TODAY: Adams has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, the Mets announced. Adams has apparently decided to forego his opt-out opportunity and will remain with the organization, and attend Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.
FEBRUARY 6: Right-hander Austin Adams was designated for assignment by the Mets, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That move opens a roster spot for Jake Diekman, whose previously-reported signing has now been officially announced by the club.
Adams, 33 in May, just signed with the Mets at the end of November. His contract is a non-guaranteed split deal, meaning he will earn different salaries depending on whether he’s in the majors or the minors. The exact figures of Adams’ contract haven’t been reported, but deals of this nature often feature a modest major league salary but the minor league salary is significantly larger than what the average minor leaguer would make.
While it might seem strange to sign a player and then cut him from the roster a few months later, the club is usually hoping for the player to pass through waivers unclaimed and then remain in the organization as non-roster depth. Adams has more than three years of service time, meaning he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and return to free agency. But since he has less than five years of service time, exercising that right would mean walking away from the money remaining on his deal.
For an example of this recently playing out, Austin Wynns signed a split deal with the Reds in December which will pay him $950K in the majors and $300K in the minors. A couple of weeks later, Wynns was designated for assignment and then outrighted after going unclaimed on waivers. Per the minor league CBA that was agreed to by MLB and MLBPA last April, the minimum salary of a Triple-A player is just under $36K, meaning Wynns will be making almost 10 times that even if he never gets his roster spot back. There’s been no reporting of him electing free agency since he was outrighted over a month ago, so he has presumably decided to accept and keep that $300K salary locked in as a floor for himself.
The Mets will be hoping the same happens with Adams, though there’s also a risk that some other club would claim him off waivers. That happened to the Orioles last year when they signed Jake Cave to a split deal, tried to get him off the roster but saw the Phillies swoop in with a waiver claim. If any club is particularly intrigued by the current deal Adams is on, they will have an opportunity to get him. The Mets will have one week to work out a trade or pass him through waivers.
Adams has 114 1/3 innings of major league experience to this point in his career, having allowed 4.17 earned runs per nine. His career strikeout rate of 33.1% is quite strong, but he’s paired that with notable control issues. His 14.6% walk rate is on the high side and he also amazingly plunked 24 hitters while with the Padres in 2021. That was the most of any pitcher in any season dating back to 1910, even though Adams only threw 52 2/3 innings of relief.
That doesn’t seem to have deterred the Mets, who appear to be taking a gamble this offseason in buying low on pitchers with control issues. Diekman has a 13.3% walk rate in his career while Shintaro Fujinami, also signed to a one-year deal, walked 12.6% of batters faced in his first MLB season. Yohan Ramírez, acquired in a small trade, also has big walk numbers. The same applies to guys who signed minor league deals like Cole Sulser, Yacksel Ríos, Chad Smith and Andre Scrubb. Adams may soon join that latter group as non-roster depth pitchers whom the Mets will be hoping to help harness their stuff.
Hopefully he passes through waivers and accepts an assignment.
He did
Once he signed the split contract he was destined to be BP depth stashed in Syracuse. Not worthy of a Roster spot unless we have numerous RP injury issues and need him in the Pen.
Nice knowing a AAA player could make less than a stocker at Target
It’s common for minor leaguers to get second jobs.
That’s just the salary. They also get a $25 expense per diem for spring training and the season, plus the teams now pay for or provide housing during the season.
Given that they play a game and entertain for a living, that seems fair.
Stockers make more then 36k for 6 months of work?
Of course they dont – but this guy does need to find a new line of work cuz pitching is not something he is good at – another loser the GM signed –
Crazy stat for Adams; in 2021 he hit 24 batters in just 52.2 innings, leading the league despite being a reliever that only pitched that many innings.
The second highest HBPs was Joe Musgrove with 18 in 181.1 innings.
It became a running gag here in SD, you’d have to pound your drink whenever he hit someone. That wipeout slider usually caught someone’s shoulder, there weren’t too many 4 seamers thrown by Adams.
