The Mets placed reliever Drew Smith on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 24, before tonight’s win over the Yankees. The right-hander is dealing with an elbow sprain. It’s not yet clear how long he’ll be out or whether there’s a chance he’ll need to undergo surgery. It’s the second IL stint of the season for Smith, who missed around six weeks between late April and the start of June with shoulder soreness.
Mets Rumors
Mets Place Starling Marte On Injured List, Select Ben Gamel
3:05pm: Mets manager Carlos Mendoza says that Marte will be shut down from baseball activities for two weeks and will be sidelines for at least four weeks. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to relay the news on X.
2:20pm: The Mets announced that outfielder Starling Marte has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 23, with a right knee bone bruise. Outfielder Ben Gamel has been selected to take his spot on the roster. The club already had a vacancy on their 40-man, which is now full.
It was reported over the weekend that Marte has been dealing with knee soreness for about three weeks. He has been playing through the ailment and generally performing well, but it seemed to become too much recently. He departed Saturday’s game due to that knee and was set for an MRI on Monday. It’s unclear how long the Mets expect him to be out, but they’ll give him at least another week to rest up.
The knee soreness didn’t seem to be slowing him down much, as he’s currently sporting a line of .278/.328/.416 for the year, production which translates to a 116 wRC+. That includes an excellent .304/.360/.457 showing in the month of June, when the issue cropped up.
It’s been a nice bounceback for Marte, who hit just .248/.301/.324 for a 76 wRC+ last year while dealing with lingering effects of groin surgery. He was back to health and in good form for the first half of this year but will now have to overcome this bone bruise before continuing with his bounceback season.
That’s a loss for the Mets, given how well Marte has been performing. They still have Brandon Nimmo and Harrison Bader in two outfield spots, but Marte’s absence could open up more playing time for DJ Stewart or Tyrone Taylor. Stewart can hit but isn’t a great fielder, while Taylor has been in the inverse position this year.
The 32-year-old Gamel will join the outfield mix alongside those two. He signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the offseason and has been performing very well in Triple-A this year. He has drawn a walk in 16.3% of his 190 plate appearances and has also hit seven home runs. A .400 batting average on balls in play has also helped, with Gamel sporting a line of .314/.423/.538 and 149 wRC+ on the year for Syracuse.
Carrying even a fraction of that to the big leagues would be a nice boost for the club, though it’s a far cry from his career numbers in the big leagues. He has hit .252/.332/.384 in his in his 685 major league games dating back to his 2016 debut, leading to a 96 wRC+. He has been playing all three outfield slots for Syracuse this year and has done so in his major league career, making him a solid fit for a bench role on the big league club while Marte is out.
Gamel has more than five years of major league service time and therefore can’t be optioned without his consent, so he’ll need to be removed from the 40-man if the Mets want to take him off the active roster later in the season.
Edwin Diaz Given 10-Game Suspension For Foreign Substance Check
June 25: Diaz will not appeal and will start serving his suspension tonight. Joel Sherman of The New York Post was among those to relay the news on X.
June 24: As expected, Diaz has received a 10-game suspension. Jon Heyman of The New York Post was among those to relay the news on X. The righty can appeal the decision but it’s not yet clear if he will.
June 23: Mets closer Edwin Diaz was ejected from tonight’s game due to an apparent use of an illegal substance on his hands. Diaz was taking the field in the bottom of the ninth to try and preserve a 5-2 New York lead, but after the standard check every pitcher receives before entering and exiting games, crew chief Vic Carapazza tossed Diaz from the game. Drew Smith and Jake Diekman combined for a scoreless inning to preserve the Mets’ victory over the Cubs.
As per league rules, Diaz now faces a mandatory 10-game suspension for use of foreign substances. He won’t be paid for those 10 games, and the Mets aren’t allowed to replace him on the roster, so the club will have to field a 25-man roster over the course of Diaz’s suspension. Diaz has the right to an appeal, so it is possible he might receive fewer than a 10-game ban, even if that scenario is rather unlikely given the seemingly apparent evidence.
