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AL West Notes: Kirby, Rojas, Langford, Astros

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Mariners right-hander George Kirby underwent an MRI exam on his right knee yesterday, manager Scott Servais told reporters (including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times) prior to last night’s game against Houston. Servais didn’t provide details on the results of Kirby’s MRI but made clear that the imaging was precautionary and expressed optimism that Kirby will make be ready to make his next start. The righty was pulled from his start on Friday after just 88 pitches due to the issue, though following that game Kirby noted that his knee had been “bugging” him for the “past couple of weeks.” He’s pitched through it to this point, however, and like Servais suggested that he wasn’t concerned about the problem.

That’s surely a relief for the Mariners, Kirby has gotten off to a strong start this year. While his 3.76 ERA is actually just below league average by measure of ERA+, he currently sports a career-best 26.3% strikeout rate to go along with a 2.6% walk rate, while his 65.4% strand rate is much lower than is sustainable through seven starts. Given that, it’s no surprise that Kirby has some of the best peripheral numbers in the league with a 2.08 FIP, a 2.84 xERA, a 3.03 SIERA and a 3.10 xFIP.

That type of production is extremely hard to replace, and Mariners fans are surely hoping that Kirby’s knee issue is as minor as he and the team believe it to be. Should Kirby require a trip to the IL, the Mariners could turn to struggling Triple-A starter Levi Stoudt or perhaps non-roster veteran Dallas Keuchel to fill out the rotation while youngster Bryan Woo finishes up a rehab assignment at the Triple-A level.

More from around the AL West…

  • Sticking with the Mariners, Servais indicated to reporters (including Jude) yesterday that the club is hoping to get infielder Josh Rojas additional at-bats going forward. Rojas has gotten off to a hot start this year as part of a platoon with Luis Urias at third base, slashing .338/.420/.535 in 82 trips to the plate. Per Servais, the solution to that could be moving Rojas to left field on days that Urias is playing the hot corner. With Dominic Canzone on the injured list, Seattle has primarily relied on Luke Raley and Dylan Moore in left this season but neither has taken hold of the position with particularly strong offensive numbers, so affording more playing time to Rojas and Urias could be a way to bolster an offense that ranks 22nd in the majors with a 96 wRC+, including a 58 wRC+ in left field.
  • Rangers youngster Wyatt Langford entered the season as a widely-speculated AL Rookie of the Year candidate after he fought his way onto the Opening Day roster with an incredible Spring Training, but he’s scuffled somewhat in the early going this season with a wRC+ of just 68 and an ISO of just .069 that puts him in the bottom five among all qualified outfielders this year in terms of power production. Now, however, Langford may be dealing with an injury on top of his struggles at the plate after he exited last night’s game with tightness in his right hamstring, as noted Jeff Wilson of Rangers Today. Should Langford require a trip to the IL, the club would likely turn to veteran outfielder Travis Jankowski to fill out the lineup in his absence.
  • Astros outfielder Chas McCormick has only been on the injured list for a few days, but manager Joe Espada told reporters (including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart) that he is already making good progress in his rehab from a right hamstring issue. Per Espada, McCormick has begun running and is nearing the point where he’ll be able to begin batting practice, adding that the club hopes to get the 29-year-old out for a minor league rehab assignment “pretty soon.” McCormick scuffled at the plate to open the season this year but was one of the club’s strongest contributors in 2023, when he slashed .273/.353/.489 in 115 games.
  • Sticking with the Astros, Espada also provided an update to reporters (including McTaggart) about injured right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. McCullers last pitched in the majors in late 2022 but has now progressed to throwing off a mound in his rehab process. It’s a major step for McCullers, who has made just eight starts since the end of the 2021 postseason due to flexor tendon issues. When healthy enough to take the mound, McCullers has been an impact starter for the Astros with a 2.96 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 36 starts from 2021-22. The right-hander isn’t expecting to return to action until later this summer, though yesterday’s news appears to indicate he remains on track to pitch for the club this season.

