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Luisangel Acuna

Mets Promote Luisangel Acuña

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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.

Big Hype Prospects: Manzardo, Acuna, Luciano, Quero, Saggese

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The Trade Deadline seems to be happening early this year. Between the time I begin writing and this is posted, there might be more deals involving big-name prospects. This week, we’ll focus on the recently completed swaps. We’ll check back on the leftovers next time.

Five Big Hype Prospects

Kyle Manzardo, 23, 1B, CLE (AAA)
313 PA, 11 HR, 1 SB, .238/.342/.442

Manzardo burst onto Top 100 prospect rankings last season with a flashy 22-homer performance in nearly 400 plate appearances split between High- and Double-A. He has all the traits armchair prospect analysts (like myself) crave – plus discipline, a high rate of contact, and above-average exit velocities. If there was a fly in the ointment, his combination of high BABIPs and frequent fly balls seemed untenable. This season, he’s dropped to a more plausible .269 BABIP while maintaining the fly ball rate. His 2023 numbers more closely match his identity. His power outcomes have backed up, but there’s little cause for long-term concern. Additionally, Progressive Field is friendly to left-handed power hitters. Manzardo is undersized for a first baseman, and his power draws 45 and 50 grades on the 20/80 scouting scale. The profile reads a lot like a four-inches-shorter, left-handed Rhys Hoskins.

Luisangel Acuna, 21, 2B/SS, NYM (AA)
402 PA, 7 HR, 42 SB, .315/.377/.452

Repeating Double-A after a rough first exposure last season, Acuna has looked comfortable at the level. His BABIP-fueled batting line is 21 percent above league average (121 wRC+) despite middling power numbers. Like his brother, Luisangel has terrorized opponents on the basepaths. Scouts rate him as merely an above-average runner. There is a degree of swing-and-miss (12.4% SwStr%) to Acuna’s game that calls his future role into question. He’s expected to grow into average or better power if he can learn to lift the ball more consistently. Whether or not he can do so without developing a strikeout problem could depend on the sort of adjustment required. Lift-related mechanical changes tend to exacerbate whiff issues. In some cases, the issue is the location of contact – an adjustment that can yield positive results without negative repercussions. Acuna’s swing is violent and loud. Change could prove challenging. Despite strong walk rates, Acuna is an aggressive swinger, particularly at breaking balls below the zone.

Necessary offensive adjustments aside, there’s also question about Acuna’s future defensive role. He’s a physically capable shortstop who yet lacks polish. Lately, we’ve grown accustomed to seeing shortstop prospects with precocious defensive ability. Acuna could be asked to move over to second or third to better accommodate his ascent alongside Francisco Lindor.

Marco Luciano, 21, SS, SFG (MLB)
(AA) 242 PA, 11 HR, 6 SB, .228/.339/.450

The only member of today’s column who wasn’t traded, the Giants rushed Luciano to the Majors to cover a short-term opening at shortstop. Despite tepid overall numbers at Double-A, Luciano caught a heater beginning in late June. He batted .315/.397/.500 over his final 63 plate appearances at the level. His success carried over to a 27-plate appearance stint in Triple-A where he batted .292/.370/.625 with Major League caliber exit velocities. He’s 3-for-11 with five strikeouts thus far in the Majors. The once uber-prospect has developed into a slug-over-contact future third baseman. His strikeout rate might check in north of 30 percent. Only 11 qualified hitters have strikeout rates above 30 percent. The good news is nine of 11 have above-average batting lines. The two who don’t – Teoscar Hernandez and Byron Buxton – are celebrated hitters. Luciano will look to join this cohort of hitters.

It’s unlikely Luciano sticks with the contending Giants in the short term.

