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Mets Release Yoan Lopez

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The Mets announced they’ve released reliever Yoan López. The move frees a 40-man roster spot for infielder Danny Mendick, who has officially signed a one-year free agent contract.

It seems the López release was designed to facilitate his heading overseas. Francys Romero reported this week (Twitter link) that the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball were negotiating a deal with the Mets about buying out his contract. The Wasserman client will apparently make the jump to Japan’s highest level for the first time, securing a loftier salary than the one he’d have made if he spent much of next season shuttling on and off New York’s active roster.

López, 30 next month, has appeared in the last five MLB seasons. Formerly a high-profile international signee of the Diamondbacks, he played four seasons in the desert. The righty posted a 3.41 ERA over 60 2/3 innings in 2019 but otherwise put up subpar numbers at the MLB level. López bounced around via waivers last offseason before landing in Queens, where he worked as a depth reliever.

He appeared in eight MLB games as a Met, tallying 11 innings of eight-run ball. López threw 35 innings at Triple-A Syracuse, posting a 5.14 ERA. His underlying numbers at the top minor league level were more impressive, as he racked up grounders on over 57% of batted balls. López also struck out 23.8% of opponents against a 9.4% walk rate in Triple-A while averaging nearly 96 MPH on his fastball during his limited MLB time.

Additionally, New York announced agreement with left-hander Joey Lucchesi on a 2023 contract to avoid arbitration. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports he’ll receive a $1.15MM salary (Twitter link). That’s an identical match for this year’s salary, which isn’t surprising since the southpaw missed the whole year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He’s expected to factor in as a swingman or depth starter for New York next season, and he’ll be eligible for arbitration once more at the end of the ’23 campaign.

Mets Designate Adonis Medina For Assignment

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The Mets designated right-hander Adonis Medina for assignment, and also made Max Scherzer’s 15-day IL placement official.  In corresponding moves, New York selected the contract of left-hander Alex Claudio and called up right-hander Yoan Lopez from Triple-A.  Lopez will be the 29th man for today’s doubleheader against the Pirates.

Medina has been up and down from Triple-A multiple times this season, and all of the shuttling may have had an adverse effect on his performance.  The righty has a 6.08 ERA over 23 2/3 innings with the Mets and a more palatable 3.71 ERA in 26 2/3 frames for Triple-A Syracuse, though Medina’s minor league walk rate is a troubling 12.1%.

This is the third time that Medina has been designated for assignment within the last year, with the first of those DFA stints keeping Medina in transactional limbo throughout the entirety of the offseason lockout.  The Pirates claimed Medina off waivers from the Phillies once the lockout was over, and a subsequent DFA from Pittsburgh resulted in Medina being traded to the Mets just prior to Opening Day.

Medina received some top-100 prospect attention as recently as 2019, but he has yet to make a big impact in the majors, pitching only 11 2/3 innings with the Phillies prior to this season.  Generally a below-average strikeout pitcher, Medina has posted grounder rates around the 50% mark during his career, usually relying more on soft contact and keeping the ball in play rather than missed bats.  Medina has worked as a starter for much of his career but he primarily been a reliever this season in Syracuse, and his 14 Mets appearances were all out of the bullpen.

Claudio inked a minor league deal with the Mets during the offseason, and the southpaw is now on the verge of making it a ninth consecutive season with some MLB action.  Speaking of low-strikeout grounder specialists, Claudio has a 17% strikeout rate and 59.8% groundball rate over his 344 1/3 career innings in the majors.  Claudio was a generally reliable bullpen arm throughout his time with the Rangers and Brewers from 2014-20, posting a 3.44 ERA and eating plenty of innings — his 83 appearances led the big leagues in 2019.

The Brewers opted to non-tender Claudio following the 2020 season, in part due to his lack of strikeouts or high velocity, as well as the idea that Claudio (who has pretty big career splits) would be hampered by the three-batter rule.  Signing with the Angels in the 2020-21 offseason, the southpaw had only a 5.51 ERA over 32 2/3 innings with Anaheim in 2021, and also pitched in the Red Sox farm system after the Angels cut him loose midway through the campaign.