Marlins President Peter Bendix Discusses Luis Arraez Trade

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Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix spoke to reporters, including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, earlier today to discuss last night’s blockbuster trade of infielder Luis Arraez to the Padres and the Marlins’ outlook moving forward after the deal.

In his comments, Bendix indicated that he and the rest of the organization is “very disappointed” about the team’s brutal 9-25 start to the 2024 season and acknowledged that the team is “unlikely” to make the playoffs this year after doing so for the first time in a full season since 2003 last year.

“We’re very disappointed,” Bendix said, per McPherson. “I know the players are very disappointed. Everybody here is very disappointed about that. But it is also something that we can’t change right now.”

In light of the club’s challenging path to the postseason, Bendix said that he felt the deal offer by the Padres was “too good to walk past,” with Craig Mish of the Miami Herald adding that Bendix noted he was concerned that the deal may not have still been on the table had the Marlins waited until later in the calendar to make the move. Bendix’s willingness to strike early on the trade market extends back to 2021 during his time as GM of the Rays, when the club traded shortstop Willy Adames to the Brewers as part of the other May blockbuster in recent memory.

Bendix went on to praise the return the club received for Arraez services, which consists of 2023 first-rounder Dillon Head, Double-A outfielder Jakob Marsee, Double-A first baseman Nathan Martorella, and reliever Woo-Suk Go. Both Head and Marsee rank in the top 10 on lists of top Padres prospects from both Baseball America and MLB.com, though Go is an established professional on a two-year, $4.5MM deal with seven KBO seasons under his belt despite not yet having made his big league debut.

Given the fact that none of the players joining the Marlins in return for Arraez have played above the Double-A level in stateside ball, it’s fair to wonder what sort of timeline for competitiveness Miami brass envisions for the club. Bendix avoided specifics during his conversation with reporters, however. While he made clear throughout his comments that the club’s long-term goal is to win “90-plus games year-in and year-out”, he refused to label the club’s current trajectory a “rebuild” while simultaneously noting that there isn’t a “definitive timeline” for a return to competitiveness.

That foggy outlook appears to extend to the club’s plans going forward. While Bendix made clear that the Arraez move was the first in a “series of difficult decisions” the club would be making in service of a longer-term outlook, he didn’t get into specifics about what other players the club could look to shop from the big league roster. For his part, Bendix seems to have no desire to commit to retaining any of the big league club’s current players. The club’s top baseball ops official indicated to Andy Slater of Fox Sports 640 that he “doesn’t know what to expect” when asked whether or not 2022 All Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. who is just 26 years old and is under team control through the end of the 2026 season, would remain in the organization through the end of the season.

Pending free agents such as first baseman Josh Bell, shortstop Tim Anderson, and left-hander Tanner Scott all seem like good bets to move at some point this season given Bendix’s acknowledged plan to prioritize future value over the current season, but Arraez’s departure and Bendix’s unwillingness to commit to Chisholm both indicate that the club is not averse to dealing more controllable players as well. Looking beyond Chisholm, the Marlins frequently flirted with dealing from their starting rotation over the winter and it’s easy to imagine any of Jesus Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, and Braxton Garrett being made available this summer should they be healthy and effective enough to command a significant return. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored the club’s trade candidates in detail earlier this week, prior to the Arraez deal.

Phillies Place Trea Turner On 10-Day Injured List

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1:43PM: The strain is a significant one, as Turner told The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and other reporters that he’ll miss a minimum of six weeks.

12:56PM: The Phillies announced that Trea Turner has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left hamstring strain.  Infielder Kody Clemens was called up from Triple-A to take Turner’s place on the active roster.

The placement isn’t a surprise, as Turner’s injury forced him to make an early departure from yesterday’s 4-3 Phillies win over the Giants.  In the fourth inning, Turner was on second base when Jordan Hicks threw a fourth ball to batter Bryce Harper, and the ball bounced off catcher Tom Murphy’s glove for a passed ball.  Turner hustled down to third base and then all the way home to score on the play, but at a cost, as Edmundo Sosa took over at shortstop for Turner in the top of the fifth.

