10:20am: The Mets are sending cash to the Yankees in the deal for Torrens, tweets Sherman. Specifically, it’ll be a $100K return for the Yankees.
9:50am: The Mets are shaking up the roster with a broad-reaching set of roster moves. Catcher Omar Narvaez is being designated for assignment, reports SNY’s Andy Martino. His spot on the roster will go to catcher Luis Torrens, who is being acquired from the Yankees and selected to the MLB roster, according to Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base. Meanwhile, third baseman Brett Baty and righty Christian Scott will be optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. They’ll be replaced on the roster by infielder Jose Iglesias, whose contract will be selected from Syracuse, and righty Dedniel Nunez, who’ll be recalled from Syracuse, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports.
It’s a significant slate of roster moves that’ll see the Mets jettison the veteran Narvaez, option two of their top prospects to Triple-A for more seasoning, and thus clear a full runway for Mark Vientos to get an opportunity as the everyday third baseman.
Narvaez, 32, inked a two-year deal worth a guaranteed $15MM in the 2022-23 offseason — the second season of which was a player option. After a lackluster debut campaign in Queens that saw him hit just .211/.283/.297, Narvaez unsurprisingly opted into the second season of his contract. This year’s production has been even more feeble, however. In 69 trips to the plate, Narvaez has managed only a .154/.191/.185 batting line with a dismal 22.2% hard-hit rate.
Prior to his time with the Mets, Narvaez was a quality regular with the White Sox, Mariners and Brewers from 2018-22 — even making an All-Star team with Milwaukee in 2021. That five-year span saw Narvaez bat .254/.337/.397. He was inconsistent with the bat on a year-to-year basis but wound up producing at a roughly league-average level overall during that half-decade run. On top of that, the Brewers — who have a reputation for improving catcher defense — revamped Narvaez’s skill set behind the plate. He rated as one of the game’s worst defenders in 2018-19 with Chicago and Seattle but posted seven Defensive Runs Saved and was worth an even more impressive 19 runs behind the plate in Statcast’s eyes — thanks largely to massive improvements in his framing.
The injury to Francisco Alvarez appeared to create an opportunity for Narvaez to get back to that previous form, but he’s been outhit by the defensively superior Tomas Nido, who returned to the big leagues after being outrighted to Syracuse last season. Nido hasn’t been great at the plate himself — his .233/.260/.370 batting line is well below par — but has handily outperformed his fellow backstop. That’ll allow Nido to stick around in what’ll likely be the lead catching role until Alvarez’s return.
Alvarez suited up for Double-A Binghamton yesterday, kicking off a 20-day window for his minor league rehab assignment. That could make for a short-lived stay on the roster for the newly acquired Torrens. The Mets will choose between him and Nido once Alvarez is ready for activation. In 124 Triple-A plate appearances with the Yankees, the journeyman Torrens hit .279/.339/.469 with five homers and six doubles.
Once a well-regarded catching prospect with the Padres and Mariners, the now-28-year-old Torrens is a career .227/.289/.354 hitter in 807 MLB plate appearances. He has a knack for hard contact, but too many of those well-struck balls are of the grounder variety. A hefty 49.9% of Torrens’ career batted balls in the majors have been on the ground, which is clearly suboptimal for a plodding catcher who ranked in the 24th percentile of big league players in sprint speed from 2022-23, per Statcast.
In Baty and Scott, the Mets are sending two of the organization’s most touted prospects back to the minors. Baty, 24, has now seen MLB action in three straight seasons but has yet to cement himself as the everyday third baseman — or even as a viable big league bat. This year’s .225/.304/.325 batting line is 12% worse than average, by measure of wRC+, but nonetheless stands as his most productive season in the big leagues. Since making his debut late in the 2022 season, Baty carries a .214/.281/.325 line in exactly 600 plate appearances.
Baty, the No. 12 pick in the 2019 draft, has been particularly cold of late, tallying just six hits in his past 54 trips to the plate. He’s considered a superior defender to the also-24-year-old Vientos, but Vientos’ bat has been too loud for the Mets to ignore. Also long considered one of the organization’s better prospects, Vientos is hitting .295/.354/.591 with three homers in just 48 plate appearances. The former No. 59 overall pick’s performance emphatically warrants greater playing time. With Baty sent to Triple-A, he’ll receive that chance and could well establish himself as a long-term corner option for the Mets with a strong showing.
