate training site, where reports suggested his velocity had fallen into the high 80s.

The injuries and diminished velocity took a small hit to Szapucki’s prospect status. He entered 2021 as Baseball America’s #16 farmhand in the organization, while Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted him tenth in the system. Both outlets offered continued praise for his curveball, and Longenhagen noted that Szapucki’s velocity had bounced back into the low 90s during Spring Training 2021. He’s tossed 34 2/3 innings with Syracuse this season, working to a 4.41 ERA with a decent 23.8% strikeout rate but an elevated 13.8% walk percentage. Szapucki could be an option for a Mets rotation that lost Joey Lucchesi to Tommy John surgery last week.

When Lucchesi first went down, the Mets turned to Eickhoff. They were plenty familiar with the 30-year-old, who pitched for the division-rival Phillies from 2015-19. Eickhoff looked like a competent back-of-the-rotation starter early in his Philadelphia tenure, but he struggled over his last three seasons there and didn’t pitch in the majors last year.

Eickhoff’s return with the Mets lasted just two starts. Across ten innings, he allowed five runs on eleven hits (including an alarming four homers) with six strikeouts and four walks. The Mets will have a week to trade him or place him on waivers. Should Eickhoff clear outright waivers, he’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment and become a free agent.

Mets Add Seven To 60-Man Player Pool

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The Mets announced Monday that they’ve added seven players to their 60-man player pool: right-handers Matt Blackham, Jordan Humphreys and Franklyn Kilome; left-handers Stephen Gonsalves and Thomas Szapucki; infielder Jake Hager; and catcher David Rodriguez. They’ve filled 58 of the 60 spots in their pool. MetsMerized’s Michael Mayer first reported that Blackham, Humphreys and Gonsalves would be added (Twitter links).

Of the new adds today, Szapucki is the most highly regarded of the team’s prospects, ranking seventh at both FanGraphs and MLB.com. A fifth-round pick in 2015, Szapucki returned from Tommy John surgery to log 61 2/3 innings of 2.63 ERA ball with 10.5 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9 across three minor league levels in 2019. The 24-year-old topped out with four innings in Double-A, and while he wasn’t viewed as a candidate to log much time in the Majors this season, he’ll at the very least get in some developmental reps in the absence of a conventional minor league season.

Kilome, also 24, came over from the Phillies in the trade that sent Asdrubal Cabrera to Philadelphia back in 2017. He lands ninth on FanGraphs’ list and 12th at MLB.com on the heels of a 2019 season that he lost to his own Tommy John surgery. That procedure came back in October 2018, so Kilome should be largely back up to speed and ready to pick up after tossing 140 innings at Double-A that year. Kilome logged a 4.18 ERA with 8.0 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9. Kilome improved considerably upon being flipped to the Mets; in 38 innings with his new club his K/9 jumped from 7.3 to 10.0, and his BB/9 dropped from 4.5 to 2.4.

Among the other additions, the 26-year-old Gonsalves might be the most recognizable name. The former fourth-round pick was long a top prospect in the Twins organization and cracked multiple Top 100 lists as he rose through the minors, regularly drawing praise as a high-probability back-end starter. He never got much of a look in Minnesota, though (24 2/3 innings), and he’s been limited by arm troubles in recent years.

Humphreys, 24, is another arm on the mend from Tommy John surgery. He had a big 2017 season before surgery and will aim to work his way back into the team’s bullpen mix after pitching just 13 2/3 frames last year. Blackham posted sharp numbers last year, but he turned 27 in January and has only has 15 2/3 frames above Double-A to his credit. Hager and Rodriguez were minor league pickups this winter with limited offensive track records in the minors. Hager is a former first-round pick (Rays, 2011) who can play all over the infield, while Rodriguez brings some additional catching depth and a lifetime 39 percent caught-stealing rate to the table.

Players Added To 40-Man Roster: National League

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We’re going to see a whole lot of players added to 40-man rosters in advance of tonight’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 draft. We will use this post to track those contract selections from National League teams that are not otherwise covered on the site.

