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Everson Pereira Among Players Eligible For Fourth Option Year

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Yankees outfielder Everson Pereira and infielder Jorbit Vivas and Mets right-hander Max Kranick are eligible for a fourth option year, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. They join Red Sox right-hander Cooper Criswell in that regard; there’ll likely be additional such reports throughout the offseason.

After a player is added to the 40-man roster, they can typically be assigned to the minors in three additional seasons. If a player who is on the 40-man spends at least 20 days in the minors during a season, that subtracts one of those years. In certain circumstances, teams are allowed to option a player for a fourth season.

A player is eligible for a fourth option if they exhaust their three option years before they’ve played five professional seasons. MLB defines a professional season as one in which a player spent at least 90 days on an MLB or minor league active roster. Many players will spend a few years with a minor league affiliate before they’re added to a 40-man roster. As those count as professional seasons but are not option years, most players reach five seasons prior to running out of options.

Pereira and Vivas were each initially added to their clubs’ 40-man rosters during the 2021-22 offseason. They’ve both been optioned in each of the last three years. Neither Pereira nor Vivas appeared in a full “professional season” before 2021, however. Both players were at complexes or short-season affiliates between 2017-19, so neither got to 90 days on a minor league roster in any of those years. The minor league schedule was canceled in 2020 and did not count as a professional season. Vivas has logged four professional seasons (2021-24), while Pereira didn’t log a full minor league campaign until ’22.

Kranick first made it onto a 40-man roster after 2020. He’d already accrued two professional seasons at that point. He picked up a third in ’21 but spent almost all of the 2022-23 campaigns on the injured list. Kranick battled forearm issues and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery. He returned to health this year, his fourth professional season.

The extra option means these players can be sent back to the minors without landing on waivers. Vivas and Kranick could be on the 40-man roster bubble anyways. The extra option is most relevant with regards to Pereira, a former top prospect who underwent elbow surgery last June. If the Yankees had to decide between carrying him on the MLB roster or putting him on waivers, there’s a good chance they’d have opted for the latter route coming out of Spring Training. They’ll instead be able to send him back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to evaluate him for one more year.

Kodai Senga To Start NLDS Game One For Mets

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TODAY: The Mets made Senga’s return official when announcing their NLDS roster this morning.  Senga was activated from the 60-day IL and Megill was also added to the 26-man roster that will face the Phillies.  Right-handers Huascar Brazoban and Max Kranick were removed from the Wild Card Series roster to make room for Senga and Megill, and Blackburn was moved to the 60-day IL in the corresponding 40-man move for Senga.

OCTOBER 4: The Mets are facing off against the Phillies in the National League Division Series, with the first game set for Saturday afternoon. Manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters today that right-hander Kodai Senga will start that first game for the Mets. Mike Puma of The New York Post was among those to relay the news on X.

The Mets have received close to nothing from Senga this year. He suffered a capsule strain in his throwing shoulder in Spring Training, which kept him on the injured list for months. He was reinstated off the injured list and made his season debut on July 26, but was removed from that game after 5 1/3 innings due to a calf strain and went right back on the IL. He tried to return late in the regular season but was slowed by some triceps soreness.

That lack of production from Senga was a blow to the Mets. He made his major league debut in 2023 and tossed 166 1/3 innings with a 2.98 earned run average. His 11.1% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 29.1% of batters faced and got grounders at a 44.7% clip. Despite that, the Mets managed to squeak into the postseason and then defeat the Brewers in the Wild Card series while Senga remained on the IL.

Yesterday, Will Sammon of Athletic reported that the Mets were considering Senga for their NLDS roster. Now it seems that the righty will not only get a roster spot but will take the ball to get the series started.

The question will be what the Mets can expect from Senga after so much time off. Per Sammon’s report, he recently threw a 25-pitch bullpen session but will probably be limited to a short outing, so perhaps this will be Senga acting more as an opener than a true starter in the classically understood sense. “We’ll see,” Mendoza said today when asked about how long Senga can go, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com on X. “We’re going to let it play out.”

The Mets have had to get creative with their pitching staff lately. Two of their games against Atlanta in the final week of the regular season were delayed by Hurricane Helene. While 28 of the 30 clubs in the league had the day off on Monday, those two clubs had to play a double-header as each still needed a victory to get into the playoffs. The Mets won the first game in an 8-7 thriller, using Tylor Megill as the starter and then four relievers, including closer Edwin Díaz throwing 40 pitchers as he got the final five outs.

