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Jerad Eickhoff

Mets Designate Jerad Eickhoff For Assignment

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The Mets announced they’ve designated right-hander Jerad Eickhoff for assignment. The move creates roster space for righty Robert Stock, who has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to start tonight’s game against the Reds.

It’s the second time this season New York has designated Eickhoff. The veteran starter was selected to the big league roster last month, re-signed with the organization after being passed through waivers, and was again brought back to the majors two weeks ago. Between his pair of stints, Eickhoff has tossed 16 1/3 innings of 4.96 ERA/5.71 SIERA ball. He’s thrown strikes at a strong rate, but Eickhoff hasn’t missed many bats and he’s been tagged for six home runs in his limited work.

The Mets will have a week to trade Eickhoff or expose him to waivers. If he clears outright waivers — as he did in June — he can reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.

Mets Select Jerad Eickhoff

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The Mets are selecting the contract of right-hander Jerad Eickhoff, the team informed reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). Righty Nick Tropeano has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to create active roster space. A 40-man roster move has yet to be announced.

Eickhoff was previously selected to the big leagues last month. He was designated for assignment not long after and passed through outright waivers. After electing free agency, Eickhoff quickly re-signed with New York on a minor league deal and made it back to the majors.

The 31-year-old has made two starts for the Mets this season, tossing ten innings 0f five-run ball with six strikeouts and four walks. That was his first big league action since his 2015-19 run with the division-rival Phillies. He initially looked like a solid back-of-the-rotation starter, but his results with the Phils tailed off over the last few seasons.

Eickhoff has spent the majority of 2021 at Syracuse. He’s tossed 46 frames with the Mets’ top minor league affiliate, working to a 5.09 ERA with decent strikeout and walk percentages (22.4% and 6.8%, respectively) but an elevated home run rate (2.15 HR/9).

Jerad Eickhoff Re-Signs With Mets

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4:40 pm: Eickhoff is returning to the Mets on a new minor league arrangement, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).

9:27 am: Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff went unclaimed on waivers and has elected free agency in lieu of an outright assignment to Triple-A, per the transactions log at MiLB.com. He can now sign with any club (or re-sign a new minor league deal with the Mets).

Eickhoff, who turned 31 on Friday, returned to the big leagues with a pair of starts for an injury-depleted Mets club last month. The righty saw Major League time with the Phillies each season from 2015-19, pitching to a combined 4.15 ERA with a 21.3 percent strikeout rate and a 6.8 percent walk rate. His best work, however, came in the first two years of that span, when he posted a 3.44 ERA in 248 1/3 frames. Eickhoff’s final three seasons with the Phils were marred by injuries — most notably surgery to address carpal tunnel syndrome in his pitching hand.

Eickhoff split the 2020 season between the Padres and Rangers organizations after signing a minor league deal with the Padres. San Diego even selected his contract to the MLB roster early in the 2020 campaign, but he was sent out before appearing in a game. He later inked a minor league pact with his original organization, the Rangers, but didn’t make it back to the big leagues before season’s end.

The 2020 season marked the first since 2015 in which Eickhoff didn’t pitch in the Majors. He’ll now look for a new opportunity after yielding five runs on 11 hits and four walks with six punchouts in 10 innings for the Mets. Four of the hits surrendered by Eickhoff in his brief time with the Mets’ big league club were home runs, which is cause for some concern, as are the struggles he had in Triple-A Syracuse before being called to the Majors: 44 innings, 5.32 ERA, 22.1 percent strikeout rate, 7.0 percent walk rate, 11 home runs allowed.

Mets Designate Jerad Eickhoff For Assignment

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The Mets announced they’ve recalled left-hander Thomas Szapucki from Triple-A Syracuse. Righty Jerad Eickhoff was designated for assignment to create active roster space.

It’s the first big league call for Szapucki. New York’s fifth-round pick out of a Florida high school back in 2015, he’s been regarded as one of the more promising pitching prospects in the system for the past few years. Szapucki carved up low minors hitters over his first few pro seasons, drawing praise from scouts for low-mid 90s velocity and a pair of quality breaking balls. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in July 2017, knocking him out of action for almost two seasons.