Edgar Quero, 20, C, CWS (AA)
321 PA, 3 HR, 1 SB, .246/.386/.332

A switch-hitter, Quero emerged as a bat-first catching prospect last season when he hit .312/.435/.530 with 17 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 515 Low-A plate appearances. The Angels made the curious decision to skip him past High-A – perhaps seeking to pair him with a better defensive instructor. His discipline remained in evidence this season. The power… not so much. Another plausible explanation of Quero’s aggressive assignment is to see if he merited moving to a different position to accommodate his bat. Instead, the Angels moved him from the organization entirely in the Lucas Giolito trade. Look for Chicago to slow the roll on Quero’s development. His defensive skills are reported to remain relatively raw.

Thomas Saggese, 21, 3B, STL (AA)
418 PA, 15 HR, 8 SB, .313/.379/.512

Saggese doesn’t have the physical traits evaluators crave, but he makes up for it with a hard-nosed playstyle. Part of the Jordan Montgomery trade, it feels like he was always destined to join the Cardinals. His tools draw a collection of 40 and 50 grades, but his feel for quality contact allows the total package to play up. Multiple reports reference his success against sliders. Something to watch is how he performs against upper-level pitchers with big fastballs and command. The Cardinals might seek to add corner outfield to Saggese’s bag of tricks. He fits best at third base, is considered too short for first base, and just passes at second base. The Cards love their role players to possess a deep well of utility.

Three More

Tekoah Roby, STL (21): The prospect headliner of the Montgomery trade, Roby has a four-pitch repertoire of above-average offerings. His best weapon is a double-plus curve ball. He’s currently sidelined with a shoulder injury. There’s relief risk for health reasons only – the stuff and command are sufficient to project a mid-rotation role.

Marco Vargas, NYM (18): Stolen from the Marlins in the David Robertson trade, Vargas is one of the flashier talents in the complex. He’s batting .283/.457/.442 with nearly twice as many walks as strikeouts and a strong rate of contact. Power development will decide whether he’s viewed as a future utility fielder or core performer.

Adam Kloffenstein, STL (22): Part of the return for Jordan Hicks, Kloffenstein is a big right-hander with a limited repertoire. He tunnels a sinker and slider in a way reminiscent of Brady Singer and Brad Keller. He has a solid feel for command and projects to eat innings in an uninspiring way. He’s pitched to a 3.24 ERA in 89 Double-A frames.

Did I miss a detail or nuance? DM me on Twitter @BaseballATeam to suggest corrections.

Rangers Acquire Max Scherzer From Mets

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The Rangers and Mets have agreed to a trade that will see the star right-hander Max Scherzer head to Texas, with prospect Luisangel Acuña heading the other way. The Mets are paying down all but $22.5MM of the remaining money owed to Scherzer, who will waive his no-trade clause. He will also trigger his player option for 2024, forgoing his opt-out opportunity.

The Mets signed Scherzer to a three-year, $130MM deal going into the 2022 season, as part of a high-spending strategy aimed at contention. The first year generally went well, as the Mets won 101 games with Scherzer contributing 23 starts of 2.29 ERA ball. This year hasn’t been nearly as successful, however, as the Mets have slumped to 49-54 and 6.5 games out of a playoff spot. It seems they have accepted the fact that they have to do some selling, having already flipped David Robertson to the Marlins.

That’s also come with diminished results from Scherzer, who has posted an ERA of 4.01 this year, working around a 10-game sticky stuff suspension earlier in the season. His strikeouts have dipped this season, with his 27.3% rate representing his lowest since 2011.

With the Mets struggling, it’s led to speculation about how they would react. Impending free agents like Robertson, Tommy Pham and others seemed like natural trade candidates, but Scherzer’s situation was more complicated. As mentioned, he had a full no-trade clause and would need to agree to any deal. It was reported in June that he was willing to waive that clause under certain circumstances, though without concrete information about what it would take for him to do so.

Further complicating matters was Scherzer’s ability to opt out of the final year of his deal, leaving $43.33MM on the table. Some sources describe this as a player option, though the situation is the same either way, with Scherzer getting to decide whether to become a free agent or not. He spoke about his situation earlier this week, saying that he’s “not going to be a free agent” and “can see a path to contend next year” with the Mets. Though he also said he would speak with the front office about the club’s direction.