With their playoff spot secured, they used Joey Lucchesi and two relievers to get through the second game of the twin bill, but then they had to start their series in Milwaukee the very next day. Luis Severino started the first game, Sean Manaea the second and Jose Quintana the third. To get through last night’s game, Díaz threw another 39 pitches while again getting five outs and starter David Peterson also tossed an inning of relief.

None of the club’s front three of Severino, Manaea or Quintana would be available on regular rest for Saturday’s first game against Philadelphia. Megill would be an option to take some bulk innings, but he was left off the Wild Card roster since he wasn’t going to be available for those contests. If both Senga and Megill are to be added, the Mets would have to open two spots by leaving off a couple of guys that were present of the Wild Card round. Peterson could perhaps be another option for bulk innings, as he tossed seven innings as recently as September 29.

The full roster decisions don’t have to be publicly announced until Saturday morning. Senga is on the 60-day IL and will need to be added back onto the 40-man roster, but the Mets could easily open a spot by transferring Paul Blackburn or Dedniel Núñez onto the 60-day IL. The Phillies have announced that Zack Wheeler will start game one, followed by Cristopher Sánchez in game two.

Mets Select Max Kranick, Designate Eddy Alvarez For Assignment

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The Mets have selected the contract of right-hander Max Kranick and he is on the club’s roster for the Wild Card series that begins today. Infielder Eddy Alvarez has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Kranick, 27, was a waiver claim out of the Pirates organization in January. He’d wrapped up a lengthy rehab process from Tommy John surgery with the Pirates late in the ’23 season and was viewed as an optionable bit of rotation depth for the Mets heading into the season. Kranick sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain early in spring training, however, which shut him down for the bulk of camp and ensured that he’d open the season on the 15-day injured list.

The Mets wound up designating Kranick for assignment in early May, not long after he’d been reinstated from that hamstring injury and optioned to the minors. He passed through waivers unclaimed and remained with the organization after being outrighted to Triple-A Syracuse. Kranick spent the entire season in Triple-A, pitching to a 3.57 ERA in 63 innings across 41 appearances. Few would’ve pegged him as a candidate to make his team debut with the Mets during the postseason, but that opportunity could now present itself — particularly if the Mets race out to a substantial early lead or deficit. Kranick presumably is on the roster to provide bulk relief in either scenario.

Alvarez, 34, was acquired in a rare September trade and quickly selected to the big league roster. New York sent cash back to the Red Sox in that swap. Alvarez wasn’t on a major league deal, thus leaving him eligible to be traded. However, due to the fact that his acquisition came after the postseason eligibility deadline, he was not a candidate to make New York’s playoff roster.

The well-traveled Alvarez went hitless in 11 plate appearances with the Mets during the regular season. He was a depth pickup while the Mets battled some infield injuries, but their club is largely back up to strength for the postseason. In parts of four big league campaigns, Alvarez is a .170/.257/.244 hitter in 154 plate appearances. He’ll now be placed on outright waivers or released. If and when Alvarez clears waivers, he’ll be able to become a minor league free agent.

Mets Outright Max Kranick

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Right-hander Max Kranick has cleared waivers and been outrighted off the Mets’ 40-man roster.  Kranick was designated for assignment earlier this week, and he’ll now report to Triple-A Syracuse.

New York claimed Kranick off waivers from the Pirates in January, and he started his Mets tenure on the 15-day injured list due to a hamstring strain.  He was officially activated on April 23 and then optioned to Triple-A, and Kranick has a 2.57 ERA in two starts and seven innings already in Syracuse.  Kranick still has a minor league option remaining so the Mets can freely move him back and forth between the majors and minors, though he’ll first have to be placed back on the 40-man roster before his next call back to the Show.

An 11th-round pick for the Pirates in the 2016 draft, Kranick made his Major League debut in 2021 and had a 6.28 ERA over 38 2/3 innings.  He only threw five big league innings in 2022 before his career was put on hold by Tommy John surgery in June of that year, and he made it back to toss 20 2/3 minor league frames in Pittsburgh’s farm system near the end of last season.