Szapucki returned in 2019 and performed well across two levels of A-ball before earning a brief promotion to Double-A at the end of the season. Obviously, he didn’t log any game action last year due to the COVID-19 forced cancelation of the minor league season. Instead, he spent all of 2020 at the alternate training site, where reports suggested his velocity had fallen into the high 80s.

The injuries and diminished velocity took a small hit to Szapucki’s prospect status. He entered 2021 as Baseball America’s #16 farmhand in the organization, while Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs slotted him tenth in the system. Both outlets offered continued praise for his curveball, and Longenhagen noted that Szapucki’s velocity had bounced back into the low 90s during Spring Training 2021. He’s tossed 34 2/3 innings with Syracuse this season, working to a 4.41 ERA with a decent 23.8% strikeout rate but an elevated 13.8% walk percentage. Szapucki could be an option for a Mets rotation that lost Joey Lucchesi to Tommy John surgery last week.

When Lucchesi first went down, the Mets turned to Eickhoff. They were plenty familiar with the 30-year-old, who pitched for the division-rival Phillies from 2015-19. Eickhoff looked like a competent back-of-the-rotation starter early in his Philadelphia tenure, but he struggled over his last three seasons there and didn’t pitch in the majors last year.

Eickhoff’s return with the Mets lasted just two starts. Across ten innings, he allowed five runs on eleven hits (including an alarming four homers) with six strikeouts and four walks. The Mets will have a week to trade him or place him on waivers. Should Eickhoff clear outright waivers, he’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment and become a free agent.

Mets Select Jerad Eickhoff, Designate Mason Williams

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The Mets have selected the contract of right-hander Jerad Eickhoff.  Outfielder Mason Williams was designated for assignment to create space on the 26-man and 40-man rosters.

Eickhoff signed a minor league deal in December that will now pay him $1.5MM for reaching the big league roster.  The righty (who turns 31 in July) has spent his entire MLB career in the NL East, having pitched with the Phillies from 2015-19 and initially looking like he could be a solid member of the rotation.  Injuries overshadowed Eickhoff’s last three years in Philadelphia, however, and after being cut loose by the team, he inked minors contracts with the Padres and Rangers in 2020 but didn’t see any big league action.

After a doubleheader against the Nationals yesterday and another doubleheader set for Monday against the Braves, the Mets will give Eickhoff a quick opportunity to take the ball.  Eickhoff could receive a start in one of Monday’s two games, unless he is needed to relief duty in today’s game against Washington.  Since New York has yet another doubleheader coming up on Friday against the Phillies, Eickhoff might find himself in line for another outing over that weekend series against his old team.  Joey Lucchesi just went on the 10-day IL, leaving the Mets a little shorthanded for pitching depth during this busy week.

Williams hit .212/.297/.333 in 37 plate appearances after his contract was selected by New York in late May.  Once a top prospect coming up in the Yankees’ farm system, Williams has only played sparingly over parts of seven MLB seasons with the Yankees, Reds, Orioles, and this year’s action with the Mets.

Mets Notes: Lindor, Montgomery, Roster Cuts

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Mets owner Steve Cohen had dinner with Francisco Lindor on Saturday night, ostensibly to see if they could close the gap in their extension negotiations, per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The Mets appear willing to cross the $300MM threshold, but that’s not a guarantee to keep Lindor in Queens long-term. The two sides continue to talk, however, and there is growing optimism that an accord will be reached before Lindor’s deadline of opening day. While we wait, let’s see how the rest of the Mets roster is shaping up…