Diaz is the third Mets pitcher in the last two seasons to be tossed for a game for use of an illegal substance, as both Smith and Max Scherzer received 10-game suspensions during the 2023 campaign. Similar suspensions were issued to the Astros’ Ronel Blanco earlier this season, and to Robert Suarez and Domingo German last year.
Tonight’s incident is the latest turn in an up-and-down comeback season for Diaz, who missed all of the 2023 season due to a torn patellar tendon. Diaz has a 4.70 ERA over 23 innings and 23 appearances this season, recording seven saves in 11 chances. While he looked pretty close to his past All-Star form early in the year, a few shaky outings led the Mets to move Diaz into lower-leverage situations, and he was then sidelined entirely due to a shoulder impingement.
The right-hander missed a little over three weeks due to the injury, and has looked sharp in his three outings since being activated off the 15-day IL. Diaz has tossed three scoreless innings and earned two saves and a win in those three games, while allowing two hits and no walks, and striking out three batters.
He’ll now get another unwelcome break from action while serving his suspension, leaving the Mets likely to return to the closer committee approach they used earlier this season when Diaz was both injured and out of the closer’s role. Diaz’s absence throws a wrench into the momentum of a New York that has won 13 of its last 17 teams, and gotten back into the hunt for a wild card berth.
Mets Notes: Marte, Reid-Foley, Senga
Starling Marte left Saturday’s 8-1 loss to the Cubs midway through the second inning due to soreness in his right knee, and he will undergo an MRI on Monday to explore what has been a nagging problem for the Mets outfielder. As MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo writes, Marte has been battling knee discomfort for about three weeks, with the Mets giving Marte a few extra off-days in that stretch to see if the extra rest could correct the problem.
“I thought we’ve been doing a pretty good job, especially with our communication with him and him being honest with me and all of us,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told DiComo and other reporters. “That’s why there’s been days where he’s been off when he felt like he could have played….But as of late, that knee continues to bother him. We’ve just got to wait and see what we’re dealing with.”
The Mets don’t play on either Monday or Thursday this week, as they get a pair of off-day sandwiched around their two-game interleague series with the Yankees. DiComo feels that this relatively light schedule might allow the Mets to put Marte on the 10-day injured list, which would both give him time to fully rest up while sitting out less games than he’d normally have to miss in a fuller schedule. That said, the Mets could also view these built-in off-days as a chance to let Marte rest without the benefit of an actual IL placement, so he might not have to miss 10 full days’ worth of action.
It seems likely that the club will first wait and see what the MRI says before making a decision, as if tests reveal an actual injury, Marte will obviously have to miss time regardless of any schedule. Despite the bad knee, Marte’s production hasn’t been slowed down, as he is hitting .304/.360/.457 with one home run over 50 plate appearances in the month of June. Marte’s hot bat has been one reason the Mets have surged back into the playoff picture, as New York has won 12 of its last 16 games.
Another Met headed for an MRI is Sean Reid-Foley, as the right-hander was placed on the 15-day IL yesterday (retroactive to June 20) due to an impingement in his throwing shoulder. A similar injury sidelined Reid-Foley at the start of the season and prevented him from making his 2024 debut until April 22. Talking to the New York Post’s Mike Puma and other reporters yesterday, Reid-Foley described the latest injury as “kind of the same stuff — it’s kind of in the front of the shoulder again. I don’t have X-ray vision or MRI vision, but I would say it’s probably an impingement.”
Even with these shoulder problems bookending his season, Reid-Foley has been one of the Mets’ best relievers this season, with a 1.66 ERA and a 27.8% strikeout rate over 21 2/3 innings. A 3.86 SIERA is perhaps a better reflection of Reid-Foley’s production when factoring in his high 15.6% walk rate and the good fortune of his .255 BABIP, especially since Reid-Foley is a grounder specialist (60.8% groundball rate). Still, that bottom-line 1.66 ERA has still been a big help within an overall inconsistent New York bullpen, so losing Reid-Foley for any length of time is a setback for the club.