The long layoff resulted in Kranick receiving a fourth minor league option year, as the league often grants the extra option year to players who have missed an extended amount of time due to injury.  The Mets can therefore send Kranick back and forth between the majors and minors, though they’ll first have to carve out a 40-man roster space before bringing him back to the active roster.  Kranick has a 3.63 ERA over 84 1/3 career Triple-A innings, and he’ll continue to build his arm strength back up and serve as a rotation depth option should injuries arise in New York’s rotation.

Mets Designate Max Kranick, Claim Yohan Ramirez

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The Mets announced Monday that they’ve claimed right-hander Yohan Ramirez off waivers from the Orioles, who recently designated him for assignment. In a corresponding move, the Mets designated right-hander Max Kranick for assignment. The move to claim Ramirez comes less than a month after the Mets themselves designated Ramirez for assignment and traded him to Baltimore in exchange for cash. Ramirez is out of minor league options, so he’ll head right to the big league bullpen.

The revolving-door act with Ramirez isn’t entirely new for the 2024 Mets. He’s the second reliever to be designated for assignment and traded for cash, only to eventually return via waiver claim, joining Michael Tonkin in that regard. The Mets followed a similar course with Tonkin, trading him to Minnesota and quickly reclaiming him. That pattern could continue throughout the season. The Mets have very few bullpen pieces with minor league options remaining and will need to regularly cycle through different names in the last couple spots due to that lack of flexibility.

Ramirez, who turns 29 today, has pitched in eight games between the Mets and O’s this season. He’s logged 11 1/3 innings in that time and been rocked for 11 runs, though that’s obviously a tiny sample. The hard-throwing righty entered the season with a career 3.99 ERA in 124 big league frames between the Mariners, Guardians, Pirates and White Sox.

Ramirez has fanned a roughly average 23.1% of his career opponents in the big leagues, but his 12.4% walk rate is bloated well beyond league-average levels.  He’ll give the Mets a fresh arm after using five relievers yesterday (the second straight day for Reed Garrett and Sean Reid-Foley). However, given the Mets’ handling of the final couple bullpen spots so far, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone if it’s a brief stay on the roster for Ramirez.

The Mets claimed Kranick, 26, off waivers from the Pirates back in January. He opened the season on the injured list due to a hamstring strain and was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse in late April upon being reinstated. Through his first seven innings in Triple-A this year, Kranick has allowed only two earned runs but has done so while issuing more walks (four) than strikeouts recorded (two). He’s also served up eight hits, including a pair of homers.

Coincidentally, both Kranick and Ramirez were with the Pirates last season — and at one point Ramirez was designated for assignment in order to make way for Kranick’s return to the roster after he’d recovered from 2022 Tommy John surgery. This time around, it’s Kranick giving way for Ramirez’s return to the pair’s current organization.

In 43 2/3 big league innings, Kranick has a 5.56 ERA. He’s fanned a below-average 17.9% of his opponents while issuing walks at a 10.9% clip that’s more than two percentage points north of the league average. A former 11th-round pick, Kranick has a solid track record in Triple-A, where he’s pitched in parts of four seasons and notched a 3.63 ERA through 24 appearances (23 of them starts). He’s fanned just 17.8% of opponents there as well but done so with much better command, evidenced by a 7.9% walk rate.

Kranick is in the last of his three minor league option seasons. He hasn’t had much big league success, but his optionability and Triple-A track record could earn him a look from a club in need of some rotation depth. In the next five days, Kranick will either be traded or placed on outright waivers or release waivers (both of which are a 48-hour process). He’s never been outrighted in the past, so if he clears waivers, the Mets will be able to assign him outright to Syracuse and retain his rights without needing to commit a 40-man roster spot to Kranick.

Max Kranick To Start Season On IL Due To Hamstring Strain

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The Mets informed reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that right-hander Max Kranick has a Grade 2 left hamstring strain. The righty will be shut down for seven to 10 days and will need time to build back up after that, which will lead to him starting the season on the injured list.

Up until a week ago, the Mets were set to open the season with righty Kodai Senga as their ace. With veterans like Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander having been traded at last year’s deadline, Senga vaulted himself to the front of the rotation with a 2.98 earned run average in his first taste of the majors last season. Unfortunately, it was reported last week that Senga has a posterior capsule strain in his throwing shoulder and will start the season on the IL.

Senga’s absence left the club with a rotation mix of José Quintana, Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Adrian Houser, with one spot available. The options for that fifth spot would have included Kranick alongside Joey Lucchesi, Tylor Megill and José Butto. Another depth option, David Peterson, will also start the season on the IL due to hip surgery. The news today of Kranick’s strain means that the Mets will start the season without three of their potential rotation options.