  • The Mets released left-hander Mike Montgomery today, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). Montgomery was thought to have a shot at making the Mets bullpen as a non-roster invitee, but he now heads back to free agency. The 31-year-old is best known for getting his first career save to close out the Cubs’ game seven World Series victory in 2016. He never quite rose to the level that many expected of him, but he nevertheless has put together a six-year career as a swingman for the Mariners, Cubs, and Royals. The Royals acquired him from the Cubs midway through the 2019 season with the plan to finally install him regularly into their starting rotation. He made 13 starts the rest of the way covering 64 innings with a 4.64 ERA/4.74 SIERA. He logged just 5 1/3 innings in 2020, however. Montgomery had pitched well in spring training, but the Mets would have been on the hook for $2.25MM if they rostered him, notes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (via Twitter). He had an opt-out clause in his contract for today.
  • The Mets also announced a series of roster cuts today. Jerry Blevins, Jerad Eickhoff,  Caleb Joseph, Jose Peraza, Mallex Smith, and Arodys Vizcaino were informed that they will not make the opening day roster, per Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter). Blevins, 37, will head to the Mets’ alternate site in Brooklyn. He’ll be joined there by fellow southpaw Stephen Tarpley, who was optioned to Triple-A. Tarpley has two options remaining.

Mets Sign Jerad Eickhoff

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The Mets have signed right-hander Jerad Eickhoff to a minor league contract, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Eickhoff will earn a $1.25MM salary if he makes the majors, and he could pull in another $700K in incentives.

This deal means Eickhoff could get another crack at the National League East, where he has pitched his entire major league career so far. As a member of the Phillies from 2015-19, Eickhoff combined for 440 innings of respectable 4.15 ERA/4.39 FIP ball with 8.1 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9. During his best full season, 2016, Eickhoff put together a 3.65 ERA/4.19 FIP and 7.62 K/9 against 1.62 BB/9 over a career-high 197 1/3 frames.

Unfortunately, injuries – including carpal tunnel syndrome – have hampered what once looked like a promising big league tenure. Eickhoff threw just 5 1/3 innings in 2018 and followed that with 58 1/3 frames in his most recent season, in which he struggled to a 5.71 ERA/6.51 FIP. The 30-year-old spent some time last year with the Padres and Rangers (who drafted him in 2011), but he didn’t return to the majors with either club.

Rangers Sign Jerad Eickhoff To Minors Deal

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The Rangers signed right-hander Jerad Eickhoff to a minor league contract and assigned him to their alternate training site, the team announced.  Eickhoff is now back in the Rangers organization over nine years after Texas initially selected him in the 15th round of the 2011 draft.

Texas dealt Eickhoff to the Phillies as part of the deadline day trade that brought Cole Hamels to Arlington in July 2015, and Eickhoff went on to pitch 440 innings of 4.15 ERA ball with the Phillies from 2015-19.  Injuries have plagued Eickhoff over the last three seasons, however, and Philadelphia cut him loose after he posted a 5.71 ERA over 58 1/3 frames in 2019.

After signing a minors contract with the Padres over the winter, Eickhoff was briefly selected to their MLB roster this season but didn’t pitch in any games before being optioned back down to San Diego’s alternate training site.  Eickhoff became a free agent earlier this week, and he’ll now potentially be in line to finally suit up in a Rangers uniform should the call come from the big league club.  While adding rotation depth is a normal move at any time, Texas could be in particular need for a new starter should either Lance Lynn or Mike Minor (or both) be moved before tomorrow’s trade deadline.

Padres Place Eric Hosmer On 10-Day Injured List; Select Jerad Eickhoff’s Contract

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The Padres placed first baseman Eric Hosmer on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to gastritis.  Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff will take Hosmer’s spot on the active roster, as the club announced today that Eickhoff’s contract had been selected.

Hosmer has only played in three games this season, though the good news is that team doctors have said that his stomach issues aren’t related to COVID-19.  Such stomach problems are hard to gauge in terms of a timeline, so the Padres clearly felt an IL placement was necessary to give Hosmer proper time to fully recover.

Eickhoff signed a minor league contract with San Diego in January, and he is now in line for his first MLB appearance in anything besides a Phillies uniform.  Eickhoff posted a 4.15 ERA over 440 innings with Philadelphia from 2015-19, though the bulk of that good production came during a 2016 season that saw him deliver a 3.65 ERA over 197 1/3 innings.

Multiple injuries curtailed his performance over the past three years, however, and the Phils outrighted Eickhoff from their 40-man roster last November.  He’ll now get a crack at reviving his career in a relief role for San Diego.

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