In other Mets injury news, Kodai Senga took an important step ahead in his injury rehab, as he had a live batting practice session of 22 pitches today. Senga is tentatively slated for another live BP later this week, but he’ll first reconvene with the team medical staff in New York.
It has been a long road back for Senga, who hasn’t yet pitched this season since suffering a moderate capsule strain his right shoulder during Spring Training. He had a live BP session in late April and seemed to be progressing towards a return in late May (once his 60-day IL stint was over), but he then took time to work on some mechanical issues, and then suffered a triceps injury that required a shutdown period and a cortisone shot.
Senga had already been ruled out until after the All-Star break, and considering the amount of ramp-up work it will take for him to be fully ready to pitch, it would seem early-to-mid August might be the earliest we see the right-hander make his 2024 debut. If the Mets can stick around in the wild card race, getting Senga back would be quite a nice boost to the Amazins’ playoff chances, if he returns at anything close to his 2023 form.
Mets’ Grant Hartwig Undergoes Knee Surgery
Mets reliever Grant Hartwig underwent surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee, the team announced (X link via Tim Healey of Newsday). He’ll be out for six to eight weeks.
Hartwig, 26, is a depth arm who has pitched for the Mets in each of the last two seasons. He made 28 appearances as a rookie, working to a 4.84 ERA across 35 1/3 innings. That was enough for Hartwig to hang onto his spot on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason. He has pitched in four big league games this year, allowing six runs over 6 2/3 frames.
New York has kept Hartwig on optional assignment to Triple-A Syracuse for the majority of this season. The righty has turned in a 2.31 earned run average in 23 1/3 innings there. Hartwig has an average 22.3% strikeout rate against a lofty 11.7% walk percentage. He’ll continue to count against the 40-man roster while he’s on the minor league injured list.
Mets Claim Duke Ellis From White Sox
The Mets have claimed outfielder Duke Ellis off waivers from the White Sox and optioned him to Double-A Binghamton, with Tim Healey of Newsday among those to relay the news on X. The Sox designated him for assignment earlier this week. The Mets have had a 40-man vacancy since catcher Tomás Nido was designated for assignment last week and won’t need to make a corresponding move.
Ellis, 26, was just selected to the White Sox roster earlier this month, largely on account of his speed. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020, he has stolen 117 bases in the minor leagues while getting caught just 16 times. While with the big league club, the Sox put him into eight games but mostly as a pinch runner as he only stepped to the plate four times, though he stole four bags in four tries.
His work at the plate has been less impressive, as he’s hit .241/.328/.333 throughout his minor league career for a wRC+ of 88. His 10% walk rate is solid but he has also been punched out at a 25.7% rate. He has just 13 home runs in 961 plate appearances.
For the Mets, it’s an understandable claim. They had an open roster spot to use and Ellis clearly has game-changing baserunning abilities. Since he has a full slate of options, they can give him regular plate appearances in the minors but could perhaps consider bringing him up at some point as a pinch running specialist. Rosters expand in September and clubs often use the extra space for a player like this to improve the chances of scoring in a tight game, particularly in this age with the free runner in extra innings.
Brooks Raley Planning To Continue Pitching Post-Surgery
Left-hander Brooks Raley underwent Tommy John surgery last month and won’t be able to return to the mound until around his 37th birthday, but he’s not planning on hanging up his spikes. “I know it’s going to be a long recovery, as everyone has told me. Slow and steady, slow and steady,” he told Tim Healey of Newsday. “But I think at some point, you turn the page and keep moving. I think I have a place in the sport.”
It would have been fair to wonder if Raley was thinking about calling it quits, given his age and this long layoff. But on the other hand, he’s no stranger to the winding road to success. He debuted with the Cubs back in 2012 but struggled in his first exposure to major league hitters, posting a 7.04 earned run average in 38 1/3 innings during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. He spent 2014 stuck in the minors, going to the Twins and Angels on waivers.