The Mets’ lack of left-handed relief depth has been an ongoing story of their season, with Joely Rodriguez being the only southpaw regular within the bullpen mix.  Such left-handed pitchers as Chasen Shreve, Nate Fisher, Rob Zastryzny, Sam Clay, and Thomas Szapucki have all gotten some looks, and Claudio will become the latest southpaw to get a shot at catching on as extra depth.

Mets Place Tommy Hunter On 15-Day Injured List

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The Mets have placed right-hander Tommy Hunter on the 15-day injured list with lower back tightness, per Tim Healey of Newsday Sports (via Twitter). In his place, David Peterson has been added to the active roster. Peterson will start the first game of today’s doubleheader, while reliever Yoan Lopez was added to serve as the 27th man for today’s twin bill.

The veteran Hunter has appeared in the bigs in every season since making his debut with the Rangers in the 2008 season. Hunter, now 36, has gone on to suit up for the Orioles, Cubs, Guardians, Rays, Phillies, and Mets. He made four appearances last year for New York, all scoreless. This year, he has made 11 appearances with a 2.51 ERA/4.02 FIP across 14 1/3 innings of work.

With the Mets rotation now intact, it’s likely this is a spot start for Peterson, though that could certainly change. The towering southpaw has been a solid rotation option for manager Buck Showalter this season, making 13 starts and another four appearances out of the bullpen. In total, Peterson has a 3.54 ERA/4.04 FIP across 73 2/3 innings with a strong 27.5 percent strikeout rate, 11.2 percent walk rate, and career-best 53.2 percent groundball percentage.

Lopez’s previous time in the Majors with the Mets was marked by a suspension he picked up for throwing for his perceived targeting of Kyle Schwarber on May 1st. He made just seven appearances with the team, giving up four earned runs across 10 2/3 innings on 10 hits and five walks while striking out 10 batters.

Mets Promote Nick Plummer, Option Yoan Lopez

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The Mets are calling up outfielder Nick Plummer from Triple-A today, creating space on the active roster by optioning Yoan Lopez, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter).

Lopez was only just coming back from suspension. Despite spending a fair amount of time in the news this season, Lopez has been a surprisingly small-time contributor on the diamond, with just two appearances spanning three innings on the season.

Plummer, meanwhile, takes on a somewhat important role as the Mets’ fourth outfielder in the wake of Travis Jankowski’s injury. Plummer was brought in this offseason for this exact contingency, of course. The southpaw-swinging outfielder has slashed .250/.313/.511 across 99 plate appearances in Triple-A so far this season, his first year with the Mets organization after spending the rest of his career as a Cardinals’ farmhand.

The Mets could give Plummer decent run as a fourth outfielder backing up Starling Marte, Brandon Nimmo, and Mark Canha, especially given that Nimmo is currently dealing with a sore wrist. Nimmo is expected to be out until Monday, per DiComo. The Mets might take these couple of days to get Plummer’s feet wet, but they could also turn to Jeff McNeil or Dominic Smith in the grass.

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.

MLB Suspends Mets’ Yoan Lopez For Three Games

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Major League Baseball announced this evening that Mets reliever Yoan López has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for “intentionally throwing pitches at Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies during the top of the ninth inning of Sunday night’s game at Citi Field.” As is typical practice, New York manager Buck Showalter received a one-game suspension for López’s actions.

The Mets optioned López to Triple-A Syracuse today. His suspension will take effect whenever he’s recalled, although he has the right to appeal. Showalter does not have an appellate right, and he’ll miss tonight’s game against the Braves as a result. Bench coach Glenn Sherlock will be the acting manager for tonight’s game, tweets Jon Morosi of MLB.com.