Kranick would have been a long shot to win a job ahead of those other hurlers. Claimed off waivers from the Pirates in January, he’s hardly pitched in the last two years due to undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of 2022. He made his MLB debut in 2021 and posted an unimpressive ERA of 6.28 in his nine starts that year, but he averaged 94.2 miles per hour on his fastball, had a 13.1% swinging strike rate and did a good job avoiding barrels and hard contact.

If there’s one silver lining about today’s news, it’s that the Mets will get a chance to look at Kranick in the minors once he’s ready for a rehab assignment. He’s now out of options and was perhaps looking at being squeezed off the roster on Opening Day if he wasn’t able to secure a spot at the back of the rotation or as a long reliever. But he’ll now focus on his health and then the Mets will have some time to decide on his future after some minor league outings. It’s also possible that his chances at a roster spot might increase as the season rolls along if other injuries crop up.

Mets Claim Max Kranick From Pirates

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The Mets have claimed right-hander Max Kranick off waivers from the Pirates, reports Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. The righty was designated for assignment by the Bucs a week ago when they needed a roster spot to sign Martín Pérez. The Mets have a full roster and will need to make a corresponding move for Kranick, and will need to open another when they make their signing of Sean Manaea official.

Kranick, 26, will now join just the second organization of his career. He was drafted by the Pirates and has been a part of that organization until this transaction. He made his major league debut with nine starts in 2021, posting a 6.28 earned run average in 38 2/3 innings. He made two relief appearances for the club in 2022 but required Tommy John surgery in June of that year, wiping out the rest of the season and most of 2023. He was healthy enough to return to the mound late in 2023, making a few minor league starts in August and September.

There’s obviously not much major league track record to go on and the surgery has prevented him from pitching meaningful innings in the minors of late. But he has thrown 344 1/3 innings on the farm overall with a 3.55 ERA. He has only struck out 19.5% of minor league hitters but has only given out walks at a modest 6.2% clip.

He is now out of options, which suggest the Mets are either planning to keep him on their active roster or will attempt to run him through waivers in the future. The Mets already have a rotation composed of Manaea, Luis Severino, Kodai Senga, José Quintana and Adrian Houser, with Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi on hand as optionable depth. David Peterson will be in the mix once he recovers from his hip surgery. Given that rotation picture, perhaps the Mets will keep Kranick in the bullpen and see if he can find some extra strikeouts with his stuff playing up in shorter stints.

The Mets are taking something of a step back this year and have limited themselves to fairly modest moves. Manaea got a two-year deal but with an opt-out after the first season. Severino got a one-year deal, as did Harrison Bader, Joey Wendle, Jorge López, Austin Adams and Michael Tonkin. The club has also claimed Penn Murfee, Zack Short, Tyler Heineman and Cooper Hummel and now Kranick off waivers.

Taken together, those moves have filled out the pitching staff and bench as the club will look to go into 2024 with more depth. Perhaps that will help them avoid the pitfalls they fell into last year when a batch of injuries knocked them out contention, or perhaps it will simply allow someone in that batch to break out and take a step forward this year. If the club falls out of contention again and winds up engaging in another deadline selloff, they can give some extra innings or plate appearances to someone showing signs of development.

Pirates Designate Max Kranick For Assignment

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The Pirates have designated right-hander Max Kranick for assignment. The move opens a 40-man roster spot for Martín Pérez, whose reported one-year deal has been finalized.

Kranick, 26, made 11 MLB appearances (nine starts) between 2021-22. The 6’3″ hurler worked to a 5.56 ERA with a middling 17.9% strikeout percentage and a 10.9% walk rate in 43 2/3 innings. Kranick underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2022, an unfortunately timed procedure that essentially cost him a year and a half.

The Bucs reinstated the Scranton, PA native from the injured list on September 1. They optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis. He spent the remainder of the year there, allowing five runs over 16 1/3 frames. Kranick struck out 12 and walked six in that limited time.

Pittsburgh will trade Kranick or put him on waivers within the next week. While he has never been a high-strikeout pitcher, he owns a 3.55 ERA over parts of seven seasons in the minors. Kranick has been a plus strike-thrower on the farm, walking 6.2% of opponents in his minor league career. He’ll be out of options in 2024, however, so a team would have to carry him on the MLB roster or again designate him for assignment if they acquire him from Pittsburgh.