He then went to Korea and joined the KBO’s Lotte Giants, reinvigorating his career over there. He worked as a starter for that club for five years, tossing 910 2/3 innings with a 4.13 ERA. He returned to North America in 2020 but had to settle for a minor league deal with the Reds. He made that club’s roster but was designated for assignment after just four innings.
A waiver claim by the Astros was an opportunity to revive his career yet again. He finished the shortened season with that club and then made 58 relief appearances for them in 2021 after the Astros picked up a $2MM club option. His 4.78 ERA that year wasn’t especially impressive but an unlucky strand rate of 59.7% played a part in that. His 31.7% strikeout rate was quite strong and his 7.8% walk rate slightly better than average.
The Rays overlooked the ERA and signed Raley to a two-year, $10MM deal and were able to get strong results from the left-hander. He had a 2.68 ERA for Tampa in 2022, earning six saves and 22 holds. He was traded to the Mets prior to 2023 and had another good year, posting an ERA of 2.80 while earning another three saves and 25 more holds.
The Mets picked up a $6.5MM option for this year instead of going for the $1.25MM buyout. They were hoping Raley could continue his strong stretch of play but he was only able to toss seven innings before hitting the injured list and eventually requiring surgery.
It’s been quite a journey for Raley but he now has another obstacle to overcome. Interestingly, he tells Healey that he wasn’t recommended surgery right away but decided to just get it over with and begin the rehab process. “There was no solution that didn’t make this year shot. This is just a longer-term plan and the best one for me.”
Pitchers can sometimes return from an injured UCL without surgery. Masahiro Tanaka was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in 2014 but kept pitching well for years without going under the knife. Seth Lugo was found to have a slight year in his UCL in 2017 but avoided the surgeon’s table. Last year, Mason Miller had a UCL sprain and spent a few months on the IL but is currently one of the best relievers in the league.
Given the long recovery time, players usually prefer to exhaust non-surgical options as long as possible, but this can sometimes just delay the inevitable. In the most recent example, Kyle Bradish of the Orioles was diagnosed with a UCL sprain in mid-February. He got a platelet-rich plasma injection and returned to the mound a few weeks later. He was able to rejoin the O’s and made eight good starts before landing back on the IL. He underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this week.
Raley seemingly didn’t want to follow that Bradish path. He turns 36 year old next week and will be 37 by next summer. If he stuck to the non-surgical options but eventually underwent the procedure later this year, perhaps he would not have been able to return at all in 2025, delaying his return until his age-38 season. By getting the operation out of the way last month, he at least has a chance to participate in the second half of the 2025 season.
He will spend the next few months rehabbing and will be a free agent at season’s end. Pitchers sometimes sign two-year deals while recovering from Tommy John surgery, with the signing club aware they may not get much return on their investment in the first season but hoping for a nice bounceback in the second. Raley’s age may dissuade teams from considering such a deal but it seems he’s committed to coming back one way or another, as he tells Healey he wants to pitch until he’s at least 40. Since coming back from the KBO in 2020, he has thrown 184 1/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 29% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate.
MLBTR Podcast: José Abreu’s Release, Betts and Yamamoto Hit The IL And Even More Injuries
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Astros releasing José Abreu (2:25)
- The Dodgers dealing with injuries to Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12:30)
- The Yankees are getting Gerrit Cole back but lost Anthony Rizzo (18:25)
- The Braves lose another outfielder with Michael Harris II hitting the injured list (26:55)
- The sad news of Willie Mays passing came out during recording (30:10)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Do the Giants have a chance of getting Pete Alonso? Or will the Mets make additions if they carry the power of Grimace into the deadline? (32:15)
- How should the Nationals address their outfield surplus? And where did all these good pitchers come from? (42:35)
- What are the chances the White Sox package Luis Robert Jr. and Garrett Crochet at the deadline? And if they trade Crochet and Erick Fedde, how will they fill the rotation after? (49:55)
Check out our past episodes!
