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Pitchers Recently Electing Free Agency

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Since the conclusion of the regular season, a number of players have elected free agency. That right accrues to certain players who are outrighted off of a 40-man roster during or after the season — namely, those that have at least three years of MLB service and/or have previously been outrighted. Such players that accepted outright assignments during the season have the right to elect free agency instead at season’s end, provided they aren’t added back to the 40-man in the meantime.

We already rounded up the position players. Now, here are the pitchers that have recently taken to the open market, along with their now-former teams (via the International League and PCL transactions pages):

Mets Select Paul Sewald, Designate Tim Peterson

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As they continue to cycle through right-handed relief arms, the Mets have made a few tweaks to the makeup of their bullpen and roster. The club announced that it has selected the contract of Paul Sewald. To create 40-man space, Tim Peterson was designated for assignment, while an active roster spot was freed by optioning Drew Gagnon.

The 29-year-old Sewald has now regained the 40-man roster spot he lost earlier this season. He hasn’t found much success in the majors, with a 5.18 ERA over 128 2/3 career innings, but has managed a bit better than a strikeout per nine at the game’s highest level. Sewald has matched his career MLB strikeout rate (9.2 K/9) this year at Triple-A, combining that with 2.6 BB/9 to produce a 3.35 ERA over 51 innings.

Peterson, 28, was similarly useful in his 46 2/3 innings with the club’s top affiliate, working to a 3.09 ERA with 8.9 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9. But he has struggled in limited MLB work, allowing 5.91 earned per nine in 35 frames over the past two seasons.

Mets Place Robinson Cano On 10-Day Injured List

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The Mets have placed Robinson Cano back on the 10-day injured list due to a strained left quad, as reported by several media outlets (including Newsday’s Tim Healey).  Right-hander Tim Peterson’s contract has been selected from Triple-A to take Cano’s spot on the active roster, thus giving the Mets 39 players on their 40-man roster.

After returning from a 12-game IL absence due to a previous quad strain on June 5, Cano almost immediately re-aggravated the injury while running out a grounder.  Cano didn’t play any rehab games during his previous IL stint, though Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that one will be required this time around, as the Mets want to ensure that Cano is fully ready to go once he is eligible to come off the injured list.

While the quick return to the IL is undoubtedly frustrating to Cano, it’s possible the 36-year-old could see it as an unofficial restart to what has been a subpar 2019 season.  Cano has hit .238/.284/.366 (career lows in all three slash categories) with three home runs over 183 plate appearances.  His hard-hit ball metrics on Statcast indicate some level of bad luck, with a .324 xwOBA that is well above his real-world .284 wOBA, though obviously a .324 number isn’t exactly cause for celebration.

It’s also possible that Cano has simply needed some adjustment time to NL pitching after spending his previous 14 seasons in the American League, though the specter of a mid-30’s decline certainly can’t be ruled out — a scary scenario for the Mets, given that Cano is still owed well over $100MM through the 2023 season (though the Mariners will cover $15MM of that remaining salary).

With Cano out, Jeff McNeil is likely to continue seeing the bulk of action at second base, opening up some more time in left field for the hot-hitting Dominic Smith.  Adeiny Hechavarria is available on the bench as further middle infield depth.

Minor MLB Transacations: 5/26/19

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Here are the latest minor moves from the baseball world…

  • The Blue Jays outrighted left-handed pitcher Ryan Feierabend to Triple-A, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. The knuckleballer cleared waivers after he was designated by Toronto on Friday. In two outings for the Blue Jays, including one start, Feierabend was largely ineffective, conceding seven runs in 5 2/3 innings, including two home runs.
  • Mets relievers Paul Sewald and Tim Peterson, each of whom was designated for assignment, have also cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Control was an issue for Peterson, who walked six batters in his five appearances. Sewald misses a decent amount of bats, but is the owner of a mediocre 5.18 career ERA.
  • The Tigers claimed 32-year-old right-handed pitcher Austin Adams, who had been designated by the Twins. According to Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group, Adams was subsequently placed on the active roster, replacing left-handed pitcher Matt Hall, who was optioned today after spending just one day with the Major League club.

Mets Claim Aaron Altherr, Designate Tim Peterson For Assignment

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The Mets announced Thursday that they’ve claimed outfielder Aaron Altherr off waivers from the Giants and designated right-hander Tim Peterson for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Altherr, who is out of minor league options, will be added directly to the Mets’ roster after today’s game. He’ll step into a depleted outfield mix that is currently without Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo or Jeff McNeil, each of whom is on the injured list.

