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Tyler Jay

Brewers, Tyler Jay Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers are re-signing left-handed reliever Tyler Jay to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training, reports Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Jay was with the Brewers organization at the end of the season but was lost on waivers to the Mariners early last month. Seattle passed him through waivers themselves a few weeks later, and Jay declined an outright assignment in favor of free agency after going unclaimed.

Jay, 31 in April, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 draft but saw the early stages of his pro career with the Twins decimated by injuries. He battled shoulder and neck problems throughout his first few seasons in pro ball and was at one point evaluated for potential thoracic outlet syndromes but never wound up requiring surgery. The Reds picked Jay up in exchange for cash in 2019 after the Twins designated him for assignment, but he never reached the majors in Cincinnati either.

From 2020-22, Jay was out of affiliated ball entirely. He returned to a mound with the independent Joliet Slammers in 2022-23 and caught the eye of the Mets, who inked him on a minor league deal. The Mets eventually gave Jay his MLB debut this past season at age 30. He split time between Queens and Milwaukee after the Mets designated him for assignment and flipped him to the Brewers in exchange for minor leaguer TJ Shook.

It was only 7 2/3 innings in the big leagues between the two teams this past season, but the fact that Jay even reached the majors at all is fairly remarkable, given his career arc and the significant injury woes he dealt with in the years after the draft. He yielded four runs on nine hits and six walks with six strikeouts during his brief big league time and also excelled in Triple-A; in 56 2/3 innings of Triple-A work between the two organizations, he logged a 3.02 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate and 47.3% grounder rate.

Jay doesn’t throw all that hard, sitting at about 92 mph with his sinker and four-seamer, per Statcast. He’s a former top pick who now appears healthy on the heels of a nice upper-minors showing, however, and despite his age and the amount of time he’s spent in the minors, he still has a pair of option years remaining. If the Brewers wind up adding him to the 40-man at any point, he can be a flexible bullpen piece for manager Pat Murphy.

The Brewers aren’t hurting for left-handed relief options. They have Jared Koenig, Bryan Hudson, DL Hall, Aaron Ashby, Grant Wolfram and Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas all on the 40-man roster. That said, Koenig and Hudson only have one season of big league success under their belts (2024 with the Brewers), while Hall, Ashby and Wolfram could work as starters in Triple-A Nashville. Thomas is hardly a lock to make the roster, as is the case with most Rule 5 picks.

Tyler Jay Elects Free Agency

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The Mariners announced Tuesday that left-hander Tyler Jay, who was designated for assignment last week, went unclaimed on outright waivers. He’s elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment to the minors. Seattle had claimed Jay off waivers from the Brewers earlier this month.

Selected with the No. 6 overall pick by the Twins back in 2015, Jay was viewed as a polished college arm who could move quickly as a reliever but also had a chance to start. He ranked as one of the Twins’ top prospects — and one of the top prospects in the sport — following that lofty selection, but repeated injury troubles derailed his once-promising trajectory. Jay dealt with continued shoulder and neck injuries throughout his time in the Twins’ system; Jay was at one point evaluated for symptoms believed to be related to thoracic outlet syndrome but wound up avoiding surgery.

Jay was out of affiliated ball entirely and pitching for the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League when he caught the Mets’ attention and landed a minor league deal several years later, in 2023. The Mets gave him his big league debut in 2024 at 30 years old. He wound up splitting time between the Mets and Brewers, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and six walks with six punchouts in 7 2/3 innings of work.

While it was far from a dominant debut showing, Jay pitched quite well in the minors. In 56 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this past season, the lefty notched a tidy 3.02 ERA with a 20.9% strikeout rate and very sharp 5.1% walk rate. He also kept the ball on the ground at a strong 47.3% clip and averaged just 0.64 homers per nine innings pitched.

Jay doesn’t throw especially hard, sitting just over 92 mph with his heater, but it was a nice season in the upper minors for a former top pick who seems to have put a good deal of the health troubles that plagued him early in his professional career behind him. He’ll now head to the market and look to latch on as a depth option for a club, likely one with a more pressing need for left-handed bullpen help (or at least fewer candidates to fill said need) than the Mariners have.

Mariners Acquire Will Klein, Designate Tyler Jay For Assignment

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The Mariners have acquired right-hander Will Klein from the Athletics, according to announcements from both clubs. The latter club had designated him for assignment last week. The A’s get international bonus pool space in return, though the exact amount wasn’t specified. The M’s designated left-hander Tyler Jay for assignment as the corresponding move.

