The Mets have claimed left-hander Anthony Kay off waivers from the Cubs, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. The latter club had designated the lefty for assignment earlier this week. The Mets already had a vacancy on their 40-man roster and won’t need to make a corresponding move. The Mets have sent Kay to Triple-A for now, per Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News.
Kay, now 28, returns to his original organization. The Mets selected him with the 31st overall pick in 2016 but traded him to the Blue Jays alongside Simeon Woods Richardson in the 2019 Marcus Stroman deal. The lefty got brief looks at the big league level while with the Jays but wasn’t able to establish himself and was placed on waivers, getting claimed by the Cubs in the winter.
Between the Jays and the Cubs, Kay has thrown 82 innings scattered over the past five major league seasons. He has an earned run average of 5.60 in that time, along with a 22.3% strikeout rate, 12.1% walk rate and 42.2% ground ball rate. He’s generally fared better in the minors, which continues to be the case this year. He has a 4.10 ERA in 37 1/3 Triple-A innings, striking out 31.1% of hitters and keeping the ball on the ground at a 52.4% rate. Those numbers are both strong, though his 13.7% walk rate is still concerning.
Kay will be out of options next year, but the Mets can keep him as a depth arm for now. If he manages to hang onto his roster spot through the winter, he can still be retained for five more seasons after this one.
Mets drafted him twice, traded him now claimed him.
He’s Another Stony Brook, NY lefty that’s why.
Another Ward Melville pitching graduate. Kids probably happy to be back with the Mets, good for him.
Back home again.
O-Kay…
Curious move.. Kay is out of options, so he’s not much of a depth piece. And he is not an established major leaguer who would stick on the roster.
The Mets also have 5 players on the 60-day IL, and only one outgoing free agent. So why spend a roster space (that they don’t really have) on a guy like this at this point?
Good point. I wonder how many spots all these AAAA relievers will take up on the 40 man and how many MiLB prospects need to be protected from Rule 5.
Its an interesting dynamic this year because the Mets have so many expendable pieces whose release would not hurt much – 14 or 15 by my count. Ten of them are pitchers, most of them relievers. Eight of those pitchers will be out of options next year, so their value as depth pieces is limited.
At least four players have to go immediately. A couple more will go to make room for Rule 5 players.
Rule 5 is hard to assess because there is always a pitcher or two whose arm is valued more greatly than his numbers would suggest.
By my count/assessment, there is only one player (Drew Gilbert) who must be protected. And about 7 others who are possible. Its very rare for the Mets to add more than four players, if that.
Between all of the gaps in the OF and rotation, we know the Mets will also need to add a handful (4? 5?) of free agents, as well.
Gilbert was 2022 draft pick, he’s got not Rule 5 eligible for another two seasons. I don’t foresee a 40-man crunch for them – as you said, they have a ton of relievers currently on the 40-man with a handful of pretty obvious non-tender candidates. In the upper minors, the only guys I see as being strong candidates to be added are guys they acquired in trades this year (Jeremiah Jackson & Justin Jarvis).
Kay is a lefty, a local boy, and might play up as a reliever over a starter. Fine with giving him a shot, fine with moving on if it doesn’t work out.
He’s just a local kid the scouts liked coming out of high school so they’ll give him a shot in spring to make the team it’s not that deep
If that was all it was, they could’ve just waited till the off season and signed him to a minor league contract with a spring training invite. You don’t tie up a roster space all winter for a AAAA player who is out of options, unlikely to make the roster out of spring, and can leave if you cut him.
Right back where he started from
That worked out A – O – K !!
Anthony you will be O-Kay now with the Mutts!!!
It’s like a circle, not like a triangle because a triangle has corner
Wow, so many different front office structures and decision makers, even a different owner, they all love Anthony Kay.
I like Kay. Hes much better than some of the guys in their bullpen right now. I’d get rid of Drew Smith and Sean Ried Foley right now. Call up Kay and Coonrod
You confuse me so much. Foley has been tolerable. Coonrod has been terrible.
Coonrod has been one of the worst arms they’ve put out there this year. Reid-Foley has made eight appearances and only given up runs in one of them. Your proposed move makes no sense.