NL West

  • The Dodgers announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-hander Mitchell White, infielder/outfielder Zach McKinstry and outfielder DJ Peters. Both White and Peters are considered to be among the club’s top 15 prospects. McKinstry isn’t generally ranked inside L.A.’s top 30, but the 24-year-old had a big season between Double-A and Triple-A in 2019 while appearing at six defensive positions (shortstop, second base, third base and all three outfield slots).
  • The Diamondbacks announced that they’ve selected the contracts of right-handers Taylor Widener and Riley Smith as well as the contracts of infielders Andy Young and Wyatt Mathisen. Widener, 24, was one of the organization’s best pitching prospects coming into the season but was blown up for an eye-popping 8.10 ERA in 100 innings. He’s only a year removed from 137 1/3 innings of 2.75 ERA ball and an 11.5 K/9 mark in Double-A, however. Smith, 24, was sharp in Double-A before struggling in Triple-A — like many pitching prospects throughout the league (and with the D-backs in particular). Young, acquired in the Paul Goldschmidt trade last winter, hit 29 homers while playing three infield positions between Double-A and Triple-A. Mathisen, 26 in December, hit .283/.403/.601 in 345 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • The Giants, surprisingly, did not add anyone to their 40-man roster prior to tonight’s deadline.
  • The Rockies selected the contracts of infielder Tyler Nevin, left-hander Ben Bowden and right-handers Ashton Goudeau and Antonio Santos (Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post first reported the news on Twitter). Those four moves will fill the team’s 40-man roster. Of the four, Bowden and Nevin draw the most fanfare. Nevin, the No. 38 pick in the 2015 draft and son of former MLB slugger Phil Nevin, posted deceptively solid numbers in an extremely pitcher-friendly Double-A environment in 2019 (.251/.345/.399 — good for a 122 wRC+). Bowden, a second-round pick in ’16, posted gaudy strikeout numbers but struggled in Triple-A after dominating in Double-A in 2019.
  • The Padres selected outfielder Jorge Ona’s contract and designated outfielder Nick Martini for assignment, as outlined here.

NL Central

  • The Cardinals announced the additions of Jake Woodford, Elehuris Montero and Alvaro Seijas while designating righty Dominic Leone for assignment (as detailed here at greater length).
  • Outfielder Corey Ray and right-hander J.P. Feyereisen will head onto the Brewers 40-man, per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (via Twitter). It’s not yet known if the team will make further roster additions, but it would have five additional spots to work with to do so. Ray was the fifth overall pick in the 2016 draft but is coming off of a rough season. Feyereisen, who was added in a quiet September swap, will have a chance to challenge for MLB relief opportunities. Milwaukee also added infielder Mark Mathias to the 40-man roster after acquiring him in a trade with the Indians tonight.
  • The Cubs announced that they’ve added catcher Miguel Amaya, infielder Zack Short and right-handers Tyson Miller and Manuel Rodriguez to the 40-man roster. Amaya is the most highly regarded of the bunch, ranking second among Chicago farmhands and drawing some top 100 consideration at MLB.com.
  • Four additions to the 40-man were announced by the Reds, who have selected the contracts of catcher Tyler Stephenson and right-handers Tony Santillan, Ryan Hendrix and Tejay Antone. All four rank within the club’s top 30 at MLB.com, headlined by Santillan at No. 4 and ranging all the way to Antone at No. 30. Santillan thrived in a brief Double-A debut in 2018 but struggled there in a larger 2019 sample (4.84 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.8 BB/9 in 102 1/3 innings). He’s still just 22, though, and is regarded as a potential big league starter. Stephenson is a former first-round pick who hit well in a highly pitcher-friendly Double-A setting (.285/.372/.410; 130 wRC+). Hendrix posted big strikeout numbers as a reliever in 2019, while Antone displayed sharp ground-ball skills as a starter and reached Triple-A for the first time.
  • The Pirates added prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Oneil Cruz, Will Craig, Blake Cederlind and Cody Ponce to the 40-man roster while also designating four pitchers for assignment (as explored in greater length here). Lefty Williams Jerez and right-handers Dario Agrazal, Montana DuRapau and Luis Escobar were cut loose.

NL East

Mets Designate Drew Gagnon, Add Four To 40-Man Roster

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The Mets announced that they’ve designated righty Drew Gagnon for assignment. His DFA opened a spot on the 40-man roster, allowing the Mets to select the contracts of shortstop Andres Gimenez, right-hander Jordan Humphreys, catcher Ali Sanchez and left-hander Thomas Szapucki. All four players are now protected from next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Of the players added to the 40-man, Gimenez has generated the most prospect fanfare. Entering the 2019 season, he was ranked among the game’s top 50 prospects, but a poor showing in Double-A Binghamton has caused his stock to slip a bit. In 479 plate appearances, Gimenez hit just .250/.309/.387 with nine home runs. And while he stole 28 bases, he was also caught 16 times, underscoring a need to improve his efficiency. MLB.com still ranks him at the back end of the game’s top 100 prospects, but he’ll be in the hunt for a rebound season in 2020.

Gagnon was bombed in brief MLB action last year, falling victim to the leaguewide home run surge even more than most of his fellow pitchers (11 long balls in 23 2/3 innings). But he did show an 11.8% swinging-strike rate in the bigs, and over 88 2/3 innings in 15 starts in the hitter-friendly Triple-A International League, he worked to a 2.33 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 1.7 BB/9.

Reports out of South Korea this week suggested that Gagnon was working toward a deal with a KBO club. However, a source tells MLBTR that not only was Gagnon not moving toward a deal in Korea — he hasn’t even engaged in any conversations with Korean clubs about a potential deal. The Mets will have a week to trade Gagnon, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or place him on release waivers.

 

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