Klein, 25, was traded from the Royals to the A’s as part of last summer’s deadline trade that sent Lucas Erceg to Kansas City. Klein has a sliver of major league experience to this point, having tossed 7 1/3 innings between the two clubs last year, allowing nine earned runs.

That means he currently sports an ugly 11.05 earned run average in the bigs, but it’s a tiny sample of work and he averaged 97 miles per hour on his fastball. In general, his pitching on the farm has resulted in heaps of strikeouts and walks. He has thrown 221 1/3 innings across various minor league levels, with a 5.16 ERA, 30.4% strikeout rate and 16.4% walk rate.

Given the poor control, Klein is probably considered something of a project. He still has a couple of options remaining, so the M’s can plug him in as depth while they see if he can rein in his arsenal a bit more.

Jay, 31 in April, was just claimed off waivers from the Brewers earlier this month. He has had a somewhat unique baseball journey, as he was the sixth overall pick in 2015 but various injuries derailed his career. He actually just debuted in the majors last year, almost a decade after being drafted. He tossed 7 2/3 innings between the Mets and Brewers, allowing four earned runs.

It’s hard to glean much from that sample but Jay also tossed 56 2/3 minor league innings last year between those two clubs with a 3.02 ERA. His 20.9% strikeout rate was subpar but he kept walks down to a 5.1% rate and got grounders on 47.3% of balls in play.

The M’s were intrigued enough to grab Jay off waivers but have now bumped him off the roster. He’ll be in DFA limbo for a week at most, waiting to see what comes next, whether that’s a trade or some fate back on the wire. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any potential trade talks would have to come together in the next five days. He still has options and just a few days of service time, so any acquiring club could perhaps deploy him as a cheap depth arm with roster flexibility.

While it’s not great for the A’s to have already lost one of the three players they got for Erceg, they at least are getting some pool space out of this deal. As mentioned, the exact amount wasn’t reported, but pool space can only be traded in $250K increments. The A’s will get a bump of at least that much, which they can use to add some more talent to their system.

Mariners Claim Tyler Jay

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed left-hander Tyler Jay off waivers from the Brewers. The latter club designated him for assignment a week ago when they acquired Grant Anderson. Seattle’s 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now full.

Jay, 31, was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft but it took him almost a decade to get to the big leagues. Various injuries, including surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, slowed his rise through the minors. By the end of the 2019 season, he had topped out at Double-A, then didn’t pitch in any official capacity in 2020 or 2021. That was followed by stints in indy ball in the next two years, which led to the Mets taking a flier on him on a minor league deal.

In April of last year, he finally got up to the majors, though was on and off rosters all year. The Mets selected his contract in mid-April but outrighted him a few days later. He was back up in June, then designated for assignment a second time in July. His second DFA resulted in getting traded to the Brewers, though that club kept him mostly on optional assignment. He finished the year with 7 2/3 innings pitched between his two clubs, allowing four earned runs while walking six batters and recording six strikeouts.

That’s a tiny sample size, so the Mariners are probably more interested in the minor league numbers. Jay tossed 56 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level last year, between the two organizations, allowing 3.02 earned runs per nine. He had a 20.9% strikeout rate, 5.1% walk rate and 47.3% ground ball rate. For what it’s worth, the strikeout rate jumped after he came to the Brewers, going from 18.6% with Syracuse to 25.7% with Nashville, though his walk rate also went from 2.5% to 10.8% after the switch.

For the Mariners, they’re clearly intrigued enough to give Jay a roster spot, at least for now. He has just a few days of service time and a couple of option years remaining, so he can at least serve as a cheap depth piece with roster flexibility. As a former first-round pick and top prospect, perhaps there’s some untapped upside in there. They currently have Tayler Saucedo and Gabe Speier as the top lefties in their projected bullpen, with Austin Kitchen also on the roster. Jay will jump into that group and try to push for opportunities in the 2025 season.

Brewers Acquire Grant Anderson

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The Rangers announced they’ve traded reliever Grant Anderson to the Brewers for minor league pitcher Mason Molina. Milwaukee designated left-hander Tyler Jay for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Texas had designated the 27-year-old Anderson for assignment earlier in the week when they finalized the Joc Pederson deal. The low-slot righty has made 49 MLB appearances for the Rangers as an up-and-down reliever. His major league work hasn’t been great, as he has allowed 6.35 earned runs per nine over 62 1/3 innings. Anderson’s respective strikeout (21.5%) and walk (8.8%) rates aren’t far off league average. He has had massive home run issues, though, giving up 16 longballs (2.31 per nine innings) in his major league career.