- Injured Astros, The Chances Of Bad Teams Rebounding In 2025 And More – listen here
- Gambling Scandal, The State Of The Blue Jays And The Orioles’ Rotation Depth – listen here
- Ángel Hernández Retires, Ronald Acuña Jr. Out For The Season And Roki Sasaki’s Potential Posting – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Willie Mays Passes Away
Willie Mays passed away peacefully on Tuesday afternoon, the Giants announced. One of the greatest players of all-time and a legend in the sports world, Mays was 93.
“All of Major League Baseball is in mourning today as we are gathered at the very ballpark where a career and a legacy like no other began,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement alluding to Thursday’s game between the Giants and Cardinals at Birmingham’s Rickwood Field, the home of the Negro Leagues’ Birmingham Black Barons. “Willie Mays took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise.
From coast to coast in New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our National Pastime. … Thursday’s game at historic Rickwood Field was designed to be a celebration of Willie Mays and his peers. With sadness in our hearts, it will now also serve as a national remembrance of an American who will forever remain on the short list of the most impactful individuals our great game has ever known.”
A native of Westfield, Alabama, Mays started his professional career in 1948. He appeared in 13 games for a Black Barons team that was on its way to that year’s Negro World Series. Once Mays finished high school the following year, he received interest from American League and National League clubs. He signed with the Giants (still playing in New York at the time) on a $4,000 bonus. Mays spent the 1950 season in the minors before making his team debut the following year.
Mays immediately hit the ground running. He hit .274 with 20 home runs and dazzling center field defense to win the National League Rookie of the Year. The Giants would win the pennant on Bobby Thomson’s famous “Shot Heard ’Round The World” against the Dodgers. While they dropped that year’s Fall Classic to the Yankees, it wasn’t long before they returned to the World Series. Mays missed most of 1952 and the entire ’53 season after being drafted into the Army during the Korean War. Upon his return to the playing field in 1954, he established himself as one of the best players the game has ever seen.
At 23 years old in his first full major league season, Mays hit .345 with an MLB-best .667 slugging percentage en route to the NL MVP award. The Giants won 97 games to head back to the World Series. In Game 1, Mays made perhaps the most iconic defensive play in major league history. His over-the-shoulder basket catch a few feet in front of the center field wall at the Polo Grounds — a play that would live on in history as “The Catch” — likely saved two runs in what was then a tied game in the eighth inning. The Giants would go to win in 10 innings and sweep the Indians to win the fifth championship in franchise history.
The rosters around Mays dipped after that season. They wouldn’t return to the Fall Classic until 1962 despite their center fielder’s all-around dominance. Mays hit 51 home runs in 1955, the first of three times he would lead the majors in that regard. He paced the National League in stolen bases in four straight seasons from 1956-59 while leading the league in OPS three times during that decade. Mays was established as arguably the best player in the majors by the time the franchise moved to San Francisco in advance of the 1958 season.
The Say Hey Kid earned an All-Star nod during his first MVP season in 1954. His combination of otherworldly talent and incredible durability — he’d play in at least 140 games in each subsequent year until 1968 — sent him back to the Midsummer Classic in 19 straight seasons. Mays was selected as an All-Star 24 times and in 20 separate seasons (there were multiple All-Star teams for a few years in the early 60s). Only Henry Aaron reached the All-Star Game more frequently in his career.
MLB introduced the Gold Glove Award in 1957, four seasons into Mays’ career with the Giants. He’d earn the honors in the award’s first 12 seasons. That ties him with Roberto Clemente for the most among outfielders in league history despite the honors not coming into existence until Mays’ age-26 season.
Mays would have had a strong Hall of Fame case based on his glove alone. He’s also among the best hitters of all time. He hit .296 or better in each season from 1954-65. He never hit fewer than 29 homers in that stretch. Mays ranked in the top 10 in MVP voting in all but one year between 1954-66, finishing among the top five on nine occasions. He won the MVP as a 34-year-old in 1965 behind a .317/.398/.645 batting line with an MLB-leading 52 home runs. He was the runner-up to Maury Wills during the Giants’ pennant-winning ’62 campaign. Mays didn’t have a great offensive showing in the World Series, though, and San Francisco came up a run short in a seven-game series loss to the Yankees.
