NL Notes: Lindor, Blackburn, Barnes, Payamps
After exiting early on Friday and sitting out on Saturday, Mets superstar Francisco Lindor was pulled in the second inning of today’s series finale against the Phillies. Back discomfort has been a problem for the NL MVP candidate all weekend, and as it turns out, significantly longer. Lindor told reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that he has been playing through back pain for the past two weeks. Ever since he further irritated the injury on Friday, it has become too difficult to ignore.
Lindor will go for an MRI tomorrow, after which the Mets will have a better sense of the severity of his condition. Needless to say, they’ll be hoping it’s nothing serious and the star shortstop can get back on the field as soon as possible. The Mets are in a dead heat with the Braves in the race to secure the third and final NL Wild Card berth.
In further injury news out of Queens, starting pitcher Paul Blackburn is dealing with a spinal fluid leak in his back (per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). President of baseball operations David Stearns suggests the injury isn’t quite as bad as it might sound, but nonetheless, the team does not know when Blackburn will be able to return. The right-hander has not pitched since August 23. Thankfully for the Mets, their pitching staff, and particularly their starting rotation, has been a strength as of late. Their starters rank third in MLB with a 2.32 ERA since Blackburn landed on the IL. Meanwhile, Blackburn had a 5.18 ERA in five starts after joining the Mets at the trade deadline.
More from around the National League:
- Dodgers manager Dave Roberts says he would be “shocked” if catcher Austin Barnes doesn’t wind up on the injured list tomorrow, according to Juan Toribio of MLB.com. The veteran backstop got hit by a foul ball on his left big toe and was forced to make an early exit from today’s game against the Braves. Barnes spent time on the IL with a fracture in the same toe in August, and while Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic points out that today’s contusion is in a “different spot,” it’s quite possible Barnes re-aggravated his old injury. Ardaya notes that Hunter Feduccia – one of four catchers on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster – is already on his way to join the big league club.
- Brewers reliever Joel Payamps felt discomfort in his forearm during his appearance today against the Diamondbacks, manager Pat Murphy told reporters (including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The right-hander recorded one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and did not return for the eighth. The Brewers have not yet provided any further details about Payamps, who has been one of the team’s most trusted and dependable relievers over the past two seasons. Across 130 games with Milwaukee, he has a 2.90 ERA and a 3.45 SIERA in 124 innings pitched. He has not looked quite as sharp in 2024 as he did the year before. Still, his 3.38 ERA and 3.73 SIERA are respectable numbers, while his six saves, 18 holds, and high average leverage index are proof that the Brewers continue to rely on him in plenty of important spots.
NL East Notes: Albies, Marte, Bohm
11:01am: The Mets told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) that Marte’s x-rays came back negative, though he’s out of the lineup due to soreness for today’s game. Meanwhile, the Phillies have activated Bohm from the IL ahead of schedule and will bat him fifth in today’s lineup.
9:15am: The Braves have been without second baseman Ozzie Albies for nearly two months now due to a fractured left wrist, and since then the club has had to rely on veterans like Whit Merrifield and Cavan Biggio who were added following his injury to handle the keystone. While Merrifield has performed admirably in Albies’s absence with a .269/.374/.370 slash line with Atlanta, the club is surely anxious to return the three-time All-Star to the lineup as the Braves fight to remain in a playoff spot with just two weeks to go in the regular season.
When manager Brian Snitker and Albies himself spoke to reporters on Friday about the second baseman’s status, the update was somewhat mixed. Snitker (as relayed by David O’Brien of The Athletic) raised some alarms for Braves fans by saying he wasn’t sure if Albies would play again this year before clarifying that because Albies is still feeling discomfort in his injured wrist only when he bats from the left side, the switch-hitter would be able to return if he was willing to bat from the right side exclusively down the stretch. Per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Albies is willing to drop switch-hitting for the time being in order to return to the lineup and hopes to be back sometime next week.