Scott, who’ll turn 25 in a couple weeks, has pitched well through his first five MLB starts. In 27 2/3 frames, he’s worked to a 3.90 ERA with a 22.3% strikeout rate and excellent 5.4% walk rate. However, the right-hander was a reliever in college whom the Mets have moved into a rotation role since turning pro. He’s thus never worked a full starter’s workload, with last year’s 87 2/3 frames standing as a career-high. The Mets have multiple off-days on the schedule in the near future, lessening the need for rotation arms. As such, they’ll send Scott to Syracuse, where they can more easily manage his innings and simultaneously afford the big league club an extra reliever.
Passan does note that Scott is expected to return to the big leagues before long. His promotion to date certainly warrants that. And if the Mets continue on their current trajectory, it wouldn’t at all be surprising to see other members of the rotation dangled in trade scenarios. For now, Luis Severino, Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Tylor Megill and David Peterson are lined up to make the next five starts. Severino is on a one-year deal, while Manaea has a opt-out at season’s end and Quintana is in the second season of a two-year contract.
In place of Baty, the Mets will turn to the veteran Iglesias. He’s carved out a reputation as a plus defensive shortstop with good contact skills but minimal impact when he does put bat to ball. Iglesias didn’t play in the majors last season but is a career .279/.319/.382 batter in more than 4000 plate appearances. He’s come to the plate 175 times in Syracuse this season and turned in a .273/.309/.442 slash.
Iglesias will give the Mets a true backup shortstop to Francisco Lindor, something they previously lacked, and is plenty capable of spelling Vientos at the hot corner or stepping in for Jeff McNeil at second base even if the overwhelming majority of his career has been spent at shortstop.
As for Nunez, this will mark his third stint with the Mets already this year. He was up earlier this week as the 27th man for a doubleheader and also had a four-game run earlier in the season. He’s pitched 8 1/3 innings over five appearances, holding opponents to three runs on seven hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts.
LFGMets (Metsin7) #ConsistentlyBannedBaseballExpert
Thank god they got rid of the worst catcher in baseball. Though I’d rather them give Hayden Senger a chance until Alvarez is back. I know that he can’t hit but his defense has looked elite in the minors for years. Torrens can’t hit or field but hes a slight upgrade over Narvaez
jk2me1310
With Alvarez already on his rehab assignment, this is a marginal change anyway since Torrens will probably be DFAd in a week or two when Alvy is ready.
Snuffy
What did Casey Stengel say about the catchers on the 1962 Mets? We got one who can hit, one who can field, and one who can’t do either.
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Who was the clever one Stengel or Berra?
I saw them both in action
davidk1979
Guess they wanna protect Scott’s innings but disappointing nonetheless. Narvaez will be playing for the Long Island Ducks soon enough and Baty just can’t hit.
lesterdnightfly
“Protect Scott’s innings”? He won’t pitch in AAA?
davidk1979
He’ll have three inning starts in Syracuse
lesterdnightfly
Strange way to stretch out a starting pitcher.
geofft
@ davidk1979 Thats so utterly baseless. He’s nowhere near his innings limitand its too early in the year to be worried about them. : He’s thrown only 53 IP so far this year. he threw 88 last year, so his limit will be at least 120 to 130 this year. If he averages 6 IP per start, he would have 12 – 13 starts left in him, enough to go into late August. And no one cuts a SP back to 3 IP per start this once he’s already stretched out.
findingnimmo
They need bullpen arms. Scott they can give a break for one turn through since peterson and Megill are back. Love all these moves.
CaseyAbell
Deck chairs, Titanic.
mlbnyyfan
The Yankees should have called up Torrens and gave him a chance. Right now Wells is really struggling and maybe that’s because of lack of playing time. Possibly not ready for MLB also.
Joe says...
Wells isn’t suffering from a lack of playing time. He has about an even split with Trevino for games and ABs. It looks like he just ain’t ready for prime time.
