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Jerry Blevins

Mets Re-Sign Jerry Blevins

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The Mets have reached agreement with free agent lefty Jerry Blevins on a deal that will bring him back to New York, MLB Network’s Matt Yallof reports on Twitter and Blevins himself confirms in a tweet. Per Yallof, the veteran southpaw will earn $4MM and can tack on another $1MM through incentives.

Blevins, 32, came to New York from the Nationals last winter via trade and posted five hitless frames to open the year. But successive arm fractures ended his season at that early juncture, breaking up a three-year run in which he averaged 61 frames annually.

The Nats shipped Blevins to their division rivals after he put up an ugly 4.87  ERA in 2014. But by some measures, that was actually the most productive season of his career. He put up career bests that year in strikeouts (10.4 K/9), FIP (2.77), xFIP (3.25), and SIERA (2.93).

Obviously, the Mets like the outlook for Blevins, both in terms of his ability and his health. He certainly has put up strong run prevention numbers in the past — including a 2.80 ERA over 125 1/3 innings from 2013-14 — and has dominated left-handed hitters to the tune of a career .206/.257/.322 slash.

While the arm troubles are concerning, it isn’t as if they were the typical elbow/shoulder problems that could prove persistent. Blevins was simply unlucky, first taking a line drive to the forearm and then re-fracturing it in an ill-timed fall.

NL Links: Greinke, Cuddyer, Mets, Padres, Taillon

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The Diamondbacks’ whirlwind courtship of Zack Greinke is chronicled by FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.  Owner Ken Kendrick and team president Derrick Hall had lightly discussed pursuing Greinke but only gave the front office the go-ahead to start talks on the very day that Greinke was allegedly going to choose between the Giants and Dodgers. D’Backs management was emboldened by a forthcoming TV contract that allowed them to make a big initial offer (to get the attention of agent Casey Close) and also afford the deferral payments that went into the record-setting contract.  All told, the entire process took 5.5 hours from Kendrick’s okay to Greinke’s final agreement.

Here’s more from around the senior circuit…

  • Michael Cuddyer’s decision to retire caught many in the game by surprise, though as the veteran outfielder explains himself in a piece for The Players’ Tribune, “after 15 years, the toll on my body has finally caught up to me.”  Cuddyer recaps his career in the piece and he gives credit to the many people who helped inspire and shape how he played the game over his impressive run in the sport.
  • The Mets would like to sign two relievers, Mike Puma of the New York Post tweets, and Jerry Blevins could be one of them.  The club met with Blevins’ agent during the Winter Meetings and were known to be interested in bringing the lefty back for another year in Queens.
  • With four catchers on the 40-man roster, the Padres have a clear area of surplus that is likely to be used for a future trade, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes.  The newly-acquired Christian Bethancourt joins Derek Norris, Austin Hedges and Josmil Pinto on the roster.
  • Though Jameson Taillon hasn’t known a professional pitch since 2013, the Pirates prospect tells Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he’s still been developing as a professional while rehabbing from injury.  “It really bugged me when I heard people say I had two lost years,” Taillon said. “Because those two lost years, I was working with the best pitching coaches, away from the drawing board, getting to refine what I was weak at. I got to work out more and get on a better eating schedule. I think that ’two lost years’ is kind of bogus, because I definitely got a lot better. I didn’t stall out by any means.”  Taillon was sidelined first by Tommy John surgery and then a hernia operation but he’s aiming to be ready for his big league debut by midseason.  An innings limit hasn’t yet been discussed, as GM Neal Huntington said the Bucs may need Taillon down the stretch but the club also doesn’t want to overly restrict his workload and set him back for 2017.

Bullpen Notes: Chapman, Gott, Albers, Blevins

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It’s been a huge day for reliever signings, as Joakim Soria, Ryan Madson, Mark Lowe and (probably) Darren O’Day all reaching agreements on new contracts.  If that wasn’t enough, the Dodgers and Reds are also discussing an Aroldis Chapman trade, so the biggest bullpen trade chip of them all could also soon be off the table.  Here’s some news on the relievers who have left the market, some who remain, and yet others who could be on the trading block…