That hasn’t been as big a problem in the minors. Anderson didn’t allow a single homer over 27 2/3 Triple-A innings this year. He fanned 28.3% of minor league opponents and turned in a sub-3.00 ERA in the Pacific Coast League. Anderson has a 3.87 mark over parts of three seasons for the organization’s top affiliate in Round Rock.

Anderson still has a minor league option remaining, so Milwaukee can keep him at Triple-A Nashville for another season. The Brewers have Trevor Megill, Joel Payamps, Nick Mears and Jared Koenig locked into the Opening Day bullpen. Milwaukee could carry Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas in long relief. That’d only leave a couple ’pen spots up for grabs if everyone is healthy, so the flexibility afforded by the option is valuable.

Milwaukee acquired Jay from the Mets in July. The 30-year-old southpaw was limited to two MLB appearances after the deal. He tossed three scoreless innings with three walks and strikeouts apiece. Jay had pitched five times for New York earlier in the year, his first taste of big league action.

A former top 10 pick of the Twins, Jay has spent seven seasons in the minor leagues. He had a productive year in Triple-A between the New York and Milwaukee systems, combining for a 3.02 earned run average through 56 2/3 innings. He struck out a slightly below-average 20.5% of opponents while showing excellent control (5.1% walk rate). Milwaukee will trade Jay or put him on waivers within the next five days.

Molina, 21, was Milwaukee’s seventh-round pick last summer. The Arkansas product threw five scoreless innings in Low-A during his initial professional action. The 6’2″ lefty had turned in a 4.47 ERA over 15 appearances (13 starts) for the Razorbacks in his junior season. Baseball America wrote at the time of the draft that Molina’s 89-90 MPH fastball plays above its velocity because of its life at the top of the zone. Molina’s command is a work in progress. He’s a low minors developmental flier for the Rangers.

Brewers Acquire Tyler Jay From Mets

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The Mets have dealt left-hander Tyler Jay to the Brewers in exchange for minor league right-hander TJ Shook, per a club announcement. Jay had been designated for assignment by New York last week to make room for lefty Alex Young on the club’s 40-man roster. The Brewers had an open spot for Jay on their 40-man roster after designating Joel Kuhnel for assignment earlier today.

Jay, 30, was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Twins. Jay struggled to establish himself in the upper levels of the minors, however, and he departed affiliated ball following the canceled 2020 minor league season to pitch the 2022 campaign for the Frontier League’s Joliet Slammers. He pitched well in Indy Ball with a 3.53 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 79 innings of work between the 2022 and ’23 seasons. The lefty returned to affiliated ball on a minor league deal with the Mets partway through last year and after struggling in his Triple-A debut last year, looked solid in 41 1/3 innings of work as a multi-inning reliever at the level this year with a 2.40 ERA despite a relatively lackluster 18.6% strikeout rate.

That performance was strong enough to earn Jay his first taste of big league action with the Mets back in April. He looked good in two appearances with the Mets, allowing one run on five hits and a walk while striking out one in four innings of work, but was designated for assignment after a week in the majors to make room on the club’s roster for Michael Tonkin. Jay remained with the Mets following his outright assignment and continued to put up strong numbers at the Triple-A level, earning him another big league opportunity on July 1. That appearance went poorly, however, as Jay surrendered four runs (three earned) while recording just two outs against two hits, two walks, and two strikeouts. That was Jay’s only appearance of his second stint in New York, and his time with the organization now comes to an end with a career ERA of 7.71 at the big league level.

Now, Jay is headed to the Brewers where he figures to join a bullpen full of reclamation relief arms who have managed to put together strong results in Milwaukee. The club is currently relying on Bryan Hudson, Jared Koenig, Hoby Milner, and Rob Zastryzny as lefty relief options, and Jay figures to be the next man up behind that group from the left side while Kevin Herget acts as the top depth option behind the bullpen’s right-handed pitchers.

In exchange for Jay’s services, the Brewers are parting ways with Shook, who they signed as an undrafted free agent back in 2020. The 26-year-old right-hander worked his way through the minor league system fairly quickly in his first few years in the organization but has stalled out a bit at the Double-A level in the years since then, having pitched there since partway through the 2022 season. In 242 career innings at the level, Shook has a 5.06 ERA despite a solid 24.2% strikeout rate thanks to an elevated 10% walk rate and a tendency towards allowing home runs. Things have improved slightly for Shook this year, however, as he’s posted a 4.90 ERA with a 27.4% strikeout rate against a more manageable 8.9% walk rate with just seven home runs allowed in 64 1/3 innings of work.