Altherr, 28, has spent the majority of his career with the division-rival Phillies, but Philadelphia ultimately had to designate him for assignment earlier this month due to a lack of playing time and his lack of options. He briefly landed with the Giants and appeared in all of one game with one plate appearance before his second DFA of the season. Given that the Mets have a whole outfield on the IL at the moment but none of the three is seriously injured, it’s possible that Altherr’s stay with his new organization will also be brief (though it’ll surely be longer than his Giants tenure).

Altherr has had an up-and-down career with the Phillies, showing great promise on multiple occasions but also battling frequent injuries that, at times, hampered his ability at the plate. He hit .241/.338/.489 through 161 plate appearances as a rookie in 2015 and .272/.340/.516 in 412 plate appearances in 2017. Altherr, however, posted miserable seasons at the plate in both 2016 (.587 OPS, 59 OPS+) and 2018 (.628, 68 OPS+), and he’s off to a 1-for-30 start so far in 2019. He possess an enticing blend of power and speed, but he’s also prone to strikeouts and prolonged slumps at the plate.

Peterson, also 28, has a 5.56 ERA and a 28-to-11 K/BB ratio through 34 MLB innings — 6 1/3 of which came earlier this season. An extreme fly-ball pitcher who doesn’t throw especially hard, Peterson hasn’t missed many bats at the MLB level but has a 3.90 ERA with 11.0 K/9 against 2.1 BB/9 in 60 innings at the Triple-A level. He currently has a 2.89 ERA and a 16-to-2 K/BB ratio in 18 2/3 innings with the Mets’ affiliate in Syracuse. He’s a pure reliever who also has a minor league option remaining beyond the 2019 season, so it’s possible another club could view him as some optionable bullpen candidate.

Mets Designate P.J. Conlon For Assignment

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The Mets announced that they’ve designated left-hander P.J. Conlon for assignment and transferred Juan Lagares to the 60-day disabled list on Wednesday. Their spots on the 40-man roster will go to right-handers Tim Peterson and Scott Copeland, each of whom has been selected to the Major League roster (as was reported earlier today). Furthermore, New York optioned right-hander Jacob Rhame and infielder Phillip Evans to Triple-A Las Vegas and recalled left-hander Buddy Baumann from Triple-A.

Conlon, 24, enjoyed a strong season with the Mets’ Double-A affiliate in 2017, tossing 136 innings of 3.38 ERA ball with 7.2 K/9 against 2.5 BB/9, but he’s endured a disastrous 2018 campaign so far. Though Conlon has had one significant milestone in 2018, making his MLB debut, his results on the mound have been ugly in both the Majors and the minors. The former 13th-round pick (2015) was tagged for seven runs on 12 hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings for the Mets, and he’s limped to a 6.58 ERA with 7.5 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9 in 39 2/3 innings out of the rotation in Las Vegas.

The Mets will have a week to trade Conlon or place him on outright or release waivers. He’s not considered to be an elite prospect, but he entered the year ranked 24th among Mets farmhands, per MLB.com, where Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo suggested that he could ultimately function as a multi-inning bullpen piece capable of setting down both lefties and righties.

Mets To Select Contracts Of Tim Peterson, Scott Copeland

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11:55am: Righty Scott Copeland is the other pitcher heading up, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). He’ll also need to be added to the 40-man.

Copeland, 30, briefly cracked the majors back in 2015. He has taken five starts this year in the upper minors, working to a 3.81 ERA with 6.7 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9 in 28 1/3 innings.

11:48am: New York will likely also add another arm, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports on Twitter. It’s not yet clear who that will be, but Puma says the mystery hurler may currently be on the Double-A roster.

11:12am: The Mets are set to promote right-hander Tim Peterson to the majors, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Corresponding roster moves have yet to be announced.

Peterson, 27, has pitched in the minors since 2012, when he was taken with a 20th round pick out of the University of Kentucky. He reached the Triple-A level briefly last year after a strong showing at Double-A, then returned to Las Vegas to begin the current campaign.

Over his 22 appearances this year, Peterson has thrown 27 2/3 innings of 3.58 ERA ball. He has held opposing batters to 18 hits and eight walks while racking up forty strikeouts.

While the New York organization surely preferred not to make any 40-man moves, the club’s pitching depth has been pressed to its limits by recent injuries. Noah Syndergaard was supposed to start today but ended up on the DL, leaving Jason Vargas to take the ball on short rest. And Steven Matz left his outing yesterday early, putting further strain on the relief unit. (Rather improbably, both he and Syndergaard were felled in succession by finger injuries.)

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