  • The Nationals continue to have interest in trading for Chapman but are wary about the prospect cost, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson writes.  There’s also the difficulty involved in trading current closer Jonathan Papelbon, and Papelbon’s grievance against the Nats is just the latest in several obstacles that will make it hard for Washington to find a taker for the controversial righty.
  • The Angels are getting interest in right-hander Trevor Gott, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).  The Halos want a player of similar value in return.  Gott made his MLB debut in 2015 and posted a 3.02 ERA, 5.1 K/9 and 1.69 K/BB rate over 47 2/3 innings.  Owner of a 96.2mph fastball, Gott posted much higher strikeout totals over his three minor league seasons and is controlled through the 2021 season.
  • Righty Matt Albers has received interest from multiple teams, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reports (Twitter link).  Albers missed most of 2014 due to shoulder problems and signed a minor league deal with the White Sox last winter, only to miss quite a bit of time after fracturing his pinkie during a bench-clearing brawl with the Royals in April.  Still, Albers ended up posting a very impressive 1.21 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 3.11 K/BB rate over 37 1/3 innings with Chicago last year.
  • Yakult Swallows right-hander Tony Barnette didn’t reach a deal with any of the five teams who met his $500K posting fee, according to a story from the Sanspo news outlet (hat tip to NPBTracker’s Patrick Newman for his translating tweets).  Barnette is set to return to Yakult, though there’s a chance the Japanese team could allow him to pursue a deal with a Major League team anyway.
  • The Mets will meet with lefty Jerry Blevins’ agent during the Winter Meetings, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin reports.  Assistant GM John Ricco confirmed the club’s interest in re-signing Blevins and expects it will take a Major League contract to get the veteran southpaw back in the fold.  Blevins pitched only five innings for the Mets in 2015 as a result of two forearm fractures — one from a line drive, and another suffered while slipping off a curb.
  • In another piece from Rubin, he hears from Ricco that the Mets weren’t in on O’Day or Madson due to their high price tags.  “We didn’t see ourselves playing in that top end where O’Day was,” Ricco said. “But I think that next tier, we’re going to be keeping an eye on….We’re going to meet with a lot of the representatives for the relievers here over the next couple of days.”
  • Part of the reason the Athletics agreed to a deal with Madson was because they can’t afford to land any of the top free agent hitters and thus have to “spend money where they can,” according to Rosenthal on Twitter.  The A’s are also still looking at more starting pitching as well, as evidenced by earlier reports of their interest in Scott Kazmir.
  • Before signing Lowe, the Tigers made one more try for Soria but talks went nowhere, MLB.com’s Jason Beck tweets.  The Pirates, another of Soria’s former teams, didn’t have any interest in re-signing him since the club prefers to build low-cost bullpens, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets.  The Blue Jays looked into Soria in the name of “checking options,” a source tells Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith, but Toronto wasn’t seriously interested.

Mets Notes: Cespedes, Murphy, Johnson, Reed, d’Arnaud, Blevins

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While the scorching post-trade production of Yoenis Cespedes had many Mets fans hoping the team would be able to find a way to re-sign him. However, a team official tells ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin that while the Mets will embark on a modest pursuit of Cespedes once he hits the open market, it’s highly likely that the slugger will sign elsewhere this winter. Cespedes hit a strong .287/.337/.604 with 17 homers in 249 plate appearances for the Mets, but a shoulder injury slowed his production late in the season, as did a fastball to the left hand in a Sept. 30 at-bat against the Phillies. Slow finish aside, Cespedes probably still has a six-year deal awaiting him on the open market, and it’s tough to see the Mets outbidding the rest of the field based on their history in free agency.

A few more notes pertaining to the NL Champs…

  • Daniel Murphy professed how much he’s enjoyed being a member of the Mets to Newsday’s Marc Carig, but the team isn’t likely to match the four-year offers he’s expected to command on the open market, Carig writes. The Mets do feel that Murphy has fundamentally improved as a hitter, he continues, but with a possible long-term option in Dilson Herrera, Murphy is expected to depart. Sources tell Carig that the Mets could look to re-sign Kelly Johnson to serve as a bridge to Herrera, though, especially since Johnson could spell David Wright at third base on occasion.
  • Rubin tweets that it “sounds like” the Mets will retain Addison Reed via arbitration this winter and deploy him in a setup capacity next year. Reed is projected by MLBTR to earn $5.7MM in arbitration, though Rubin’s tweet seems to indicate that the Mets are comfortable with that range. He notes that the team still could use an additional late-inning arm.
  • There’s a “growing thought” within the organization that it would be beneficial for Travis d’Arnaud to learn a second position to expand his versatility, Carig tweets. I’d imagine that would entail corner outfield or first base, though d’Arnaud has virtually no experience at either position. There was some talk in 2014 and earlier this season about d’Arnaud getting some reps in left field, and it seems that conversation could again resurface.
  • Carig also tweets that of all the Mets’ free agents, Johnson and left-hander Jerry Blevins are the only two that are “expected” to return. Blevins tossed just four innings for the Mets this year before suffering a fractured arm on a come-back line drive to the mound. He was working his way through rehab when he slipped and fell off a curb, re-fracturing in the arm and resulting in surgery. GM Sandy Alderson picked up Blevins in exchange for outfielder Matt den Dekker last spring and saw the lefty retire the first 15 batters he faced before suffering the initial injury. With left-handed relief still an area of need and Blevin’s asking price likely on the low side, it makes sense that the Mets would want to bring him back.
  • MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo runs down the club’s offseason position by position, noting that the Mets will probably cut ties with twice-suspended Jenrry Mejia this winter and also speculating on Colby Rasmus and Denard Span as potential fits in center field. Either would give Juan Lagares a platoon partner, though I personally wonder if the club would at least consider the possibility of running with Span or even Dexter Fowler full-time, then trading Lagares or using him as a fourth outfielder while his yearly salary is still modest. That, of course, is just speculation on my behalf though.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Reed, Blevins, Collins, Conforto, Braves, Janssen