Mets Claim Alex Young, Designate Tyler Jay

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The Mets announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed left-hander Alex Young off waivers from the Giants and optioned him to Triple-A Syracuse. Fellow lefty Tyler Jay was designated for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

It’s a quick turnaround for Young, whom the Giants acquired just last week in the trade that sent outfielder Austin Slater and cash to the Reds. San Francisco seemingly hoped to pass Young through waivers and retain the southpaw as a depth option, but the Mets didn’t allow that to happen and will keep Young on their 40-man roster for the time being. The unusual sequence leaves the Giants with no return of which to speak for Slater, a 2014 eighth-rounder who’s been a solid role player for them over the years before struggling to career-worst results at the plate in 2024.

Young, 30, has pitched in parts of six big league seasons — including a brief two-inning stint with Cincinnati earlier this season. The former second-round pick has a career 4.40 earned run average in 264 big league innings and has fanned 19.5% of his opponents against an 8.5% walk rate. Though he debuted as a starter with the 2019 Diamondbacks, Young has worked primarily as a reliever since that time and hasn’t started a game since 2022.

Young didn’t allow a run in his two innings with the Reds this season, and he’s been excellent in 24 2/3 Triple-A frames as well, logging a tidy 2.19 ERA with a 23.5% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate between the affiliates for the Reds and Giants. The southpaw has a shaky 4.99 ERA in 209 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, although that’s skewed by a pair of dismal debut campaigns in Triple-A with the D-backs in 2018-19. He’s pitched well at the top minor league level in each of the past three seasons now.

This is Young’s final minor league option year. The Mets can shuttle him between Syracuse and Queens for the remainder of the season, but Young would need to stick on the big league roster in 2025 and beyond. He crossed four years of big league service time earlier this season while on the 60-day injured list with a back issue, meaning he can be controlled for another two seasons, through the 2026 campaign, if he makes a good impression on his new club.

For Jay, this will be the second time this season the Mets have designated him for assignment. He was also DFA’ed after making his big league debut back in April. He stuck with the organization after clearing outright waivers.

The 30-year-old Jay was the No. 6 overall draft pick out of Illinois back in 2015 and for years ranked as one of the more promising arms in the Twins’ system. He dealt with repeated shoulder and neck injuries throughout his time in Minnesota’s system, however, and eventually underwent thoracic outlet surgery. He was out of affiliated ball at one point, before parlaying a showing with the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League into a minor league look with the Mets.

Jay has only pitched 4 2/3 big league innings for the Mets this season. He’s surrendered four runs on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts in that time. He’s spent the remainder of the season in Syracuse, working to a strong 2.40 ERA with a below-average 18.6% strikeout rate but a sensational 2.5% walk rate. The Mets will either trade Jay or place him on outright waivers in the next five days. Waivers would then be an additional 48-hour process. If he goes unclaimed, Jay will have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, as is the case for any player who’s been outrighted multiple times in his career.

Mets Select Matt Festa, Tyler Jay; Designate Duke Ellis

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The Mets announced a set of roster moves, including the news that right-hander Matt Festa and left-hander Tyler Jay have had their contracts selected from Triple-A Syracuse.  The two pitchers will take the 26-man roster spots created when Tylor Megill and Danny Young were optioned to Triple-A yesterday.  To create room on the 40-man roster, the Mets designated outfielder Duke Ellis for assignment, and moved left-hander Brooks Raley (who had Tommy John surgery last month) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.

Festa and Jay will provide the struggling Mets bullpen with a couple of fresh arms.  Young had been pitching well before a downturn over the last week, as the southpaw has allowed two earned runs in each of his last three outings.  This ballooned Young’s ERA to 5.11 over 12 1/3 innings, after he’d posted a sparkling 0.87 ERA in his first 10 1/3 frames.

Young threw 1 1/3 innings in New York’s 9-6 loss to the Astros yesterday, and Megill got the start and gave up four runs over 5 1/3 frames of work.  Megill has a 5.08 ERA over 39 innings and eight starts, with all but one of those starts coming after a seven-week stint on the IL due to a shoulder strain.

With Megill struggling, his demotion was seen as a way for the Mets to bring some relief help up from Triple-A over the next four days.  The Athletic’s Will Sammon figures that the Mets will call up one of Christian Scott or Jose Butto to take Megill’s place in the rotation, and the team could need to cycle several arms through the rotation and bullpen in order to get through a tough stretch of the schedule.  Last Thursday marked the Mets’ last off-day until the All-Star break, as the club is two games into a string of 17 games in as many days.