Albies, 27, has batted much better while hitting right-handed throughout his career, including this year where he’s posted a 151 wRC+ against left-handed pitching for the Braves compared to an 80 wRC+ against righties. It’s a similar but less extreme story over his career as a whole, as he’s posted a 146 wRC+ while batting right-handed and a 96 wRC+ while batting left-handed. It won’t be the first time Albies has faced right-handed pitching while as a right-handed batter in his career, although his experience in that regard has been limited to just 14 plate appearances throughout his MLB career. With that being said, that extremely small sample size has seen him find a great deal of success as he’s gone 3-for-11 with three walks and two homers in those handful of trips to the plate.
More from around the NL East…
- The Mets suffered a bit of an injury scare last night when outfielder Starling Marte was struck by a pitch on the forearm from right-hander Jeff Hoffman in last night’s loss to Philadelphia. Marte remained in the game to run the bases and play the outfield, but manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (as relayed by SNY) that the veteran was scheduled to undergo “precautionary” x-rays on his forearm to make sure that the 35-year-old hasn’t suffered a more serious injury. Marte has hit a decent .271/.320/.399 in 83 games with the Mets this year but has struggled a bit at the plate since returning from the IL last month, with a lackluster .241/.286/.328 slash line in 17 games since being activated. If Marte misses time, it seems likely that Jesse Winker will slide into a more regular role with the club down the stretch.
- The Phillies have been without third baseman Alec Bohm since late August due to a strained hand, but it seems that may change in the coming days as manager Rob Thomson recently told reporters (including The Athletic’s Matt Gelb) that Bohm has “shown progress” in his recovery. He’s currently on a rehab assignment at Triple-A but could be back with the big league club as soon as Monday. The return of Bohm to the starting lineup would provide a huge boost for Philadelphia, as with Edmundo Sosa also on the IL (and, coincidentally, joining Bohm on his Triple-A rehab assignment) the big league club has had to rely on a combination of Kody Clemens, Weston Wilson, and Buddy Kennedy at the hot corner in recent weeks. 2024 has been something of a breakout season for Bohm, who has slashed a strong .290/.343/.462 in 131 games this year.
Nori Aoki To Retire At NPB Season’s End
Former big league outfielder and current member of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yakult Swallows Nori Aoki is set to retire following the 2024 campaign, per an announcement from the Swallows yesterday (hat tip to The Yomiuri Shimbun). Aoki, 42, spent parts of six seasons in the majors in addition to a lengthy career in Japan.
Aoki’s career first began with the Swallows back in 2004 when he debuted at the age of 22. He made it into just ten games with Yakult that year, going 3-for-15 at the plate with a walk, a stolen base, and six strikeouts. That tiny sample size did nothing to suggest what Aoki would go on to do in his first full season with the club, however, as he slashed an excellent .344/.387/.417 in 144 games during the 2005 season, becoming just the second player in NPB history (after Ichiro Suzuki) to collect 200 hits in a single season.
He improved to even greater heights throughout his mid-20s, slashing 15-to-20 homer power to go along with fantastic contact and baserunning skills. As his plate discpline developed, he even began to walk more than he struck out, leading to a dominant stretch of seasons from 2007 to 2010 where he walked at a 10.6% clip against a minuscule 9.8% strikeout rate in addition to his aforementioned solid power and impressive base-stealing abilities, and even crossed the 200-hit barrier for a second time in 2010 to become the only NPB player in history to achieve the feat twice.
Given the excellence he had demonstrated throughout his time with the Swallows, it was hardly a surprise when he was quickly snapped up by the Brewers on a two-year deal after being posted for major league clubs prior to the 2012 season. In Milwaukee, Aoki was a slightly above average hitter with a solid .287/.355/.399 slash line. While he only hit a combined 18 home runs over his two seasons with the Brewers, he swiped 50 bags while hitting 57 doubles and 7 triples in that same period. That was a strong enough performance for Milwaukee brass to pick up Aoki’s club option for the 2014 season, but he did not last the offseason with the club and was swapped to the Royals in a deal that brought lefty Will Smith to the Brewers.