Gasu1
Trevino has had almost exactly 1000 more PAs than Wells at the ML level. Yes, cumulative experience does count.
jerseyjohn
Wells is here to stay. This move is clearing room for Ben Rice to get promoted to AAA. Torrens is a fine 3rd catcher. There are better options with more upside in AAA right now for the Yanks
RShore05
Totally agree with you Joe says… Wells has been splitting the catching duties with Trevino pretty evenly so far this year. As they’ve each played in 35-games so far. Wells looked like he was starting to turn things around at the plate a couple weeks ago, but that didn’t last long as he’s gone 4/20 with 9-K’s over his last 5 starts. I think it’s time they send him down to AAA for a few weeks to try and get some confidence back in his bat. I think Trevino has earned the full-time starting catcher’s job again. He looks like the All Star/Gold Glove catcher he was back in 2022. But with the Yankees playing they way they are, and the team morale being as high as it is, I completely understand if they’re going with the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality and keep things as it until further notice. Not a bad problem to have if you ask me
Gasu1
Torrens has had a million chances. The Yankees signed him for insurance. As long as Wells’ defense is okay, he’ll get an extended look this year at the ML level. Selling off Torrens opens up a slot at AAA which will be perfect for Ben Rice, I imagine Josh Breaux will be getting more catching reps (also a good thing) while Rice gets a tryout as a possible Rizzo replacement.
StudWinfield
Ramirez is actually out hitting Rice now and he’s on the 40. Both he and Rice will likely hit AAA at some point. Breaux can go back to AA with Seigler and put an end to the worst Yankee draft (2018) in the last 10 years.
jerseyjohn
Yeah neither of those guys panned out. The future of Yankee catching seems to be bright. We also have 3 MLB ready 2nd basemen if you want to consider Peraza at that position.
fullstrike49
This is one of the oldest teams in MLB, if not the oldest currently. Why are they sending down young players in a “see what we have” type season? I agree we need a backup SS/2B, but we really need to see what we have in Baty and this is the best season to do it. Scott has also looked very good at times. This is the perfect season to get him adjusted to MLB hitters. I get he’ll be back up this season but whats the point if he’s pitching down there anyway? If they really want to shake things up, make due with what ya have for now while keeping younger guys on the roster (maybe send down Stewart instead?) and when the trade deadline comes around, trade guys like Marte, Martinez, Stewart, Houser, Diekman, Otto, Quintana, etc. At least Iglesias will be able to play 2B and we won’t have to watch McNeil day in and day out… maybe we can flip him for cash or a low level prospect at the deadline if he plays well enough.
raisinsss
1. Because they’re seeing what they have in Mark Vientos instead of Brett Baty. I’m betting he’s (Baty) back at the deadline when they move Pete.
2. Because Christian Scott is going to throw 2-4 inning starts in AAA for a while to limit workload and that’s not something that’s sustainable at MLB.
Any other questions?
lesterdnightfly
“Any other questions?”
Yes. How are you enjoying your job in the Mets FO?
raisinsss
It’s cromulently delectable. Always been a dream of mine.
Sincerely,
David Stearns
Joggin’George
So they’re gonna limit his innings and then complain that he’s not capable of pitching deep into games.
I just don’t get this modern game.
jwt421
What more do you need to see from Brett Batty? He had 389 ABs last year and was handed the starting 3B job this year. The most positive thing one can say is that his defense improved. He looks lost at the plate. After almost 600 ABs between this year and last, he looks like a AAAA player.
As for Vientos, the Mets need to see if he can provide 3/4 of what Alonso can when he’s gone. I want to see him get 300 ABs this year. And I don’t care if he’s a poor defender at 3B. This team is going nowhere and he’s next year’s 1B or DH.
Out of all the players you listed as trade material, you left out the only one who has any value, Luis Severino. The league already passed on J.D. Martinez over the winter. You won’t get a good return on him. Also, nobody is taking McNeil unless the Mets eat his contact. He’s due $30 mil for the next two years.
sad tormented neglected mariners fan
New York has lost all faith in baty
What if they actually weren’t stubborn and traded baty when he was their top prospect
mlbnyyfan
King Cohen made a comment that he doesn’t care about winning now, building a team to win in about 3 years. I guarantee he will be over spending again this winter for Bregman and Soto. The Mets are sinking this year faster than the Titanic
MetsSchmets
Why does this season equate to overspending on Bregman and Soto?
808sAndMetsHeartbreaks
Because he was a top prospect for a reason. Completely killed the ball in AA/AAA and it was reasonable to hold onto him at the time. Hindsight is 20/20.
Fgh
What if they had hitting coaches that actually knew what they were doing?
@DaOldDerbyBastard
Fgh, they could hit when Chavez was the hitting coach. I think Barnes is the problem. He should be fired and Chavez should be the only hitting coach.
raisinsss
What if teams were able to evaluate all their top prospects with the benefit of hindsight?
