The Mets announced four roster moves today, including the news that outfielder Abraham Almonte and reliever Adam Kolarek have been designated for assignment. The transactions create roster space for Mark Vientos and Jeff Brigham, as Vientos was activated from the 10-day injured list and Brigham was called up from Triple-A Syracuse.
Almonte and Kolarek are no strangers to the DFA process, as this is the second time that each player has been designated this season — Kolarek by the Dodgers in June, and Almonte by the Mets just two weeks ago. In both cases, the players cleared waivers and were outrighted off the 40-man roster, and both chose to accept the outright assignment rather than test free agency. Should either of the duo clear waivers this time around, either Almonte or Kolarek could again opt for free agency or decide to head to Syracuse.
Kolarek has only been with the Mets for less than a month, after the Dodgers traded the southpaw and right-hander Phil Bickford to New York in what was essentially a roster-clearing move for Los Angeles at the deadline. The Mets selected Kolarek’s contract last week and he has made four appearances without allowing a run. In fact, Kolarek has a perfect 0.00 ERA for the 2023 season to date, though only over six total innings with L.A. and New York.
Almonte signed a minor league deal with the Mets during the offseason and made his 2023 debut earlier this month. The veteran outfielder has one hit over 16 plate appearances, playing as a late-game defensive sub and pinch-hitter. The Mets brought Almonte up for depth purposes, as their outfield ranks have been thinned by trades and injuries.
Genius move dumping an effective Kolarek for a thoroughly useless Brigham. Eppler going hard for a top 5 draft pick by making moves intended to lose.
And you’re mad at that? The Mets season is over.
This site should have headlines always at the ready.
_____signs Abraham Almonte to a minor league deal.
_____releases Abraham Almonte
Almonte probably rejected assignment and will go free agent because Syracuse Mets signed old friend 1b/OF Daniel Palka. He played well last year and never got his chance to play in the majors. Ao now he is back in Syracuse, and the team at Citi Field stinks, so maybe he will get a chance near the end of this year. Either way, he is a good soldier. Good luck in Syracuse, Dan, and see you around the IL or PCL, Abraham.
Those are funny ways to spell Daniel Vogelbach
Quit it. He’s had several home runs lately and is popular with his teammates. He’s making just over the minimum on his option this year from his contract last year. He returns to normal arbitration for next year so he’ll probably be non-tendered. I expect the Mets to go all in on Ohtani with less competition since he’s likely to be a full-time DH next year. If that’s the plan, shooting for a top-six pick is useless since they’d have to sacrifice it anyway since he’ll be under a QO.
Not sure, but I believe picks in the top 10 or so might be protected from that process.
Penalties for signing players who reject their QO
Any team that signs a player who has rejected a qualifying offer is subject to the loss of one or more Draft picks. (Players who are unsigned after the start of the Rule 4 Draft in the year that follows the rejection of their qualifying offer are no longer tied to Draft pick compensation and can be signed without their new club needing to forfeit a Draft pick.)
A team’s highest first-round pick is exempt from forfeiture, which is a big change that went into effect under the 2017-21 CBA. Three tiers of Draft pick forfeiture — based on the financial status of the signing team — are in place to serve as a penalty for signing a player who rejected a qualifying offer:
• A team that exceeded the luxury tax in the preceding season will lose its second- and fifth-highest selections in the following year’s Draft, as well as $1 million from its international bonus pool for the upcoming signing period. If such a team signs multiple qualifying-offer free agents, it will forfeit its third- and sixth-highest remaining picks as well.
Teams in this group this offseason: Dodgers, Mets, Padres, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees
Thank you
S-t-a-y P-u-f-t M-a-r-s-h-m-a-l-l-o-w M-a-n.
Think Bill Murray and Ghostbusters! Look at Google Images side by side
That spells Vogelbach.
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Kolarek’s been good and Vientos not. What gives really.
Vientos needs to be given time to see if he can actually play at the major league level. He needs time and consistent at bats. Kolarek has a pretty bad track record that is not erased by four innings of work. This isn’t rocket science. Vientos is a possible piece for the future, Kolarek is a dime a dozen 35 year old middle reliever with virtually no success at the major league level. They’re playing mostly meaningless games right now. It’s a training ground for players like Vientos.
Why DFA a guy who has yet to give up a run this year so far?
Pretty small sample size. But if you watched the games, his stuff looked pretty decent
Kolarek inherited 2 runners and neirher scored while he was a Mets reliever. Couldn’t they have waited until he messed up just a little? Isn’t that what they pay these guys for?
Next move needs to be “Eppler designated for assignment. “
And Stay-Puft Vogelbach still is there!
Mets need to finish in the bottom 6 for a protected lottery pick.
Billy Eppler needs to be canned. Kolarek was our third best reliever and he just gets rid of him? Are you kidding me? There is a reason we have a 400 million dollar payroll and are in last place. What a complete moron
“Third best reliever” lmao. He’s pitched four innings bro. If he is, it’s only by default because of how bad the rest of the bullpen is. He’ll clear waivers and be back in a week.