After departing the Brewers, Aoki wouldn’t stick around with an MLB club for more than a season at the time for the rest of his time in stateside ball. After acting as the regular right fielder in Kansas City for the club’s AL pennant-winning 2014 season, Aoki departed in free agency to sign with the Giants but was limited to just 93 games when he suffered a broken leg and a concussion in two separate hit-by-pitch incidents. Aoki then signed a one-year deal with the Mariners in 2016 but began to show some signs of decline, notably stealing only seven bases in sixteen attempts with the worst strikeout and walk numbers of his MLB career, though he did display his best power numbers since his rookie 2012 campaign with the Brewers.
Aoki’s final season in the big leagues came back in 2017 and saw him change uniforms several times. The veteran outfielder was claimed off waivers from the Mariners by the Astros during the 2016-17 offseason. Aoki struggled somewhat through 70 games with Houston, however, and ended up traded to the Blue Jays at the deadline that year alongside Teoscar Hernandez in a deal that brought Francisco Liriano to Houston. Aoki managed to catch fire down the stretch, however, and while his playing time was further split between the Blue Jays and Mets over the final two months of the season he slashed .281/.294/.594 for Toronto in August before slashing .284/.371/.373 in Queens that September.
Following the end of his MLB career, Aoki returned home to the Swallows and has played for the club in each of the past seven seasons. Now 42, the veteran is the league’s oldest active player and has collected more than 7,000 plate appearances with a .313/.392/.445 slash line in 1,713 NPB games. Between NPB and MLB play, Aoki has stepped up to the plate more than 10,000 times with 2,765 hits, 470 doubles, 51 triples, 179 homers and 279 stolen bases. We at MLBTR congratulate Aoki on a fine career and wish him all the best in his post-playing pursuits.
Mets Promote Luisangel Acuña
TODAY: The Mets officially announced Acuna’s call-up, and outfielder DJ Stewart was optioned to Triple-A to create space on the 28-man roster.
SEPT. 13: The Mets are planning to promote top prospect Luisangel Acuña, as confirmed by Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase (first reported by X user Jorge L. Seoud H.). Acuña is already on the 40-man, but the Mets will need to make a corresponding move to open a space for him on the active roster.
Acuña, 22, signed with the Rangers as an international free agent in 2018. He joined the Mets at last year’s trade deadline in the deal that sent Max Scherzer back to Texas. Entering the season, Keith Law of The Athletic ranked him as the No. 2 prospect in the Mets system. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN had him at No. 3, as did MLB Pipeline, while Baseball America ranked him at No. 4. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wasn’t quite as high on Acuña but still ranked him as the No. 6 prospect in the system.
Unfortunately, Acuña has struggled at Triple-A in 2024, putting up a .654 OPS and 69 wRC+ in 131 games. On the bright side, he has 40 stolen bases and the skills to play plus defense at second base and center field. Still, there is no denying that he has been recalled due to the team’s desperation – not his own merit – given the lack of infield options on the Mets’ major league roster. With Jeff McNeil out for the rest of the regular season – and possibly the playoffs, too – Jose Iglesias has moved into the everyday lineup and Eddy Alvarez is the only infielder left on the bench. However, Alvarez joined the Mets organization after September 1, which means he won’t be eligible for the postseason roster. New York will need a new infielder for the bench once October rolls around.
On top of that, Francisco Lindor exited today’s game against the Phillies with back tightness. He’s day-to-day and isn’t particularly concerned about the injury (per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com), but it’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup. He told reporters after the game (including DiComo) that all he can do is wake up tomorrow, see how he feels, and go from there. Even if Lindor is only out for a game or two, it makes sense that the Mets would like to have another infielder on the active roster.
Mets Outright Pablo Reyes
Pablo Reyes has cleared waivers and been seen outright to Triple-A Syracuse, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. The Mets designated Reyes for assignment earlier this week after acquiring Eddy Alvarez from the Red Sox.