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The Phillies announced today that the team has hired Rick Kranitz as bullpen coach and John McLaren as catching coach. Those two veteran baseball men represent the first hirings for newly-named skipper Pete Mackanin. Per the announcement, the club has already reached agreement on deals with two incumbents — hitting coach Steve Henderson and pitching coach Bob McClure — and has also asked bench coach Larry Bowa and first base coach Juan Samuel to return.

Here are a few more notes from the NL East:

  • The Mets have more important matters at hand, but offseason decision aren’t far away. One such call involves reliever Addison Reed, who Marc Carig of Newsday says could be tendered a contract through arbitration. The club initially expected only to keep him for the present season after adding him over the summer, with his salary ($4.9MM this year) representing an obstacle, but Reed has performed quite well since coming to New York.
  • Another relatively recent Mets bullpen trade addition who could be retained is lefty Jerry Blevins, per Carig. Though he missed most of the season due to injury, the organization has “some interest” in a reunion, depending upon how he progresses in his rehab from his most recent forearm fracture.
  • Mets manager Terry Collins has told friends he’ll most likely be hoping for a two-year contract this winter, Jon Heyman of CBSSports reports (in a notes column filled with other bits of information). There’s little doubt at this point that he’ll be asked back, and might have enough pull to demand a longer deal, but Collins seemingly does not intend to remain in the demanding role for too much longer.
  • The Mets intend to use Michael Conforto as their everyday left fielder next year, says Heyman. That’s no surprise, given his productivity thus far, but it speaks to the difficulty of clearing the way for a reunion with Yoenis Cespedes. New York also has Curtis Granderson, Michael Cuddyer, and Juan Lagares under contract for next year (or beyond).
  • While the Braves are expecting somewhat less turnover this winter than last, the front office is nevertheless working hard to get ready for the offseason, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman writes. “We feel we’re going to be significantly better going into 2016 than we were going into 2015,” said president of baseball operations John Hart. “We have a lot of work to do as we go through the winter. We don’t know how it’s all going to play out. When we go into our meetings, it’s not like we’re facing no dollars, no options and no flexibility. Also with some of the deals we’ll be making, we won’t be trying to move away from bad contracts. That in itself will put us more in the open field running.”
  • Nationals reliever Casey Janssen says that he expects a turnaround in 2016, as James Wagner of the Washington Post reports. While Wagner says that it’s unlikely the club will pick up its end of a $7MM mutual option, Janssen says he believes “you can make a case either way” for how the team should proceed. He took his share of the blame for a rough year, but noted that he often faced heavy usage. Looking ahead, Janssen expressed optimism. “There’s no doubt in my mind I’m gonna have a great season next year,” he said. “You take out the three or four games that I didn’t pitch my best I had a solid year after that. Obviously you can’t take those away. Those are real. But, there’s no doubt in my mind that the passion is there and the ability is there. There’s going to be a ton of drive there for me this offseason to not let that happen again and get back to what I know and get back to be the pitcher that I know I can be.”

Jerry Blevins Likely Out For Season After Re-Injuring Arm

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Left-hander Jerry Blevins has re-injured his left arm and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, the Mets announced today. Via Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link), Blevins slipped while stepping off a curb and re-fractured his throwing arm. Blevins will likely undergo surgery next week. ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin tweets that the Mets were aware Blevins had suffered a fall at the time they acquired fellow left-hander Eric O’Flaherty from the Athletics, though they did not know the full scope of Blevins’ new injury.