After getting off to an infamously slow start in 2023 (the first year of his 11-year, $300MM deal with Philadelphia), Turner has been far better in the early going of the 2024 campaign.  The shortstop is hitting .343/.392/.460 with two home runs, 27 runs scored, and 10 steals in 11 attempts.  A whopping .421 BABIP and a .379 wOBA that is far above his .330 xwOBA indicate that Turner has enjoyed some good fortune in posting his bottom-line numbers, even though Turner’s excellent speed has always led to strong BABIP results.

Turner has been one of the chief reasons why the Phillies have a league-high 22 wins.  There’s no easy way for the Phils to replace that production, and the team can only hope Turner’s strain is minor enough that he can return quickly and fully recovered.  Sosa will get most of the playing time at shortstop in Turner’s absence, with Clemens stepping into Sosa’s role as the team’s utilityman.  Philadelphia could also possibly use Bryson Stott at shortstop and deploy Whit Merrifield more often at second base, though Merrifield is off to a slow start at the plate.

Blue Jays Acquire Joel Kuhnel

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The Blue Jays have acquired right-hander Joel Kuhnel from the Astros in exchange for cash considerations, per an announcement from both teams. Toronto optioned Kuhnel to Triple-A Buffalo following his addition. The Blue Jays had an open space on their 40-man roster for Kuhnel, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, and do not need to make a corresponding move to add him to the roster.

Kuhnel, 29, has now changed teams via cash deal for the second time in as many seasons. An eleventh-round pick by the Reds in the 2016 draft, Kuhnel made his debut with the Reds back in 2019 and pitched to a decent 4.66 ERA (103 ERA+) with a 4.25 FIP in 9 2/3 innings of work. Despite that solid cup of coffee at the big league level, the right-hander wouldn’t get regular playing time in the majors until the 2022 season, when he posted a brutal 6.36 ERA despite a much stronger 3.96 FIP. He remained with the Reds until he was traded to Houston in June of last year but has not received much run in the big leagues since, with a 7.20 ERA and 5.84 FIP in 15 innings of work across the past two seasons, including a spot start with the Astros earlier this year that saw him allow four runs in two innings of work.

Overall, Kuhnel heads to Toronto with a career 6.30 ERA that’s nearly 30% worse than league average but a much more manageable 4.53 FIP along with decent strikeout and walk rates of 19% and 6.3% respectively suggest he could still be a valuable depth piece for the club’s bullpen. That possibility is further backed up by solid results at the Triple-A level with the Astros this year, as he’s posted a 3.18 ERA in 11 1/3 innings as a multi-inning relief arm in the highly inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League this year.

The Blue Jays have struggled to a 16-18 record this season in part thanks to brutal production from their bullpen, which has a league-worst 5.28 FIP to go with a 5.11 ERA that sits in the bottom five among all major league relief corps. Kuhnel is unlikely to impact the back of the club’s bullpen alongside the likes of Jordan Romano and Yimi Garcia, but it’s at least feasible to imagine him offering an alternative to a struggling arm such as Genesis Cabrera.

Dodgers Notes: Treinen, Heyward, Kershaw

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Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times) this evening that veteran right-hander Blake Treinen is “likely” to be activated off the 15-day injured list prior to tomorrow’s game against the Braves. A corresponding move will be necessary to add him to the club’s active roster.

Treinen, 36 in June, last pitched in the majors back in 2022 and hasn’t pitched a full season since 2021 due to a number of injuries, including shoulder surgery. That said, the veteran enjoyed four scoreless appearances in Spring Training and appeared set to rejoin the club’s roster before he was struck by the injury bug once again. This time, Treinen was hit in the chest by a comebacker and suffered fractured ribs and a bruised lung, though he’s steadily progressed since then and appears to now be poised to return to a major league mound for the first time in nearly two years.