For Festa, he’ll now be in line for his first big league action of the 2024 season, and the Brooklyn native will have the bonus of pitching close to home.  The 31-year-old Festa signed a minor league contract with the Mets last month after he was released from his minor league deal with the Padres, as a 4.50 ERA in 16 innings with San Diego’s Triple-A affiliate didn’t catch the Friars’ attention.  Festa has looked quite good in Syracuse, however, delivering a 1.76 ERA in 15 1/3 relief innings.  A veteran of four MLB seasons with the Mariners, Festa has a 4.32 ERA over 93 2/3 career frames in the Show.

Jay is back in the majors for the second time this season, as New York designated him for assignment and then outrighted the southpaw to Triple-A after throwing four innings over two appearances with the Mets back in April.  These two games marked Jay’s first taste of MLB action, as the sixth overall pick of the 2015 draft finally made it to the big leagues after a long journey marked by injuries and stints in independent ball.

Ellis also made his Major League debut this season, appearing in eight games for the White Sox (mostly as a defensive sub and pinch-runner) before Chicago designated him for assignment two weeks ago.  The Mets claimed Ellis away on waivers, but he only played in two games with Double-A Binghampton before returning to the DFA wire.  Ellis has hit only .241/.329/.333 over 965 career plate appearances in the minors, but he is known for his excellent baserunning, as he has 117 steals in 134 chances during his minor league career.  This speed and his ability to play all three outfield spots makes him an interesting pickup for any other clubs that might be looking to the waiver wire for outfield depth.

Mets Outright Tyler Jay

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Mets reliever Tyler Jay went unclaimed on waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse, tweets Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He’ll stick in the organization without holding a 40-man roster spot.

Jay, who turns 30 today, had a brief stint on the big league team. He pitched twice, allowing only one run over four innings. That cup of coffee was the culmination of a lengthy climb through the professional ranks. The sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft by the Twins, Jay never reached the big leagues with Minnesota. Injuries, most notably a 2017 thoracic outlet procedure, stopped the Illinois product from moving past Double-A.

It looked as if Jay would never get to the majors, but he reinvigorated his career in independent ball. Jay showed enough with the Frontier League’s Joliet Slammers between 2022-23 to earn a minor league opportunity from the Mets. He made six appearances with Syracuse late last season and began this year with 5 2/3 scoreless innings there.

Despite his strong start, the Mets designated Jay for assignment when they reacquired the out-of-options Michael Tonkin on Wednesday. Jay will head to Triple-A and look to pitch his way back to the big league bullpen later this season.

Mets Claim Michael Tonkin, Designate Tyler Jay

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The Mets have claimed righty Michael Tonkin off waivers from the Twins, per a team announcement. Left-hander Tyler Jay was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

It’s in many ways a reversal of some recent bullpen-related transactions in Queens. New York designated Tonkin for assignment on April 5, traded him to the Twins for cash, and less than a week later selected the contract of Jay (a former Twins top prospect himself). Minnesota designated Tonkin for assignment a second time after he made just one appearance.

Both Tonkin and Jay were original Twins draftees — Tonkin in the 30th round in 2008 and Jay with the No. 6 overall pick in 2015. The 34-year-old Tonkin has allowed 10 runs in six innings between the Mets and Twins this year, though only four of them have been earned. He’s whiffed eight of 33 opponents and walked three, although he’s also plunked three batters in his tiny sample of innings.

Tonkin spent the 2023 season in the Braves’ bullpen, logging a 4.28 ERA, 24.2% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate in 80 innings. That set a new career-high MLB workload for the journeyman right-hander, who owns a career 4.42 ERA (4.55 FIP, 3.70 SIERA) with a 23.1% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 39.7% grounder rate in 232 1/3 big league innings between Minnesota, Atlanta and New York. Tonkin has also pitched in the D-backs and Brewers systems in addition to stints with the independent Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks, the Mexican League’s Toros de Tijuana, and the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan.

As for Jay, his major league debut came far, far later than most would’ve expected when he was taken sixth overall as a high-profile college arm out of the University of Illinois. A former top-100 prospect, he’s been slowed by shoulder and neck troubles throughout his career and notably underwent thoracic outlet surgery back in 2017, costing him a year of his career. Jay never tossed more than 83 2/3 innings in any of his seasons with the Twins before being cut loose during the canceled 2020 minor league season. He didn’t pitch at all in 2021 and spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Joliet Slammers of the independent Frontier League.

His work with the Slammers earned him a look in the Mets’ system late last year. He re-signed on a minor league deal over the winter, tossed 5 2/3 shutout frames in Triple-A Syracuse to begin the season, and allowed one run on five hits and a walk in his first four MLB frames with the Mets. Jay only struck out one of the 18 batters he faced but also recorded an outstanding 66.7% ground-ball rate. New York will have a week to trade Jay, attempt to pass him through outright waivers, or release him.

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