Acquired from the Nationals in an offseason trade that sent outfielder Matt den Dekker to D.C., Blevins has scarcely pitched as a member of the Mets. He began the season by throwing five perfect innings across seven relief appearances but hit the disabled list in late April after a Dee Gordon line drive caught him on the left arm, resulting in a forearm fracture.

Blevins’ freak injuries have come at an inopportune time for both team and player, as the Mets could use an effective lefty relief option (hence the roll of the dice on O’Flaherty). For Blevins, he’ll not only miss the excitement of pitching in a division race, he’ll also enter free agency having thrown just five innings in his contract season. Overall, the southpaw has a strong track record, but he posted the highest ERA of his career in 2014 and certainly would’ve preferred to distance himself from that 4.87 mark with a strong 2015 season.

That unsightly mark notwithstanding, Blevins has a 3.37 ERA with 8.4 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 across 264 2/3 innings dating back to the 2010 season. He’s held opposing lefties to a .206/.257/.322 batting line in his career.

D’Arnaud Fractures Hand; Mets To Promote Plawecki

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The Mets suffered a pair of bad breaks as they extended their winning streak to eight games. Catcher Travis d’Arnaud and left-hander Jerry Blevins both suffered fractures in the 7th inning of the Mets’ 7-6 win over the Marlins: d’Arnaud’s right hand after being hit by a A.J. Ramos pitch and Blevins’ left forearm when struck by a liner off the bat of Dee Gordon. Mets GM Sandy Alderson announced the contract of catching prospect Kevin Plawecki will be purchased from Triple-A Las Vegas and right-hander Hansel Robles will be recalled from Vegas. A 40-man roster move is required to add Plawecki.

Plawecki is ranked 40th overall by FanGraphs’ Kiley McDaniel, 63rd by both Baseball America and MLB.com, and 80th by Baseball Prospectus. Manager Terry Collins told reporters after the game (as tweeted by ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin) Plawecki will become the Mets’ number one catcher in d’Arnaud’s absence. D’Arnaud told reporters, including Rubin, Plawecki is ready for his MLB debut. “He’s a great catcher, a great player, a really smart player. He can swing the bat really well. And he knows how to work with the pitching staff as well.”

Drafted with the 35th selection in the 2012 draft (a free agent compensation pick obtained when the Marlins signed Jose Reyes), Plawecki is viewed as an offensive-minded catcher. MLB.com’s scouting report on Plawecki, however, gives him credit for having good hands and enough agility to block balls well, but believes the 24-year-old will never be the kind of backstop who can shut down a running game because of his average arm. Plawecki was hitting .229/.250/.343 in 36 plate appearance for Vegas before his call-up, though he hit a much more impressive .309/.365/.460 in 419 PA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2014.

The loss of both d’Arnaud and Blevins figure to test the Mets’ depth. While early, d’Arnaud had the makings of a breakout season with his line of .317/.356/.537 at the time of his injury. Defensively, d’Arnaud also stepped up his game throwing out three of the seven runners attempting to steal after catching just five all of last year. Blevins, meanwhile, has been death on left-handed hitters this season retiring all 14 he has faced. Alderson said a timetable for how long d’Arnaud and Blevins will be out will not be known until both are examined by hand specialists Monday.

Mets Acquire Jerry Blevins

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The Mets announced that they’ve acquired left-hander Jerry Blevins from the Nationals in exchange for outfielder Matt den Dekker (Twitter link). Blevins becomes the second left-handed reliever added to the Mets’ bullpen today, as the team struck a deal to acquire Alex Torres from the Padres in exchange for Minor League righty Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named later.

Jerry Blevins

Blevins, 31, had a curious season in his lone year with Washington. Though his strikeout rate soared to a career-best 10.4 K/9, he also posted a 4.87 ERA that was the worst full-season mark of his career. The likely culprit in Blevin’s struggles was a dismal 60.5 percent strand rate that checked in about 13 percent below his career mark. Stats such as FIP (2.77), xFIP (3.25) and SIERA (2.93) all feel that Blevins was particularly unlucky and that his ERA should rebound in 2015.

Perhaps more important in this situation, however, are Blevins’ numbers against left-handed hitters. Torres has proven that he can retire both left- and right-handed hitters and has actually been better against righties, so Blevins could be deployed as more of a specialist, whereas Torres will pitch entire innings. Blevins limited left-handed hitters to a frail .160/.202/.217 batting line in 2014 and has held them to just a .212/.264/.330 batting line throughout his career.