When healthy enough to take the mound, Treinen has been among the most dominant relievers in the league since a breakout 2019 season with the A’s that saw him finish sixth in AL Cy Young award voting after posting a 0.78 ERA with a 1.82 FIP in 80 1/3 innings of work while striking out 31.7% of batters faced. His work with the Dodgers since joining the club prior to the 2020 season hasn’t been on quite that otherworldly level, but he’s nonetheless been a dominant force at the back of the club’s bullpen when healthy with a 2.45 ERA and 3.00 FIP with a 27.6% strikeout rate and a 56.2% groundball rate in 103 innings of work as a Dodger.

Given those excellent numbers, it’s perhaps not a surprise that DiGiovanna relays that Roberts “won’t hesitate” to use the veteran in high-leverage situations upon his return. While Evan Phillips has locked down the closer’s role in L.A. with a 0.66 ERA and eight saves in 14 appearances this year, the rest of the club’s bullpen has struggled somewhat as the relief corps sports a collective FIP of 4.12, better than only the Rockies and Reds among NL clubs. With veteran set-up men Daniel Hudson and Joe Kelly looking somewhat shaky so far this season, it would hardly be a surprise to see the club turn to Treinen to help strengthen the bridge between the rotation and Phillips.

Elsewhere on the roster, outfielder Jason Heyward is making progress in his rehab from a bout of lower back tightness that sent him to the injured list just four games into the 2024 campaign, with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reporting that the veteran took batting practice today for the first time since suffering the injury. Heyward struggled badly at the plate for many years during his ill-fated eight-year contract with the Cubs but revived his career in L.A. last year, slashing a respectable .269/.340/.473 in 124 games as the club’s regular right fielder.

Heyward appeared poised to man right field for the club on a regular basis once again this year but his role upon his return to action has become less clear thanks to the breakout of outfield prospect Andy Pages, who had slashed an impressive .333/.354/.567 in 65 trips to the plate entering play this evening. Assuming the Dodgers want to keep Pages’s bat in the lineup, Heyward may be left to compete with the likes of James Outman and Chris Taylor for playing time in the club’s outfield mix.

Another veteran making progress in his rehab is future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, who JP Hoornstra of Dodgers Nation notes threw a 15-pitch bullpen off the mound yesterday. It was his first time throwing off a mound since he underwent shoulder surgery this past winter. Hoornstra added that Kershaw’s exact timetable for return is not yet known, though his stated goal of returning to the majors at some point this summer looks very feasible given the progress he’s made to this point. Kershaw is one of a whopping seven starting pitchers currently on the major league injured list with the Dodgers, though the number will drop to six when right-hander Walker Buehler makes his season debut on Monday when he’ll re-enter the rotation alongside Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, James Paxton, and Gavin Stone.

Ricardo Pinto Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Pinto has elected free agency, the Phillies announced this evening. He’ll return to the open market with an eye toward finding a fresh deal elsewhere.

May 2: The Phillies announced that right-hander Ricardo Pinto has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A LeHigh Valley. This is his second career outright, meaning he has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear if he’s chosen to do so.

Pinto, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Phils in the winter and was added to their roster a few days into the season. He made six appearances, tossing 10 2/3 innings, but allowed 13 earned runs in that time. He struck out eight batters and walked five.

He likely didn’t deserve to have results quite that bad. His 59.1% ground ball rate was quite strong while his .405 batting average on balls in play and 51.7% strand rate are both on the unlucky side. His 6.04 FIP and 4.19 SIERA each paint a nicer portrait than Pinto’s ERA. Regardless, he was bumped off the Phillies’ roster and none of the 29 other teams decided to take a chance on him. He previously pitched in the big leagues in 2017 and 2019 but those stints didn’t go well either, so he now has a career ERA of 9.07 in 42 2/3 career innings.