Between 1954-66, a stretch that represented one of the greatest peaks in MLB history, Mays compiled a .315/.390/.601 slash line with 518 homers as the game’s preeminent outfield defender. While his production in his late-30s wasn’t quite at that exceptional standard, Mays remained an elite hitter past his 40th birthday. He led the NL in walks and on-base percentage at age 40 in 1971, the final season in which he’d top 100 games.
Mays’ time with the Giants came to a close in May 1972 when San Francisco traded him to the Mets. He finished his career as a role player with New York, returning to the World Series in his final season. Mays retired after the ’73 campaign and moved into coaching with the Mets. He’d later work in an advisory role with the Giants, a franchise with which he’s so synonymous that Oracle Park’s official address is 24 Willie Mays Plaza.
That concluded a playing career that spanned parts of 23 seasons in the major leagues (including his abbreviated stint with the Black Barons). Mays played in more than 3000 MLB games, the ninth-most in history. He’s on virtually every leaderboard. Mays was 13th all-time with 3293 hits. He’s 12th in runs batted in (1909) and seventh in runs scored. Mays is one of nine players to reach the 600-homer mark and sits in sixth place on the all-time leaderboard with 660 longballs. At the time he retired, only Aaron and Babe Ruth had more.
Mays was an obvious call for Hall of Fame induction when he was first eligible in 1979. The exemplar of a five-tool player, he’s on the short list in debates about the greatest all-around players in baseball history. Among position players, Mays is only narrowly behind Barry Bonds and Ruth in Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement metric with an estimated 156 career WAR. No single statistic will ever definitively answer the question of the “best player of all-time.” Fans can debate where Mays precisely stacks up against Bonds, Ruth, Aaron, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, etc. It’s impossible to have that conversation without mentioning him.
Of course, Mays’ reverence in baseball circles goes well behind the stat sheet. He’s an icon, a fan favorite of many on both coasts during his heyday. Mays was one of the first Black players to emerge as a superstar once MLB teams began to integrate in the late 1940s and the early part of the 50s. His influence transcended baseball into broader American culture.
Mays and Yogi Berra were among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. MLBTR joins others throughout the sports world in sending condolences to his family, friends, loved ones and the countless fans whose lives he impacted through nearly eight decades as a face of baseball.
Mets Release Tomas Nido
The Mets announced Monday that catcher Tomas Nido has been released following last week’s DFA. He’s now a free agent. The Mets will remain on the hook for the balance of this year’s $2.1MM salary (minus the prorated league minimum from any new team that plugs him onto the major league roster).
Nido, 30, is in the second season of a two-year, $3.7MM deal he signed to avoid arbitration in the 2022-23 offseason. The Mets outrighted him off the 40-man roster midway through the 2023 season, and he chose to accept the assignment, as electing free agency would’ve required forfeiting the remainder of the guaranteed money on that contract. Nido was selected back to the majors earlier this season when Francisco Alvarez tore a ligament in his thumb. He passed five years of big league service time during this most recent stint with the Mets, meaning that even if the team had again passed him through outright waivers, Nido now would’ve had the option to reject the assignment while being able to retain the remaining guaranteed money on his deal.
In 32 games with the Mets this season, Nido took 90 plate appearances and batted .229/.261/.361 with three home runs and his typically strong defensive grades. Nido has long been regarded as a high-end defensive backstop but has never coupled his fine glovework with much in the way of offensive firepower. His career .214/.251/.313 batting line is generally in line with the small-sample production he posted in this year’s 90 trips to the plate.
Now that he’s a free agent, Nido will have the ability to sign with any team and would only cost his new club the aforementioned prorated major league minimum for any time spent in the bigs. Teams like the Marlins, White Sox, Cubs and Rays are light on catchers and have received dismal production from the position this season, while the Phillies are reportedly on the lookout for some veteran depth in the wake of J.T. Realmuto’s knee injury.
