The Mets have signed left-handed reliever Taylor Tankersley to a minor league deal, the team announced. Dave Gershman of the SPANdemonium blog first reported the agreement, which includes a Spring Training invitation, and MLBTR confirmed the deal.
The team's search for a lefty out of the bullpen began in earnest after losing Hisanori Takahashi and Pedro Feliciano in free agency. At times the Mets have been linked to some of the stronger left-handed relievers on the market such as Brian Fuentes, but for the most part they have targeted more affordable options this winter.
Tankersley, 28, missed all of the 2009 major league season with an elbow injury. After seeing limited action as a lefty specialist in 2010, he rejected a minor league assignment and was granted free agency in October. In four seasons with the Marlins, Tankersley had a 4.58 ERA with 8.8 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9. The reliever is represented by Tom O'Connell.
roberty
Siiiiiick. Tankersley was born to pitch for the Mets. I’d prefer Ron Mahay.
guydavis
Didn’t he sign a two year deal? Cos that was never gonna happen with the Mets. We all would have preferred Mahay.
guydavis
Didn’t he sign a two year deal? Cos that was never gonna happen with the Mets. We all would have preferred Mahay.
yahoo-AGGIVA7UNR4DUL5QIGWM2MUUVI
Minor League deal? Where were you Baltimore??
Babawhitesox
Nice job Span!
Dave_Gershman
Much appreciated. Glad I could help.
MetsEventually
Very nice SPAN! Congrats on this!
Dave_Gershman
I really appreciate it. Just doing what I could.
FreeBald
Well he’s got the power of alliteration going for him, something Oliver Perez narrowly missed out on.
pastlives
span how did you break this!? haha
Dave_Gershman
Just got some info and went from there.
East Coast Bias
Good job, brothaman.
East Coast Bias
Good job, brothaman.
Dave_Gershman
Thanks bro
metsman
a 4.58 ERA back when he was healthy ? I’ll take my chances with Ollie thanks.
East Coast Bias
You can’t be serious.
DhmkJp
Ollie posts 6+ERA when healthy. Minor league deal can’t hurt.
DhmkJp
Ollie posts 6+ERA when healthy. Minor league deal can’t hurt.
Blue387
As a Mets fan, I must say Oliver Perez couldn’t find the strike zone if it walked over and slapped him on the face.
Infield Fly
Then again, with all the shelling Ollie takes a smack in the face straight from the K zone would probably just be business as usual. What that boy really needs is some chin music (repeat as needed until message finally sinks in).
wkkortas
Leave K-Rod out of it.
METfan201
Good job on the report SPAN. I see u on alot of posts. And as for u mets man u lost ur mind! Lol OLLiE can go to hell!
Dave_Gershman
Thanks Man. I used to post a lot. Lately, I’ve been really busy working on blogs and such.
DhmkJp
Good signing for a loogy. I’ve always liked this guy when he was with the Marlins.
Infield Fly
….And I always hated him when he was with the Fish….which comes down to the same thing. 😀
scluse
I remember back when he was with the Fish, his slider was UNHITTABLE and pair that with a 92-95 MPH heater. But IMHO I can’t help to think that at least 1 or 2 of these guys that Sandy and Co. are signing will inevitably hit the DL however for the salaries involved and the possible upside you really can’t go wrong.
scluse
I remember back when he was with the Fish, his slider was UNHITTABLE and pair that with a 92-95 MPH heater. But
scluse
Sorry for the double post.
MetsDieHard4Life
minor league signing. RELAAAAAAAAX
run
great move imo. exactly what they wanted to do. sandys making moves that make sense, might be risky moves but he is putting a makeshift roster together while implementing a long term plan.
run
great move imo. exactly what they wanted to do. sandys making moves that make sense, might be risky moves but he is putting a makeshift roster together while implementing a long term plan.
MetsEventually
Perpetual…Taylor?
MetsEventually
Perpetual…Taylor?
Kickme Inthenads
Man, I feel bad for Mets fans. With each post on this site it keeps getting worse and worse.
nymets4581
How is this a bad signing? Low risk, high reward left handed reliever. nothing wrong with that.
BravesRed
I give credit where credit is due, so congrats SPAN.
Dave_Gershman
I say thank you when thanks is due, so thanks Braves Red.
BravesRed
That got a chuckle out of me.
Mr Top Ten
Tank throws gas but is so wild. Man the pen on the Mets is shaky. Hope we sign a starter than can go at least 6 innings. Young’s medical records must be bad for him to wait this long to get signed. Bush signing looks more and more likely.I also predict Mejia will be in the rotation by the trading deadline
TRS86
Is 87.4 gas? How about the 90.6 he averaged back in 2006 when he was healthy?
Chuck345
The pen on the Mets is shaky, the rotation on the Mets is shaky, the lineup is shaky…..and so on…
BS
The Mets are running a monopoly on injured free agent pitchers
BravesRed
Rangers signed Webb, and Tigers signed Penny.
popular_mechanics_for_pitchers
With JP Ricciardi’s input, the Mets are signing Tomo Ohka, John Thompson, Kevin Mench and Brad Wilkerson. oh wait I’m just revisiting a Nightmare!
PennMariner
He’ll do fine in spacious Citi Field, if he stays healthy and makes it there. He’s actually an interesting pitcher: lots of fly balls, yet an impressive K-rate and swinging strike rate for a loogy.