As mentioned, Pinto has the right to elect free agency but he’s listed on the roster of the IronPigs, which seems to suggest he’ll stick with the Phils as non-roster depth.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Middleton, Friedl

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The Brewers announced a handful of roster moves prior to this afternoon’s game against the Cubs, most notably of which saw the club place outfielder Joey Wiemer on the 10-day injured list with left knee discomfort. Infielder Andruw Monasterio was called up to replace Wiemer on the roster.

What once appeared to be a glut of outfield talent has quickly evaporated due to injuries in Milwaukee with Wiemer now joining Christian Yelich and Garrett Mitchell on the shelf. Wiemer had been scuffling at the time of his injury, with just four hits to his name in the majors this season, although those struggles came in a microscopic sample of just 24 trips to the plate. Between his career .269/.296/.492 slash line against southpaws and his strong glove in the outfield, Wiemer figured to be a strong fourth outfielder for the Brewers while Mitchell and Yelich were on the shelf.

Now, however, Wiemer is headed to the shelf without a return in sight. While Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel relayed that the outfielder underwent an MRI that revealed no ligament damage, he added that Wiemer had “no idea” when he’d be able to return from the strained muscle in his left knee. Sal Frelick, Jackson Chourio and Blake Perkins figure to handle the outfield on a regular basis in Wiemer’s absence, though behind that group only Jake Bauers has played even an inning on the outfield grass this season of the players currently on the roster. Youngster Chris Roller currently stands as the Brewers’ most experienced outfielder on the 40-man roster, though he has yet to make his big league debut and has struggled to an 89 wRC+ at Triple-A this season.

More from around the NL Central…

  • Cardinals reliever Keynan Middleton appears to be making good progress in his bid to return from a forearm strain that sidelined him during Spring Training, as he told reporters (including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat) that he hasn’t felt any discomfort in his arm since receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow last month. Per Jones, Middleton expects to pitch off a mound twice more on Tuesday and Friday before heading out on a minor league rehab assignment if all goes well during those outings. The return of Middleton, who dominated down the stretch with the Yankees last year to a 1.88 ERA with a 30.4% strikeout rate, would bolster a St. Louis bullpen that ranks just middle-of-the-pack with a 3.81 ERA despite an excellent xFIP of 3.30 and a strong 25.6% strikeout rate.
  • Reds outfielder TJ Friedl is doing well in his recovery from a right wrist fracture suffered prior to the start of the season, with MLB.com’s Injury Tracker noting that manager David Bell told reporters yesterday that the 28-year-old is on a “fast track” toward returning to the big league club. Friedl began a rehab assignment earlier this week and, according to Bell, will return to the majors “whenever we feel he’s gotten enough at-bats” in the minor leagues. Friedl enjoyed something of a breakout season last year as he slashed an impressive .279/.352/.467 in 138 games as the club’s everyday center fielder and should provide a big boost to a Reds club that has relied on Stuart Fairchild and Bubba Thompson in center in his absence.

Cubs Notes: Bellinger, Suzuki, Steele, Mervis

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The Cubs currently sit at a solid 20-14 record, just one game back of the Brewers for the NL Central lead. That strong start has come in spite of a number of key injuries: staff ace Justin Steele was pulled from his Opening Day start against the Rangers due to a hamstring strain and hasn’t taken the mound in the big leagues since, while the club more recently lost both Cody Bellinger and Seiya Suzuki to rib and oblique injuries, respectively.

Fortunately for Chicago, however, it appears that all three stars are nearing a return to action. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including ESPN’s Jesse Rogers) this afternoon that both Suzuki and Bellinger could be back in action some time next week, while MLB.com’s Injury Tracker notes that Counsell indicated to reporters yesterday that Steele is slated to be activated from the IL and take the ball in Monday’s game against the Padres.

All three updates are fantastic news for the Cubs. When Suzuki was placed on the IL on April 15, the Cubs’ offense had produced a solid 108 wRC+ (11th in the majors) but the offense has scuffled in the right fielder’s absence with just a 93 wRC+ (17th in the majors) since then. The club’s struggles at the plate have become even more pronounced since Bellinger was placed on the shelf, as the club has posted a 73 wRC+ (24th in the majors) with an ISO of just .101 since then.

