The Mets have agreed to a minor league deal with righty Grant Hartwig after non-tendering him last month, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. He’ll be in camp on as a non-roster invitee next spring.
Hartwig, 27 later this month, pitched for the Mets in both 2023 and 2024 but missed a notable portion of the ’24 campaign after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He was limited to 6 2/3 innings, during which time he yielded five runs. In a total of 42 major league frames, Hartwig has a 5.14 ERA with an 18% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 46.5% ground-ball rate.
Hartwig’s performance in the minors is a bit more encouraging. He’s pitched to a 4.34 ERA in Triple-A while fanning nearly one quarter of his opponents and keeping the ball on the ground at an above-average clip. He sits just shy of 95 mph with his sinker, running the pitch up to 97 mph at times. The 6’5″, 235-pound righty still has a pair of minor league options remaining, so if he’s added back to the Mets’ 40-man roster at any point, he can be shuttled freely between Queens and Syracuse without needing to be exposed to waivers.
Do they fly him back and forth from Syracuse to LGA, or does he have to find his way downtown to Penn Station or the Port Authority Bus Terminal? Gets more complicated when the Metsies are on the road, too.
Any player called up from the minor leagues must, according to the CBA, be flown. I’m curious as to why this question is coming up now, or for this particular player – it is no more complicated for Hartwig or the Mets than it is for any other player or team.
And I’m not sure it will be relevant anyway. Hartwig was non-tendered for a reason, and is on a minor league deal for a reason – he is not a major league pitcher. He was added and called up prematurely and out of desperation two seasons ago after the Mets melted down and the staff was and very brief call-up or two last year simply because he is a lefty and was already on the 40-man roster.
Hartwig is a right hander.
Players frequently drive when called up.
If you are sincerely curious, my question has to do with the last sentence about the Queens to Syracuse shuttle, taking it very literally even if I know it’s sportstalk shorthand. Wouldn’t just be about Hartwig, either. What you indicate as the CBA would make no sense for Twins or Astros AAA callups who basically would just need to navigate crosstown or suburban traffic if both MLB and MiLB clubs are at home. Round Rock to Arlington is just under 3 hrs on the I-45, and it would probably take more time to drive down to Austin and wait for a flight. Only an hour on I-75 from Toledo to Detroit, etc. Not ready to read the entire text of the CBA for exceptions at this moment.
Funniest thing is how Mets fans were claiming they Have all this money off the books. Yet Stearns remains as a small market GM. Looking for bargains over talent. Calling it now, they won’t make the playoffs this year. He’s already making same mistakes as last year. Cheaping out on pitching and bullpen. If they don’t get Soto they are royally screwed
LOL
You do realize that the Mets were one of the best teams in baseball during the second half this past season. It’s the little moves that Stearns did that resulted in the Mets making the playoffs. The Mets more than likely will make the playoffs again even if they don’t get Soto
Do we really believe Sterns et al knew, with near certainty, Manea and Severino would have such quality seasons? If true, and the analytic team had an inside track, why did he assemble such a horrific bullpen in the first half?
Mets season was also buoyed by the Vientos emergency and Iglesias renaissance. Who had that in their 2024 bingo card?
This site is incredible.
Before, during AND NOW AFTER successful reclamation projects this site continues to belittle the strategy.
“Yeah it won’t work”
“Ok it’s working but they won’t make playoffs”
“Ok it worked out but probably only due to these other reasons”
I’m not sure about you but Vientos if you watched him play you could definitely see he had this potential but I wouldn’t give Stearns the credit for him.
The mets got hot, but their gm knows it was a facade. They are a 500 team at best, with the current roster. Sadly, I believe Soto is met bound, just one of high priced moves, the mets will make. As a Phillies fan, Dumbrowski is going to go cheap, sadly.
“their gm knows it was a facade”
Ok serious question, do people really believe this stuff? Like is this a real sentiment or is this a troll from a JohnnyUtah type?
It’s just so outlandishly stupid I can’t take it at face value
Wait, so they WON’T make the playoffs because they’re making the same mistakes as last year… Where they made the playoffs? Do I have that right?
How dare the Mets sign players to fill out their minor league roster. They’re supposed to roster below the minimum and forfeit every minor league game cuz they don’t have enough players like a normal team.
@icantstabdyous You are 100% right
Does anyone doubt that LFGMets alt account is Icantstandyous lol
Terrible take. There are a lot of free agents left.
Grant Hartwig belongs in independent ball, not anywhere close to the major leagues
LFGMets and superfluous negativity, name a more iconic duo
@Don’tBeDumb I’m always right. Its not being negative. Had they signed Tanner Scott or AJ Minter I’d be praising the move
Yikes