@rct you don’t know anything. Coonrod had one bad outing where he gave up 4 runs without getting an out. Hes been lights out. SRF comes in and walks guys in close games. I watch the games. I know who can and can’t play. I said 3 years ago Drew Smith was no good and everyone acted like I was an idiot. He blows every close game. I was right about him as per usual. Trust me on this, I’m wrong maybe 5% of the time
Coonrod has been ‘lights out’? He just gave up 2 hits, 2 BB, and 2 runs in 1/3 of an inning two days ago. He has 8 walks in 6 2/3 of an inning this year, with only 6 Ks. He has a 9.45 ERA despite not even giving up a homer yet. He’s been awful. He’s been one of the worst relievers to take the field for the Mets this year and that is saying something. Wanting to send down Reid-Foley to keep Coonrod around is insane.
Also I’m not here to defend Drew Smith so I don’t care to indulge your hatred of him.
Actually Coonrad in his 10 outings 4 of those games he has had runs score attributed to him. 3 where he was charged for it (2 out of his last 3 games) and 1 where he let an inherited runner score. Me personally i dont think 40% of your outtings letting runs in is lights out but thats just me. It has been that way for pretty much his career. So practically every other outing you can expect a run to score and this is during games that dont matter this is happening.
I’d mute him but I like making fun of his idiotic angry posts.
@LFGMets: Sam Coonrod carries a 9.45 ERA in the majors and a 9.31 in AAA because he has had MULTIPLE bad outings including:
8/9 for Syracuse against Scranton
0.1 inn 3 H 5 R 4 ER 2 BB 1 K
8/25 for NY Mets against LA Angels
0.2 inn 0 H 1 R 1 ER 2 BB 1 K
9/2 for Syracuse against Lehigh Valley
0.1 inn 4 H 5 R 5 ER 1 BB 0 K
9/5 for NY Mets against Washington
0.0 inn 2 H 4 R 4 ER 1 HB 1 BB 0 K
9/12 for NY Mets against Arizona
0.1 inn 2 H 2 R 2 ER 2 B. 0 K
And you want us to take your 5 % wrong claim seriously?
Sure, Coonrod s ERA in St Lucie this year may have been stellar, but that’s A ball.
Drew Smith is having a bad year. But he has a good arm, and would be some other team’s next Payl Sewald. I actually like Coonrod’s arm from seeing him in Philly, but he cannot harness it with enough consistency to stay in the big leagues. When he is bad, he is really bad.
Came for the lols myself
Sean Reid Foley has 16 Ks in less than 8 innings. He has a terrific arm, no reason whatsoever to let him go.
@krumbledkookie Strikeouts don’t mean anything when you give up hits and walks. I don’t care if his K per 9 is 27, he is awful. His ERA should be even higher but he gives up other guys runners that were inherited. I wouldn’t even use him for mop up duty
“Strikeouts don’t mean anything when you give up hits and walks.”
Reid-Foley has a 1.304 WHIP. Sam Coonrod, the guy you want to replace Reid-Foley, has a 1.950 WHIP. What are you arguing here?
whats funny is Coonrod has given up more hits (5v4) more walks (8v6) and even hit more batters(2v0) in less numbers of innings pitched (6.2 v 7.2) than SRF lol. So not sure who he is really rooting for here.
Coonrod is even older so more likely SRF will improve than Coonrod
Do you actually watch Mets games or look at the box scores? Coonrod was just send back down after imploding in yet another game.
He claims he does but he also claims he’s right 95% of the time. Dude is in his own world.
Foleys hurt and probably done for the year anyway…
Who doesn’t want a six era reliever? Dude throws hard, give him a contract.
Lefty’s with some stuff get a million chances.
Chaim Bloom also claimed him from a burner cell phone
Mets getting a head start on winning the off-season for like the 25th year in row.
🙁
May be the pitching coaches can get out of him what they originally drafted him for. They have to do better than this in the off-season or it’s ground hog day again what we’ve experienced the last few seasons. I really hope this can work out.
Mets had a roster spot open, so why not see if Kay can throw strikes? Kay is never going to be a starter but lefty relief pitchers are in demand. Low risk here and not holding back any youngster. A good move.
They can easily just release him when something better comes along.
The Billy Eppler Bullpen Carousel.
What a fiasco. Get him off talent evaluation, Stearns!!