López’s first pitch to Schwarber was a fastball that missed down and in. His second offering was in virtually the same spot. López then threw three straight pitches in the strike zone, and Schwarber eventually grounded out. No one was ejected, although home plate umpire Jerry Meals did issue warnings. Earlier in the game, Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had been plunked by Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez. López later hit Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm.

It’s the second time in as many weeks López has been at the center of controversy. He threw a pitch up-and-in to Cardinals star Nolan Arenado during a game on Wednesday. Arenado started yelling back, and the benches cleared. Arenado and St. Louis reliever Genésis Cabrera wound up serving one-game suspensions for their roles in that incident; López was fined but not suspended.

Mets’ Sean Reid-Foley Placed On IL With Partial UCL Tear

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The Mets have informed reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, that right-handed pitcher Sean Reid-Foley has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He left last night’s game with discomfort in that elbow. The club hasn’t specified the next course of action, though Tommy John surgery is an option. Even if Reid-Foley doesn’t require surgery, the non-surgical options for a partial UCL tear require lengthy absences. Reid-Foley was placed on the injured list with righty Yoan Lopez being recalled to take his spot on the active roster.

A second round draft pick of the Blue Jays, Reid-Foley was one of the three players that went from the Jays to the Mets in the Steven Matz trade. He was considered the #75 prospect in the game by Baseball America in 2017, but slid off the list in subsequent years. Between the two clubs, he’s appeared in each of the past five seasons, but thrown only 102 1/3 career innings. In that time, he has a 4.66 ERA, with a 23.6% strikeout rate and 13.7% walk rate.

Reid-Foley and the Mets will now try to figure out the next steps, but he’s not likely to return soon regardless. For example, Nationals’ hurler Joe Ross was diagnosed with a partial UCL tear in August of last year. He ultimately did not undergo surgery, but still hasn’t made it back off the injured list. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com provided an update today, that Ross will soon start throwing to live hitters. However, the Nats placed him on the 60-day IL to begin the season, indicating they don’t anticipate him returning before June, ultimately amounting to an absence of nearly a year, despite avoiding surgery.

Reid-Foley had one year and 93 days of MLB service time going into this season, meaning he won’t qualify for arbitration until after the 2023 campaign, at the earliest. There’d be almost no cost for the Mets to just hold onto him even if he requires a lengthy rehab process. He can be moved to the 60-day IL at some point and therefore won’t require a roster spot, but the 60-day IL goes away in the offseason, meaning he could have a tenuous hold on his roster spot at that point if he hasn’t returned to health.

Mets Activate Taijuan Walker From 10-Day Injured List

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Taijuan Walker is set to make his return from the 10-day injured list, as the righty is the Mets’ scheduled starter tonight against the Phillies.  In advance of Walker’s activation, righty Yoan Lopez was optioned to Triple-A to create an open spot on the active roster.

Walker only tossed two innings in his first start of the season (on April 11) before leaving the game with shoulder inflammation.  The injury was later diagnosed as right shoulder bursitis, as Walker was placed on the IL the next day.  Fortunately, the issue wasn’t serious enough for Walker to miss too much time, which is a particular relief in Walker’s case given how he also battled some shoulder problems in 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

2022 is a big season for Walker, who can enter free agency this winter if (as expected) he declines his $6MM player option with the Mets for the 2023 season.  Walker will receive a $3MM buyout if he does opt out, so for the sake of an extra $3MM, it is exceedingly likely that he’ll return to the open market in search of a much pricier multi-year deal.  Walker had a roller-coaster of a 2021 season, as his excellent first half earned him his first career All-Star appearance, but he posted an ugly 7.13 ERA in 64 1/3 innings after the Midsummer Classic.

Walker returns to a red-hot Mets team that has been getting great production from its entire rotation.  Getting Walker back in the mix is the proverbial nice problem to have for the Amazins, and the rotation will be further bolstered later this season whenever Jacob deGrom is able to return from the injured list.