Blevins is set to earn $2.4MM this season after avoiding arbitration for the final time this winter. He’s only controlled for the coming year, so he amounts to a bullpen rental.

Of course, the price paid for Blevins isn’t necessarily steep. The 27-year-old den Dekker has played sparingly for New York over the past few seasons, hitting .238/.325/.310 in 237 plate appearances. More of den Dekker’s value is on the defensive side of the game, as he’s capable of handling all three outfield spots. He boasts a nice Minor League track record as well, having slashed .284/.345/.467 in 903 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Despite that, though, den Dekker was a long shot to make the club. The out-of-options Kirk Nieuwenhuis figures to be the team’s fourth outfielder behind Juan Lagares, Curtis Granderson and Michael Cuddyer, and John Mayberry Jr. will also be in the mix for outfield playing time.

This acquisition does call into question whether or not left-hander Sean Gilmartin, a Rule 5 pick from the Twins, will make the team. Earlier today, reports indicated that Gilmartin was likely to break camp with the team even if the Mets added a left-handed reliever from outside the organization. While adding a pair of southpaws might seem to cloud that situation, manager Terry Collins has indicated that Gilmartin still has a good chance of making the team, per Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, which could then be bad news for veteran right-hander Buddy Carlyle (Twitter links).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Bryant, Garcia, Villanueva, Nats, Mets

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The Cubs’ impending decision about whether to have Kris Bryant start the season in the minors has players around baseball talking about service-time rules, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune writes in a story that collects responses to Bryant’s situation from players from several teams. “Hey, we have a chance to make a lot of money in this game, but the rules are the rules,” says Yankees reliever Andrew Miller. “If that works in the Cubs favor, and the Cubs are a better team for that, they’re entitled to (use the rule to their favor). We negotiated that. It’s the reality of what our collective bargaining agreement says.” Here’s more from the National League.

  • Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia will miss his start due to a shoulder issue, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports. Garcia likely will not be in the team’s Opening Day rotation. Garcia had impressed the team in camp and might well have made the Cardinals’ rotation, particularly since having him start rather than Marco Gonzales or Carlos Martinez would have been the best way for the Cards to protect their assets — they could have easily just optioned Gonzales to the minors, put Martinez in the bullpen and kept all three pitchers. Instead, it’s yet another injury for Garcia, who’s dealt with plenty of them in the past few seasons. There is, however, reason to hope it won’t be serious — GM John Mozeliak (via Langosch on Twitter) characterizes the injury as fatigue and the missed start as “more of a pause than anything.”
  • Pitcher Carlos Villanueva, who’s on a minor-league deal with the Cardinals, can opt out of that deal Monday, Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch notes (via Twitter). Villanueva has gotten fairly good results in camp and has a track record of providing solid performances in a swingman role, so the Cardinals could try to find space for him on their roster.
  • Intentionally or not, the Nationals, who have lefty relievers available, gave the lefty-starved Mets a look at Jerry Blevins Saturday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. (Blevins struck out Curtis Granderson but gave up a triple to Lucas Duda.) The Nationals have Blevins, along with Xavier Cedeno and Matt Thornton, and all are out of options, so they could end up trading one.

Mets Notes: Wheeler, Lefties, Puello

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Mets starter Zack Wheeler is experiencing elbow discomfort due to tendinitis, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Wheeler has dealt with similar discomfort throughout his career, and the pain increased during last season. At no point did it require an injection, but the club has used “anti-inflammatories and other treatments” in the past. For now, Wheeler will rest to see how it responds. Should it progress to a more serious level, the club could turn to Dillon Gee, Noah Syndergaard, or a number of other pitching prospects.

  • With left-handed reliever Josh Edgin headed to the disabled list, the Mets are keeping tabs on the lefty relief market, writes Adam Rubin of ESPN New York. Two early trade candidates are Cardinals southpaw Sam Freeman and Nationals lefty Xavier Cedeno. Both pitchers are out of options and unlikely to make their respective clubs. A scout also floated the idea of Nationals lefty Jerry Blevins. He’s owed $2.4MM, which may exceed what the club is looking to spend. Internal options include Scott Rice, Sean Gilmartin, Dario Alvarez, and Jack Leathersich.
  • Mets outfielder Cesar Puello appears to be in the same situation as Freeman and Cedeno, writes Rubin. Puello is out of options, and he’s either sixth or seventh on the outfield depth chart. If Puello doesn’t make the club, he’ll be exposed to waivers. Last year in Triple-A, the soon-to-be 24-year-old hit .252/.355/.393 with seven home runs and 13 stolen bases.
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