He’s still owed just under $15MM for the remainder of this season, on top of the $43.33MM for next year, a total just north of $58MM. Whatever return the Rangers were willing to send to the Mets might have taken a different shape if they were to view Scherzer as a rental or a pickup for a year and a half with a massive salary. They reportedly wanted Scherzer to lock in that 2024 season, which he has now apparently done.

Since the Mets are paying down all but $22.5MM, that means they’re eating more than $35MM in this deal. The Mets have shown a tendency to eat money in trades in order to maximize returns, such as sending Eduardo Escobar to the Angels and James McCann to the Orioles, and have done so here.

The Rangers have been clearly looking for starting pitching recently, having been connected to Lance Lynn, Jack Flaherty, Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Verlander and Scherzer. They have had a couple of rotation setbacks this year, most notably the loss of Jacob deGrom. He was signed to a five-year, $185MM guarantee in the offseason but required Tommy John surgery in June, putting him out for the remainder of this year and some of 2024 as well. They also lost Jake Odorizzi to a season-ending shoulder surgery.

The club has operated for most of the season with a rotation of Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, Martín Pérez and Andrew Heaney, with Dane Dunning stepping in for deGrom. The results from that group have been varied, with Eovaldi’s 2.69 ERA the lowest and Pérez the highest at 4.91. Dunning is at 3.28 but with a 15.5% strikeout rate that’s well below league average. Since his .269 batting average on balls in play and 77.5% strand rate are on the lucky side, his 4.26 FIP and 4.88 SIERA suggest he’s skirted around some runs. He’s the only member of the rotation with options and could perhaps wind up in the minors as depth, though he’s also worked out of the bullpen before. Additionally, Eovaldi is dealing with some elbow soreness, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. He’s not going on the IL yet but his scheduled start is being pushed back. Although Scherzer’s not having his best season, he would still be an upgrade for that group. By sticking around for 2024, he will also help them cover for Pérez becoming a free agent, with deGrom potentially returning later in the year.

The Rangers are currently 60-44 and hold a two-game lead over the Astros in the American League West, with the third-place Angels aggressively pursuing upgrades as well. The Rangers haven’t made the postseason since 2016, which was also the last time they finished above .500. They’ve shown a willingness to be very aggressive in recent years as they look to get out of that spiral, giving out huge deals to players like Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, as well as the aforementioned starting pitchers. They’ve already bolstered their bullpen by acquiring Aroldis Chapman and now have made a massive move for their rotation.

It was reported this week that the club would be open to surpassing the $233MM base threshold of the luxury tax for Verlander, though it remains to be seen if they will do the same for Scherzer. Roster Resource currently lists their CBT figure at $224MM, or $9MM below the line. Assuming the $22.5MM they are paying Scherzer is evenly distributed between now and the end of next year, they’ll be adding just under $6MM to that. That will leave them shy of the line for now but further moves could tip the scales.

In order to obtain Scherzer’s services, the club has parted with Acuña. The 21-year-old shortstop is the younger brother of Atlanta’s superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. Signed out of Venezuela in 2018, he has climbed through the minor league ranks to reach Double-A. In 84 games at that level this year, he’s hitting .315/.377/.453 for a wRC+ of 121 while stealing 42 bases. Baseball America currently lists him at the #87 prospect in the league while FanGraphs has him at #56. BA suspects he’ll have to move to second base eventually but that he could be a solid regular there.

As for the Mets, this could perhaps give some hint as to how far they are willing to go in trading from this year’s roster in order to acquire help for future seasons. They’ve already traded Robertson and could shop other impending free agents like Pham and Carlos Carrasco. Mark Canha and Brooks Raley could also make sense, though they are pure rentals since the club has options for 2024. Omar Narváez and Adam Ottavino have player options for 2024. José Quintana’s contract runs through 2024 and he has received some trade interest.