Pirates Designate Calvin Mitchell, Yohan Ramirez For Assignment

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The Pirates announced some roster moves today, including the previously-reported selection of Miguel Andujar. They also reinstated righty Carmen Mlodzinski from the 15-day injured list to take the second extra spot on today’s expanded roster. Additionally, right-hander Max Kranick was reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. To open spots on the 40-man for Andujar and Kranick, right-hander Yohan Ramirez and outfielder Calvin Mitchell were designated for assignment.

Mitchell, 24, was selected to the Pirates’ roster last year after a strong performance in Triple-A. He hit just .226/.286/.349 in his first 69 major league games and got optioned back down to the minors, but finished 2022 with a Triple-A batting line of .339/.391/.547. He’s only played two major league games this year, spending the majority of his season at Triple-A, where he’s had an unfortunate step back. He is hitting .264/.338/.426 for a wRC+ of 90 while striking out in 29.3% of his plate appearances, more than double the 14.6% rate he had in Triple-A last year.

Ramirez, 28, was acquired from the Guardians in a cash deal last summer. He had a tidy 1.25 earned run average through June 6 of this year but allowed 11 earned runs in 12 2/3 innings since then. In 22 1/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year, he has a 4.43 ERA. Control has generally been an issue for him, walking 12.5% of hitters in his major league career. He kept that to 9% in the majors this year but it’s been 12.4% in Triple-A.

The Bucs will place both players on waivers in the coming days. Mitchell is a former second-round pick who had a strong campaign last year. He still has another option year remaining after this one and less than a year of service time. Ramirez has been able to pair strikeouts with ground balls for much of his career but has struggled with the free passes. He can be optioned for the rest of this year but will be out of options next year. He can be retained for four seasons beyond this one but will have less roster maneuverability going forward.

Rangers Trade Mark Mathias To Pirates

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March 11: The Rangers announced they’re getting right-hander Ricky DeVito from the Pirates as the player to be named later. DeVito, 24, was acquired from Atlanta in the Richard Rodriguez deal, and worked to a 5.40 ERA across 70 innings at High-A last season (six starts, 29 relief appearances).

March 8: The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve traded infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias to the Pirates in exchange for a player to be named later. Texas designated Mathias for assignment over the weekend in order to open a 40-man roster spot for newly signed reliever Will Smith. The Pirates announced that righty Max Kranick, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Mathias, 28, comes to the Pirates with a minor league option and five years of team control remaining. He’s seen action in part of two big league seasons — 2020 with the Brewers and 2022 with Milwaukee and Texas. He’s logged just 127 plate appearances in that time but carries a solid .256/.307/.462 batting line (114 wRC+) with six homers, six doubles, a 7.1% walk rate and a more troubling 29.1% strikeout rate.

Mathias lost the entire 2021 season to a torn labrum that required shoulder surgery. It was the second shoulder surgery for Mathias, who also had a procedure performed back in his college days. He returned to post a huge .318/.421/.518 batting line in 50 Triple-A games with the Brewers in 2022. Milwaukee also carried him on the big league roster for six games, but Mathias was traded to Texas prior to the deadline in the deal that sent righty Matt Bush to the Brewers.

The versatile Mathias could crack the Pirates’ Opening Day roster in a bench role, though his remaining minor league option means he’s not a lock to do so. Still, he’s played all four infield positions and all three outfield spots in his professional career, albeit with just one lone inning in center field with the Brewers in 2020. He’s moved around the diamond consistently in the Majors, with no more than 51 innings played at any single position (despite a total of 292 defensive innings under his belt).

While he’s never been regarded as a plus defender at any position, Mathias can play pretty much anywhere. He doesn’t have huge power, but he’s a career .286/.377/.466 hitter in 715 Triple-A plate appearances and has stacked up 21 homers, 41 doubles, three triples and 26 steals (in 31 attempts) in 173 total games at that level.

Second base has been Mathias’ most frequent position in the minors, and that happens to be the Pirates’ least-settled spot in the lineup, so he’s a particularly sensible add for Pittsburgh at a low cost of acquisition. He’ll compete with Rodolfo Castro, Ji Hwan Bae and Nick Gonzales for playing time there throughout the remainder of camp.

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