Gotta love the new fans to baseball getting mad over a 35 year old RP being released. The Mets season is over, if you’re a fan of the Mets you want them to lose. It’s not rocket science. Good lord.
Get Butto up here. Peterson too good today.
More like we know who Peterson is and how good he’s going to be in the future, we don’t know if any number of the prospects we have at aaa or aa are major league quality and here’s the most important since the games we are playing right now don’t matter, we can afford to play out minor league guys and see if we have something.
It’s not that hard to figure out. I get that fans have no idea on how to run a baseball team but this seems like a pretty easy concept to grasp maybe not
@rct the bullpen is awful. Our three best relievers are Otto, Coonrod, and Kolarek. I saw enough of him. Who is in your top 3 then? Raley? Drew Smith? Ried-Foley? They all stink. I don’t have the loser mentality. Kolarek is also 35, ok so? Plenty of relievers pitch past 35 like Robertson and Otto. Why couldn’t we keep him for next year? Everything Iv said I was right about
You don’t have a losers mentality? You also aren’t smart enough to know what the cheer for. Mets aren’t going to win anything until they farm system produces players. That’s how you win in today’s baseball.
Haha. Goofy.
Eppler is indeed as you say, but treating Kolarek’s 4-1/3 innings as significant is an offense against reason.
Shame on you. We had the Enlightenment to stop this kind of nonsense.
Abraham has every right now to be sick of this treatment.
Actually a guy like that who keeps getting some days on mlb roster every year. pulling in $5,000 a day plus service time etc , it’s a godsend for lifetime AAA salary guys , ya no one likes to be released so often , look for new opportunities, but any days in the majors is just a bonus.
Exactly. Almonte is a fringe MLB player with 1.1 WAR in 463 career games. Every day he spends in the big leagues is a gift.
Which is not to slog Mr Almonte , I could only have dreamed to have the talent to play AAA, and doing what he’s done in his 20s and 30s
Absolutely, Edp007. Playing nearly 500 MLB games is a great accomplishment and something to hang your hat on. Kudos to him for still grinding.
Lucchesi has a strong outing against the Cards and gets sent back to Syracuse. Kolarek has good outings and is DFA. The freakin Bizzaro world of the 2023 Mets pitching staff.Hope the bus driver to Syracuse is getting OT from all the trips back and forth.
If you’ve walked into a room and it seems that everyone else is crazy, could it be that the crazy one is you?
@brooklyn62 Consider that the Mets as an organization are so ridiculously bad that even in a year they appear to be tanking, they were unable to prepare Bret Baty or Ronny Mauricio to usefully FAIL in the majors. Both are so overmatched and so undisciplined that it could only be counterproductive to bring them to or leave them in the majors.
As for Vientos, he’s been so bad that nothing matters where he’s concerned. Vientos even seems baffled by the idea of jogging to the dugout on those rare occasions he crosses the plate.
All a part of the 20-year plan, which of course starts with spending more money than any other American professional sports team in history and ends with a dead last finish and a top five draft pick. Go Mets 2043!
Future Dodger (again)
They used every relief pitcher multiple times this weekend. Brigham will be up for one or two days. None of this is permanent. Kolarek’s rest days will be in Syracuse.I wish that people that comment on here understood baseball.
Kolarek will be claimed. His work in LA was very good.
Wright talked about the rest of the Mets season. Every player is playing for next year. Every move like this one is about next year. 2 DFA’s are just bodies. 2 players brought up are for next year.
I immediately thought Arizona but LAD gives him a shot at another ring.
Man, I’d love to know @Canosucks, MetsFan22’s and a few others’ opinions of this move. When will they post again about the goings-on with the Mets?
Yes, we’re all waiting for them to post. I’ll probably take the day off to keep checking in. It’s REALLY important.
Don’t forget Cosmo2, they only post when the team is doing good. Metsfan22 I think only comments on the Metsmerized website now
Well, I was refraining from mentioning Cosmo because he’s alright at times, but I get your point.
With MetsFan22, I guess he decided to stay where he can get away with all of his predictions going wrong. But for some reason, I sense that, with the way the Mets season has gone, MetsFan22 must’ve went on Metsmerized and guaranteed the Mets were destroying everyone this year, that the Braves were going to fall, and the Marlins would finish 75 games out of a playoff spot. And for more, he probably said, like he did with DeGrom, that Edwin Diaz doesn’t have to do anything else in his career because he’s a lock for the Hall of Fame; and Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were both going to lead the league in the Pitcher’s Triple Crown categories.
Funny how Bill M made a point of commenting. I must’ve touched a nerve there, especially with the comment made – built-in excuse. lol!
I’ll refrain from the other Mets disappearing “fans” names too.
Hey, since we’re doing Mets fan roll call…where are all those guys that were saying that Francisco Alvarez was a sure thing and he had already proven he was an elite player?
How’s that been going for the last month and a half? Still no chance of him becoming like Gary Sanchez?