The bigger fish, though, is Verlander. He just signed a two-year deal in the offseason that pays him $43.33MM per year, matching Scherzer’s salary, with a conditional $35MM option for 2025 as well. Like Scherzer, he also has a full no-trade clause and said just a few days ago that the club hadn’t yet approached him about waiving it. But it was later reported that the club would only approach the players about their clauses after finding workable trade packages, which seems to have been the case in this Scherzer deal.

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Michael Schwab of Juice Box Journal first reported that the Rangers had a deal in place for Scherzer, contingent on him waiving his no-trade clause. Andy Martino of Steve Gelbs of SNY relayed that Scherzer would waive his clause, but that the financial components of the deal weren’t complete. Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported on Acuña’s inclusion in the deal, as well as the fact that the Rangers wanted him to forego his opt-out at season’s end and that the deal was done. Martino relayed the financials while Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that Scherzer will trigger in his 2024 option, with Heyman adding that he’ll receive some additional amenities for doing so.

Rangers Select Six Players

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The Rangers have selected the contracts of six players who’d otherwise have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Infielders Luisangel Acuña and Jonathan Ornelas, outfielder Dustin Harris and pitchers Cole Winn, Owen White and Zak Kent have all gotten added to the 40-man roster, which is now at capacity.

Acuña, the younger brother of Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., is a solid prospect in his own right. A right-handed hitter, Luisangel Acuña plays the middle infield. Baseball America credits him with plus defense at shortstop and considers him the #6 prospect in the Texas organization. Despite not turning 21 years old until March, he’s already played his way to Double-A. Acuña split the season between High-A Hickory and Double-A Frisco, combining for a .277/.369/.426 line through 409 plate appearances. He struggled in Double-A after an excellent showing in High-A and looks likely to start next year in Frisco.

Texas drafted Ornelas in the third round out of an Arizona high school in 2018. A righty-swinging infielder who’s played each of shortstop, second base and third base, he spent the whole season in Frisco. Ornelas had a solid .299/.360/.425 mark through 580 plate appearances, collecting 14 home runs and stolen bases apiece. He’s not among Texas’ top 30 prospects at BA but has shown decent contact skills and an ability to play the infield.

Harris was an 11th-round pick of the A’s in the 2019 draft out of a Florida junior college. Oakland dealt him to Texas in the Mike Minor trade in 2020. A left-handed hitter, he’s played mostly first base and left field in the minors. Harris is a bat-first prospect who’s coming off a .257/.346/.471, 17-homer showing in 85 games with Frisco. BA slots him 10th in the organization, praising his contact and power combination.

Winn was the 15th overall pick in the 2018 draft out of a California high school. The right-hander was regarded as a possible big league rotation piece heading into this year after a strong Double-A performance. He scuffled during his first extended crack with Triple-A Round Rock, allowing a 6.51 ERA with a massive 15.2% walk rate over 28 starts. He’ll try to right the ship next season and get back into the MLB rotation picture, but there was never much doubt he’d secure a 40-man roster spot this winter.

White, a 2nd-round pick in the 2018 draft out of a North Carolina high school, has surpassed Winn on the prospect radar. The 23-year-old righty didn’t throw a professional pitch until 2021 because of Tommy John surgery and the cancelation of the 2020 minor league season, but he’s performed well to make up for lost time. He put up a 3.59 ERA in 80 1/3 frames between Hickory and Frisco, striking out 31.7% of opponents. He placed fifth in the system on BA’s midseason update and could factor into the MLB rotation at some point next year.

Kent was a ninth-rounder in 2019 out of VMI. He started all 24 of his appearances in the upper minors last season, working to a 3.94 ERA through 109 2/3 innings. He punched out a decent 23.8% of batters faced against a 9.3% walk rate. He’s 25th in the system at Baseball America and could be a back-of-the-rotation option in the near future.

Jeff Wilson was first to report the moves.

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