This marks the fourth time Reyes has been outrighted in his career, so he has the choice to reject the assignment in favor of free agency. However, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that Reyes “remains in the organization” following his DFA, which seems to suggest the veteran infielder has accepted the assignment. That would make sense, considering the fact that Reyes will be eligible to play for the Mets in October if they make the postseason. Reyes was a member of the team before the September 1 deadline for postseason eligibility, and as Tim Healey of Newsday Sports points out, he never left the organization. As long as the Mets add him back to the 40-man, they can put him on any potential playoff rosters.
Alvarez, on the other hand, joined the team after the deadline, so he will not be eligible for postseason play. That could clear a path for Reyes to rejoin the club in October. Meanwhile, if Reyes were to elect free agency and latch on elsewhere, he would not be eligible to join his new team in the playoffs.
Reyes, 31, played just one game for New York this season before his DFA, coming in as a pinch-runner for J.D. Martinez on September 1. Prior to joining the Mets, he appeared in 233 games with the Pirates, Brewers, and Red Sox from 2018-24. He has a pitiful .248/.309/.349 career slash line with eight home runs and a 78 wRC+. With offensive numbers like that, his value comes from the fact that he can play capable defense all around the diamond. Given the Mets’ limited infield depth following Jeff McNeil‘s wrist injury, it’s not impossible to imagine Reyes making his way onto the team’s postseason roster should they hold onto an NL Wild Card berth. However, the news that the Mets are promoting top prospect Luisangel Acuña doesn’t exactly bode well for Reyes’s chances.
Dedniel Núñez Out For Season With Flexor Injury
Mets reliever Dedniel Núñez will miss the remainder of the 2024 season with a flexor injury, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The right-hander received a platelet-rich plasma injection today as he seeks to avoid surgery, but he will not have time to make it back to the field in 2024.
Until recently, the Mets had been optimistic they would have Núñez back before the end of the regular season. Earlier this month, DiComo reported that Núñez would be able to “ramp up quickly” once he got back on a mound, and the Mets weren’t even planning to send him for more tests. Just last Monday, Tim Britton of The Athletic wrote that Núñez had “felt better of late” and suggested the Mets were hopeful he could begin a throwing program shortly. Needless to say, that is no longer the case.
Núñez, 28, was enjoying a phenomenal debut season in Queens. From his MLB debut on April 9 to his final appearance on August 24, he threw 35 innings with a 2.31 ERA and 2.13 SIERA. He started as an up-and-down, low-leverage reliever but quickly became one of Mendoza’s most trusted arms. Unfortunately, the righty landed on the IL at the end of July with a pronator strain, and after making his way back for one appearance at the end of August, his forearm troubles came back. The team has not offered a timeline for his return this time, but hopefully, if he can stay off the surgical table, he’ll be ready to go next spring.
Thankfully for the Mets, their relief corps remains a strength, even in Núñez’s absence. Since the trade deadline, the Mets rank eighth in baseball with a 3.28 bullpen ERA. Edwin Díaz, Reed Garrett, Phil Maton, and Danny Young all have ERAs under 3.00 in that time. José Buttó hasn’t been quite as sharp as of late, but he has a 2.70 ERA on the year. Meanwhile, veteran Adam Ottavino has strong underlying numbers in his 14th big league campaign; his 3.18 SIERA is more than a full run better than his 4.29 ERA this season. The Mets have won eight of their last 10 and 19 of their last 30 games, but they’ll still need every advantage they can get as they try to hold off the Braves in the Wild Card race. An effective bullpen will be critical down the stretch and potentially into October.
Ed Kranepool Passes Away
Former All-Star and World Series champion Ed Kranepool passed away on Sunday, the Mets announced. Kranepool spent his entire 18-year MLB career with the franchise. He was 79 years old.
Kranepool debuted with the Mets at 17 years old in 1962, the club’s inaugural season. Over 18 seasons and 1,853 games, he helped them win their first two NL East titles, their first two NL pennants, and their first World Series title in 1969. He made the National League All-Star team in 1965.