MetsSchmets
Raisins
That’s 99/100 comments here. “Why didn’t they trade that guy right before he stopped playing well!!”
BannedMarlinsFanBase
@raisinsss
The most truest comment there is in sports. No one knows what a prospect will be until he does it. All the hype in the world can follow him, but until he shows he can play at the MLB level, it doesn’t mean a thing one way or other…and teams only have their judgement for what can be expected or projected to base things on.
However, as many great minds have stated…prospects are suspects until they show they can do it at the MLB level.
Teams rebuilding should not dump off young players. If anything, they should add more to increase their odds at finding some gems. Contending teams shouldn’t hold onto prospects because they are prospects. They should move them to get proven players that get them a championship. Teams that tend to go against these grains tend to always fail because they are the contender never going for it because they refuse to trade prospects that will get that final piece or two; or they are the rebuilding team that refuses to trade a veteran or two they should for more prospects to build a future. That’s been the issue. The Mets have been rebuilding. Baty needed to be kept moreso than guys like Lindor and Alonso who will be past their primes when the Mets are ready to contend again.
Joggin’George
So just trade every prospect or just the ones we psychically know won’t be good?
Discostu
Looking like Vientos is the starting first-baseman in 2025…and he’s a bargain compared to what Alonso thinks he’s worth. Third is still a black hole since Wright retired. Bring up Bannon and see how he plays.
Robrock30
Lol Mets,
Panic City stick a fork in this team. Fire Sale upcoming. Red Alert!
MetsSchmets
He had a few months to learn an entire organization so he got as many flippable deadline pieces as possible. If you wanna say “panic City” like we were playoff favorites who just saw our season collapse so you can squeeze in “LOLMETS” then fine but that’s a weird intentional misrepresentation
Robrock30
The moves the Mets just made DFA Narvaez and demoting Baty actually should have been made a long time ago. Stearns could have done this and many others during the offseason.
Mets are never proactive, they are reactive and slow to boot with the roster decisions and the horse has already left the barn.
LOL
Robrock30
Narvaez contract 2 years $ 15 MM what were they thinking?
Lol Mets
Robrock30
2024 28 Games -1 WAR Wow How is that possible at $ 7 MM?
MetsSchmets
They had an 18 year old Venezuelan catching prospect who spoke no English so they signed a veteran Venezuelan catcher to help. What else do you need explained?
jerseyjohn
Why they flagrantly overpaid would be a good starting point. Gonna be a long summer in Queens…
MetsSchmets
Ohhhh now I see why you’re all so upset with the Narvaez deal. Instead of signing him to a contact worth 0.0000000000000000000012% of Cohen’s net worth it should’ve been 0.0000000000000000000011%!!
How will we ever financially recover from this?
MetsSchmets
LMAO BOBROCK using WAR for a catcher. You’re not even trying to troll anymore.
jerseyjohn
I love the deal since I’m a Yankee fan. Even the richest owners have some budget so every bad contract has some repercussions.
MetsSchmets
Oh you’re one of those “Yanks rule Mets drool” 12 year olds?
jerseyjohn
Nope. Inner city rivalry, nothing wrong with that. Fun fact I lived 1 exit away from Shea and got to drive by Citi Field daily as it was being built…
Gasu1
WAR is a poor stat, but it does take position into consideration fully,
Joggin’George
A bit of an overpay at the time but Nido is TERRIBLE. Who’d’ve thunk Narvaez could be worse?
ohyeadam
They took Jorge’s words to heart it seems
Tom the ray fan
Lol mets
MetsSchmets
Sick burn, haven’t heard that one before. Btw which Ray are you a fan of, Charles?
Tom the ray fan
Look I found a snowflake!
MetsSchmets
Guy from Florida using Faux news terms, I’m shocked
Tom the ray fan
Lol mets
MetsSchmets
….they say propaganda works best on idiots…
Tom the ray fan
Not from Florida and I’m a fan of Ray Charles, Raybans, Ray Knight, Rays baseball. That’s all I can think of for now but thanks for asking! BTW LOL METS
Joggin’George
Not a snowflake. Just not impressed with repetitive and childish posts.
Bill M
Then you’re not impressed with MLB Trade Rumors
Joggin’George
I’m honestly just here for the comments. Some folks here actually try to have intelligent discussions about baseball.