The club will have some interesting roster decisions to make upon the duo’s return, as top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong has made a solid impression with a 90 wRC+ and elite defense in center field while Bellinger has been on the shelf while veteran fourth outfielder Mike Tauchman has capitalized upon everyday opportunities and is now hitting a scorching .276/.406/.460 with a wRC+ of 154 in 106 trips to the plate this season. The most likely outcome appears to be Crow-Armstrong returning to Triple-A while Tauchman takes over as the club’s regular DH, with Bellinger and Suzuki immediately returning to their usual places in center and right field. That being said, it’s possible the club views Crow-Armstrong’s defense and baserunning as too valuable to lose and instead looks to carry him as a bench player even after the return of Bellinger and Suzuki.

While Chicago’s offense has struggled without its two star outfielders, the rotation has flourished even without the fifth-placer for last year’s NL Cy Young award. The Cubs’ rotation has a collective ERA of 3.35 that ranks sevent-best in the majors this year. Shota Imanaga (0.78 ERA), Jameson Taillon (1.13 ERA) and Javier Assad (1.97 ERA) have been nothing short of dominant as they’ve led the group in Steele’s absence while youngsters such as Hayden Wesneski, Ben Brown, and Jordan Wicks have combined for a solid 3.27 ERA in 11 starts to fill out the back of the rotation. That being said, Steele’s return would allow the club to return either Wesneski or Brown to a beleaguered bullpen that has struggled to a well below average 4.50 ERA and ranks bottom-five in the majors in terms of fWAR.

In less positive Cubs news, the club optioned first baseman Matt Mervis to Triple-A Iowa today, recalling utility infielder Miles Mastrobuoni to take his place on the roster. Mervis got top-100 prospect buzz entering last season thanks to his rapid climb through the minor leagues that saw him reach Triple-A in just his second professional season, but he’s stalled out at the level despite an excellent .297/.393/.556 slash line at the level for his career.

He’s received two cups of coffee in the majors to this point in his career but has failed to hit in either of them, with a .155/.222/.259 career slash line in 127 trips to the plate at the big league level that includes a nine-game stint this season that saw him go just 3-for-26 with a 30.8% strikeout rate. Mervis will now return to the minor leagues to await his next opportunity, though at this point he appears to be blocked by the likes of Michael Busch, Bellinger, Tauchman, and even Crow-Armstrong in terms of left-handed options for the club.

White Sox Release Brett Phillips From Minors Deal

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The White Sox have released outfielder Brett Phillips, according to James Fegan from SoxMachine. Phillips had signed a minor league deal with the club back in January.

Phillips, who will celebrate his 30th birthday at the end of the month, is a veteran of seven big league seasons who first made his debut with the Brewers back in 2017. He’s generally struggled at the plate throughout his career with a .187/.272/.347 line that’s 29% worse than league average by measure of wRC+, but has nonetheless earned his spot on major league clubs in recent years thanks to his skills on the basepaths and in the field. During his time with the Rays from 2020 to 2022, Phillips swiped 24 bases in 27 attempts while recording +21 Outs Above Average and +17 Defensive Runs Saved.

Since leaving the Rays, however, Phillips has faltered somewhat in all aspects of his game as he’s struggled to find consistent playing time at the big league level. He appeared in eight games with the Orioles down the stretch in 2022 but hit a paltry .118/.118/.235 that was well below even his usual standards. He joined the Angels on a big league deal last year but made it into just 39 games with the club while spending much of the year at the Triple-A level. In the majors, Phillips was graded as a scratch defender by both OAA and DRS last year as he stole three bases in four attempts and struck out in more than half of his 71 trips to the plate.

The struggles Phillips has endured in both find and taking advantage of opportunities at the big league level led him to sign a minor league deal with the White Sox shortly after the new year that seemingly positioned him with a strong shot to make the club’s roster as a fourth outfielder out of Spring Training. Unfortunately, that didn’t come to fruition as the White Sox later added defensively-gifted youngster Dominic Fletcher via trade while signing veteran outfielders Kevin Pillar and Robbie Grossman in free agency, all three of whom made the roster over Phillips.