The 6-foot-3 first baseman is perhaps best remembered for his home run in Game 3 of the 1969 World Series, but his significance to the organization goes well beyond one swing of the bat. Kranepool held the franchise record in hits from 1976 until 2011. As of today, he ranks second among all Mets players in career plate appearances, third in hits, fourth in doubles, and fifth in RBI. He also ranks among the top 10 in runs and walks. While thousands of players have suited up for the Mets over the past 63 seasons, no one has played more games for the franchise than Kranepool. Fittingly, he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1990.
In addition to his longevity and long list of accomplishments, Kranepool will be remembered for his pinch-hitting and first base defense. In 1974, his 13th major league season, he appeared in more games as a pinch-hitter than at any other position. He went 17-for-35 (.486) as a substitute batter that year, setting a record for the highest single-season batting average by a pinch-hitter (min. 30 AB). His record still stands today (per Baseball Almanac). Moreover, although he played long before the days of advanced defensive metrics, Kranepool put up an impressive .994 fielding percentage over more than 10,000 innings at first base in his career. Longtime teammate Jerry Koosman described Kranepool as “the best first baseman [he] ever played with” in a statement relayed by the Mets.
Kranepool will also be remembered for the leadership role he continued to play long after he last took the field. As Mets owners Steve and Alex Cohen wrote in a statement following his passing, “Ed continued to work tirelessly in the community on behalf of the organization after his playing career ended.”
We at MLB Trade Rumors send our sincerest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues, as well as the many fans mourning his passing.
Mets Designate Pablo Reyes, Select Eddy Alvarez
The Mets have selected the contract of recently acquired infielder Eddy Alvarez from Triple-A Syracuse and designated fellow infielder Pablo Reyes for assignment in order to open space on the active roster and 40-man roster, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. Alvarez was acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for cash earlier today.
Like Alvarez, Reyes was also acquired from the Red Sox in exchange for cash — although that swap took place back in May. The Mets selected him to the big league roster earlier this month when rosters expanded to 28 players. Reyes did not make a plate appearance with the Mets but did score a run after entering their Sept. 1 game as a pinch runner. He hit .183/.234/.217 in 64 plate appearances with Boston earlier this season.
The 31-year-old Reyes gave the Red Sox nearly league-average offense last season — .287/.339/.377 in 185 plate appearances — but has generally been a light-hitting utilityman in a big league career that’s now spanned four teams (Pirates, Brewers, Red Sox, Mets) across parts of six seasons. In 572 plate appearances at the MLB level, Reyes is a .248/.309/.349 hitter. He’s spent time at every defensive position other than catcher — pitcher included — but has primarily been a second baseman/shortstop/third baseman.
A career .277/.347/.450 hitter in parts of six Triple-A seasons, Reyes has a solid minor league track record but has never found extended success in the majors. He’s out of minor league options and thus can’t be sent down without clearing waivers first, and even then he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s been outrighted previously in his career. He’ll head to waivers now that he’s been DFA and will likely clear, as he did back in May when Boston also designated him for assignment.
Mets Acquire Eddy Alvarez
The Mets have acquired infielder Eddy Alvarez from the Red Sox in exchange for cash, per the teams’ transaction logs at MLB.com. Alvarez was on a minor league deal and eligible to be traded as such. He won’t be postseason-eligible with his new team due to the fact that he’s joining the organization after the Aug. 31 eligibility deadline, but he’ll give the Mets some infield depth in the wake of Jeff McNeil‘s season-ending wrist fracture.
Alvarez, 34, has appeared in parts of three big league seasons, spending time with the Marlins and Dodgers from 2020-22. He’s played a total of 50 games and recorded 142 plate appearance with a lackluster .183/.262/.262 batting line in that time. He’s been far better in a larger sample of Triple-A work, however. Alvarez has slashed .247/.348/.463 in 114 games with Worcester this season, smacking 18 homers and going 18-for-25 in stolen base attempts. His 24.1% strikeout rate is higher than average, but so is his 10.6% walk rate. Alvarez has appeared in eight Triple-A seasons and owns a career .277/.381/.467 slash in 1855 plate appearances there.
Defensively, Alvarez has seen time at every position other than catcher and first base. He’s primarily been a middle infielder, with 3777 career innings at shortstop and 1930 innings at second base (minors and big leagues combined).