Fgh
Vientos with 7 homers? Did he hit 4 this morning?
raisinsss
Crushed four grand slams.
At the Altoona Dennys off the interstate.
Blackpink in the area
The Mets are my new least favorite team.
Melchez17
Jose Iglesias was overdue to return to the majors. Last in the majors in Colorado in 2022. Hit .292 . 2021 he was in Boston and with the Angels… .271 .
2023 and 2024 he has been in the minors hitting .317 and .273. slugging .537 and .442.
Not bad for a defense first SS
2020 he hit .373… 2019 he hit .288
OPS+ of 99 for the past 3 years in the majors.
mlbnyyfan
Sooooo who’s the first player to be traded? Sevy? Bader? JD? Otto? McNeil? Alonso?? Diaz?? So many options. IMO Mets should bring up Acuna he can’t be any worse than Baty.
Not the real Sports Pope
The one thing you can appreciate about Stearns compared to his predecessors is he isn’t afraid of shaking up the roster, esp the bullpen
Non Roster Invitee
All the Mets players should throw their their gloves in yo the stands.
Clarence Thomas and the Yankees are Your Daddies
Yankee Daddies to the Mutts rescue again…Yawn
JohnnyUtahsMOM
This is a weird comment.
Rsox
Good to see Iglesias get another shot at the big leagues.
woodhead1986
Alonso will be traded, at least 2 SP should be traded, and in quintana’s case, more likely DFA’ed. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Stewart get traded as well, bader should be, garrett could get them a lottery ticket. mcneil looks like a dfa candidate. Nimmo, Lindor, alvarez, vientos, Scott and few others should be retained, but blow the rest up.
Stearns has his work cut out.
oldgfan
Mike Yastrzemski & Casey Schmitt for Alonzo.
1800callFarhan
woodhead1986
Honestly SF makes sense but that package is pretty light
Johnny utah
My condolences to muts fans
Im sorry u have to deal with this never ending embarrassing circus year after yr after yr after yr…
JohnnyUtahsMOM
I went through the last 13,492 Mets posts and you cried about how sad it is to be a Met fan in every one. I think thats the saddest thing ever. How empty is your life?
JackStrawb
He’s not really wrong, however. For a big market team with commensurately big revenues and now an owner more than $10 bn richer than any other, the word “absurd” comes to mind, almost… unbidden.
Joggin’George
Yea. Mets were in the WS ten years ago, just missed the playoffs two years ago. This “the Mets are always bad” narrative is absurd.
sacball
Pretty sure the Giants and Royals were in the WS 10 years ago…
JohnnyUtahsMOM
2015 World Series Mets v Royals is what George is obviously referencing ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
PaulyMidwest
The cubs should take notes and get rid of Gomes. He has been an automatic out recently and Amaya isn’t much better.
mlbnyyfan
100K for Torrens that won’t even cover one day of salary for Soto next contract.
Canosucks
I like Nido as a backup catcher, he got his vision problems straightened out and doesn’t cost much. He ranks high in defensive metrics; hope he is not the odd man out now?
Secondly being a mile from Angel’s stadium and a fan as it does not conflict with the Mets I also like bringing up Jose Iglesias.
Joggin’George
They’ll keep Nido. Personally I think he’s terrible, but they’ll keep him.
Datashark
Mets need to hit RESET they are a mess – collectively they are all having a down year
JackStrawb
@Datashark Funny how often that happens with old teams.
NYMETSHEA
I am giddy with joy.
Narvaez has to be the worst catcher in baseball. Yet again catcher interference the other day. Only thing is that he will be in minors as I doubt Narvaez will forgo those millions left on table.
Next up is termination of Eric Chavez and Jeremy Barnes.
Motor City Beach Bum
Trade Baty and the Polar Bear to Detroit for Torkelson and some of their starting pitcher surplus. Baty and Tork might benefit from a change of scenery and Detroit has the cash to sign Alonso. It helps both teams.
Before someone says it, Alonso is not going to get you Skubal, Olson or Jobe. Dream on and be realistic.
IndianaBob
Baty and Polar Bear for Tork and Manning maybe? Not a fan of either team, but that seems fairish if Detroit plans to resign Polar Bear.
Motor City Beach Bum
Manning is definitely expendable. Tigers would probably have to add another arm from the minors.
JackStrawb
“Dream on and be realistic.”
—Sure about this?