Since then, the White Sox have made changes to the big league roster, with both Fletcher and Pillar moving off the 26-man as a result. Phillips was passed over once again, however, as the White Sox instead turned to non-roster veterans Tommy Pham and Rafael Ortega to fill out the club’s outfield mix while Luis Robert Jr. is on the shelf. With Phillips evidently buried on the Chicago depth chart, it appears the sides have made the decision to part ways in order to allow the center fielder to pursue opportunities elsewhere.

It’s unclear where Phillips might find that role, given his struggles at the Triple-A level this year. While he’s only stepped to the plate 57 times with his former club’s affiliate in Charlotte, he’s struck out in 47.4% of those at-bats with a slash line of .120/.228/.280. That being said, he could still be a worthwhile depth option for a club looking to add a quality defender in center field who can serve as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement off the bench.

Mets Promote Christian Scott

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TODAY: The Mets have officially selected Scott’s contract, and also called right-hander Cole Sulser up from Triple-A.  Right-hander Dedniel Nunez and left-hander Danny Young were optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding moves.

MAY 2: The Mets are planning to promote pitching prospect Christian Scott, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. McDaniel adds that Scott will likely make his debut on Saturday against the Rays. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster, so the Mets will need a corresponding move to add him.

Scott, 25 in June, was a fifth-round selection of the Mets in 2021 but he has raised his stock dramatically since then. In 2022, he tossed 58 2/3 innings between Single-A and High-A with a fairly pedestrian 4.45 ERA, but stronger underlying metrics. He struck out 29.5% of batters faced while walking 8.4%. If not for a .381 batting average on balls in play and 68.1% strand rate, he would have fared much better, which is why his FIP was 2.77 that year.

Last year, he eventually rose as high as Double-A, throwing 87 2/3 frames for the year with a 2.57 ERA. He struck out 31.9% of batters while limiting his walks to a tiny 3.6% rate. He came into 2024 ranked as the #98 prospect in baseball, according to FanGraphs. At ESPN, McDaniel had Scott at #99. Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs highlighted that he converted his changeup into a splitter, adding a strong third option to what had previously been mostly a sinker/slider combo.

He didn’t crack the season-opening lists at either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, but has vaulted himself up to #62 on BA’s most recent update. That huge jump is a reflection of the fact that Scott has been dominating this year, apart from some homer troubles. Through five Triple-A starts here in 2024, he has fanned 38.3% of opponents while limiting his walks to a 6.4% rate. But thanks to seven fly balls clearing the fences, he has a 3.20 ERA.

In addition to pushing him up prospect lists, that strong performance will get him to the majors. The Mets currently have a rotation of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser and José Buttó. The only optionable guy in that group is Buttó, but he has been pitching well, with a 2.57 ERA on the year. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com speculates that Scott’s promotion might be related to the Mets playing 26 games in 27 days, so perhaps Scott’s promotion will just be a spot start to give the others a breather.

The length of Scott’s stay might also depend on other factors. Each of Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill and David Peterson are on the injured list and their respective returns will impact how the rotation is configured as they season rolls along. Senga and Peterson on on the 60-day IL and can’t return until late May but Megill recently began a rehab assignment and could therefore be an option in a few weeks. Scott’s performance in his big league debut will naturally impact the decisions as well.

Regardless of how long Scott spends in the bigs for the rest of the season, he won’t be able to earn a full year of service time since the campaign is already more than a month old. The new CBA allows top prospects to earn a full year even if called up late if they finish in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting, but that won’t apply to Scott. To be eligible for that benefit, a player has to start the year on two of three top 100 lists at ESPN, BA and MLB Pipeline, but Scott was only on one. That means the Mets can control him through the 2023 season, even if he sticks in the big leagues from here on out.

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