His best of HBP Dodgers film reel is priceless though
Makes sense. Players crowd the plate more in today’s game. Someone has to be the drill sargeant.
For Austin if you were in the on deck circle you were fair game for getting hit!
“Jusssst a bit outsideeee…”
Every now and then you just have to hit the bull!”
Austin must have watched this movie too many times!
Adams will be 33, boasts a career WAR of 0.7 in 7 seasons, and led the league in HBP in 2021 in just over 50 innings. Sounds like a great no upside candidate for the Chicago White Sox.
I figure the Mets will need to DFA one more for Fujinami.
Your numbers are right. But… the 60-day IL opens in 5 days. And we know Peterson and Mauricio will be placed there, creating two openings.
Gotta be Bickford
He has that nasty back-foot slider that gets swing and miss. But it does not miss a lot of back feet.
He’ll be the next Angels pick up. Then Minasian will have a presser to talk about how the BP is better.
To save time and clear up a potential confusion, the Mets also DFA’d the other Austin Adams even though he hasn’t pitched in the bigs since 2019.
and somehow reid-foley and bickford are STILL on this roster… I don’t get it! drop those two fools!
Why is Alex Ramirez on the 40 man roster?
@ bjhaas1977 I agree with the question. The answer is he became Rule 5 eligible this past November. I really can’t imagine someone adding him to the big league team this year. That said, he is projected highly, and his defense is supposed to be great. I suppose Stearns was afraid that a team like Oakland might be willing to take him, use him as a PR and defensive replacement for a year, then option him down a year later when the Rule 5 restrictions will no longer apply.
He can’t hit his weight. He’d be a liability even in on the worst team. He’s the next Escobar ,Fernandez, Milleagde.
“$300K in the minors (……) the minimum salary of a Triple-A player is just under $36K, meaning Wynns will be making almost 10 times that”
It’s a tad over 8 times that amount.
Doesn’t anybody do math anymore??? Or is this writer just trying to be hyperbolic???
Do you know what the word almost means or are you trying to be hyperbolic?
Intrasquad games must be scary with Adams pitching.
Eh, he really only hits people with sliders. Not that scary
Nice article with a good explanation of the split contract paying the player more than he’d have otherwise received in the minors.
It’s good to have the depth. I’m glad he’s staying in the organization after clearing waivers.
But not with this guy – you want depth sure but he will be throwing gaseline on a fire –
No one will cry-moan, but these are the success contracts and/or unrealized dream contracts for most pro ballplayers.
There is big price they pay to chase these deals but the vast majority fall short. Many have no or little education after ages 16-18. No job experience to fall upon when they really need it.
Some last long enough to put off looking for their first real occupation-type job until 32-33. That’s when the ‘lucky’ ones start adult life. Then find out they were not lucky.
Austin Adams has enjoyed big league success. His type could walk into something rather nice right away as a direct result. Not so much the rest. They start out career life way behind others with zero savings and rarely do they catch up. The majority of these lives are not enviable especially as they age and live with severe, constant pain. Have dealt with many, many, many playing this all out at various age levels.
Each made that choice, and my favorite part is I’ve yet to meet one who regretted it and would not eagerly try it all over again. Those guys must be out there but I personally never met one.
So when I see an Adams deal like this, good for him and his club. They get a useful man on a yo-yo string and he will get to put off being us for another 10 months.
deep
derp
Thin line betwixt which I crisscross willy nilly.
The photo is the classic look of being outrighted. “Well, I could have been sent to Uzbekistan…”
This going to be a long yr for Met fans so be ready – Mets are acting like the Pirates or Oakland very sad to see – I was thinking 70-92 but now I am leaning at 67-95 – Cohen started punting last yr in June and has tossed in the towel for 2024
Adams hit 0 batters in 31 innings with the Mariners in 2019. Then 2020 happened and his favorite part of the game became assaulting opposing batsmen with sliders.
Isolation can take a toll on a man.