The Mets don’t necessarily need to turn to Alvarez right off the bat. With McNeil out for the remainder of the regular season, they can turn to Jose Iglesias as the primary second baseman, with versatile Pablo Reyes occupying a utility role on the bench (and, of course, with MVP candidate Francisco Lindor at shortstop). Down in Triple-A, the Mets have top prospect Luisangel Acuna already on the 40-man roster in the event of further injury.
That said, the Mets are also without infield prospect Brett Baty for another several weeks due to a fractured finger. Between Baty, McNeil and Ronny Mauricio (out for the year with an ACL tear), the Mets’ infield depth is pretty banged up at the moment. In the event of an additional injury on the MLB side, Acuna could be called into action, or New York could turn to a non-roster veteran in Triple-A like Mike Brosseau, Yolmer Sanchez or perhaps the newly acquired Alvarez. Even if he never sees the majors with his new club, he’ll give the Mets some late-season depth and versatility to help navigate a handful of hits to their infield depth chart.
Jeff McNeil To Miss Rest Of Regular Season Due To Wrist Fracture
September 8: The Mets officially placed McNeil on the injured list this morning, and recalled outfielder DJ Stewart to replace McNeil on the big league roster. Stewart has slashed .175/.326/.299 in 190 trips to the plate with the club this year.
September 7: Mets second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil had to leave Friday’s game after being hit by a pitch on his right wrist, and tests revealed a wrist fracture, as manager Carlos Mendoza told the New York Post’s Joel Sherman and other reporters today. McNeil will be sidelined for the next 4-6 weeks, so he’ll miss the rest of the regular season and potentially the playoffs unless the Mets reach the postseason and make a deep run.
McNeil will be placed on the 15-day injured list at some point today or tomorrow, though the official news of the injury came close enough to the Mets’ 3:10pm CT start time today that Mendoza said the team will play a man short against the Reds. Jose Iglesias figures to take over second base for the remainder of the season, and Mendoza said infield prospect Luisangel Acuna is one of the candidates to be called up to take McNeil’s spot on the active roster.
New York is right in the thick of the wild card race, sitting in a tie with Atlanta for the third and final NL wild card slot but also within three games of San Diego for the first wild position. Passing any of the Braves, Padres, or Diamondbacks will be a lot trickier for the Mets without a lineup regular like McNeil, who has gotten the bulk of time at second base this season while also playing at both corner outfield slots.
McNeil will finish his 2024 season with a .238/.308/.384 slash line and 12 home runs over 472 plate appearances, translating to a 98 wRC+ that matches his seesaw of a year. Hitting just .214/.271/.308 over his first 300 PA, McNeil’s bat finally caught fire in July, and he proceeded to hit .294/.368/.566 in his next 163 PA before cooling off again in September. McNeil has remained one of baseball’s toughest hitters to strike out, though not much his contact has resulted in hard-hit balls, and a .256 BABIP also hasn’t helped his cause.
It is possible McNeil’s numbers could be related to the partial UCL tear in his left elbow that was revealed near the end of last season, though McNeil only received a PRP shot rather than surgery and was able to be part of the Mets’ Opening Day lineup. Or, it could be that a traditionally soft-contact hitter like McNeil is reliant on batted-ball luck to be especially productive at the plate, and it isn’t any surprise that his best seasons have involved BABIPs all north of the .330 mark. When McNeil isn’t finding holes in the field, he has been closer to a league-average bat, as evidenced the 99 wRC+ he has posted since the start of the 2023 season.
This downturn followed the signing of McNeil’s four-year, $50MM contract extension, so the Mets haven’t gotten what they were expecting following McNeil’s All-Star season in 2022. However, as a left-handed hitter who can play multiple positions, McNeil has still been a useful player to have as a regular part of the lineup, and his absence forces New York to fill a couple of holes. Iglesias has been excellent in part-time duty this season and now faces an extra challenge in an everyday role, while Tyrone Taylor and Jesse Winker figure to get more outfield time.