Mets Claim Yoan Lopez Off Waivers From Marlins

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The Mets have claimed reliever Yoan López off waivers from the Marlins, according to announcements from both teams. To clear space on the 40-man roster, New York placed left-hander Joey Lucchesi on the 60-day injured list.

López continues to bounce around the league — and more specifically, the NL East — via waivers. Designated for assignment by the Braves early in the offseason, he was claimed by the Phillies just before the lockout. Since the work stoppage, he’s gone from Philadelphia to Miami and now to Queens on the waiver wire.

Despite having been a member of four NL East teams within the past six months, the only big league club for which López has ever suited up is the Diamondbacks. A high-profile signee by Arizona out of Cuba, he was one of the better pitching prospects in the D-Backs system for the next couple years. López reached the big leagues briefly in 2018 and found a bit of success early in his career. He pitched to a 3.41 ERA over 60 2/3 innings during his second MLB campaign, but an underwhelming 17.1% strikeout rate indicated he might have trouble continuing to keep runs off the board.

That proved to be the case, as he’s posted a 6.19 mark in 32 innings over the past two years. His 19.6% strikeout percentage and 10.1% walk rate in that time are both worse than average. That said, the 29-year-old has actually had some success missing bats on a pitch-by-pitch basis. He’s generated swinging strikes on nearly 13% of his offerings in each of the past two years, about a point above the 11.7% league average for bullpen arms. López has also averaged north of 95 MPH on his fastball and has posted slightly better than average ground-ball marks.

Traded from Arizona to Atlanta in May, López spent the majority of last season with the Braves’ top affiliate in Gwinnett. He had much better results there than he’s had in the big leagues, posting a 3.03 ERA with a 26.7% strikeout rate in 32 appearances. Between his Triple-A performance and pair of remaining minor league option years, López has clearly piqued the interest of a handful of teams. None have yet been willing to devote him a permanent spot on the 40-man roster, but the Mets can stash him at Triple-A Syracuse as a depth option for the next couple years were they to keep him on the 40-man.

Lucchesi’s 60-day IL placement was an inevitability whenever New York needed a roster spot. The southpaw underwent Tommy John surgery last June and will miss most or all of the upcoming season recovering.

Marlins Claim Tommy Nance, Designate Yoan Lopez

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The Marlins announced that right-hander Tommy Nance has been claimed off waivers from the Cubs. To make room on the roster, fellow righty Yoan Lopez was designated for assignment.

Nance, 31, was designated for assignment by the Cubs on Friday. The righty made his MLB debut last year, tossing 28 2/3 innings out of the Cubs’ bullpen. His 7.22 ERA on the year was certainly unsightly, though there may have been some bad luck in there, as Nance’s 52.9% strand rate was about 20 points below league average. All of the advanced pitching metrics believed he deserved much better results. In 15 1/3 Triple-A innings last year, his ERA was much better at 2.35, along with excellent strikeout and walk rates of 31.6% and 5.3%. The Marlins clearly were able to see past the unfortunate results in the big leagues last year in order to focus on his potential. Since Nance still has options, he could be sent to the minors for extra bullpen depth.

As for Lopez, 29, this is yet another trip to DFA limbo for him, a place he’s spent a good deal of time in the past year. After being designated by the Diamondbacks in May, he was traded to the Braves, who designated him again in November, being claimed by the Phillies. Yet another DFA after the lockout resulted in a claim from the Marlins just over a week ago.

The fact that he keeps getting claimed shows that teams still see signs for hope in Lopez. After earning a hefty bonus when originally signed out of Cuba in 2014, Lopez didn’t show much reason for optimism in the following years. However, after being acquired by the Braves last year, his Triple-A performance seemed to give some hope, throwing 32 2/3 innings there with a 26.7% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate, finishing with an ERA of 3.03. Given that he still has options, it’s possible he is claimed on waivers another time, with some team adding him as depth and hoping that he can continue with the momentum he seemed to be building last year.

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