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T.J. Rivera

Guardians Hire T.J. Rivera For Coaching Position

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The Guardians have hired T.J. Rivera for a coaching role, according to agent Phil Terrano of Agency 1 Sports.  This brings an end to Rivera’s playing career after 11 seasons, and the veteran infielder took to Instagram to thank his family, friends, and many supporters who helped him along the way.

Rivera was an undrafted player, beginning his pro career when he signed a free agent deal with the Mets in 2011.  All of his big league experience came in a New York uniform, as Rivera (a Bronx native) hit a very solid .304/.335/.445 over 344 career plate appearances with the Mets in 2016-17.  Unfortunately for Rivera, he was a somewhat rare case of a position player whose career was sidetracked by Tommy John surgery, as he missed all of 2018 recovering from both his TJ procedure and more elbow problems that lingered into 2018 and 2019.

Since being let go by the Mets in 2019, Rivera caught on with the Nationals, Pirates, and (twice) with the Phillies, and he also played in Puerto Rico and in independent baseball.  Another call to the bigs never came, and Rivera certainly wasn’t helped by the cancellation of the 2020 minor league season.  Rivera had more good numbers at the minor league level, hitting .316/.363/.431 over 3044 PA across various affiliated teams.

At age 33, Rivera has now decided to hang up his glove, and is moving onto a new phase of his baseball career with the Guardians.  We at MLBTR congratulate Rivera on a fine career and we wish him all the best in his coaching endeavors.

Phillies Acquire T.J. Rivera

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The Phillies have acquired infielder T.J. Rivera in a minor league trade with the Pirates.  Because Rivera was playing on a minor league deal and hadn’t seen any MLB action this year, he was allowed to be dealt after the July 30 trade deadline.

The trade represents Rivera’s second stint in the Phils organization, as he signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia during the 2019-20 offseason but was released prior to the opening of the club’s 2020 summer camp.  Rivera caught on with the independent Long Island Ducks back in May, but was quickly inked to a minors contract by the Pirates and he has since hit .249/.295/.389 over 212 PA for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Rivera’s big league resume consists over 106 games and 344 PA with the Mets in 2016-17, with the Bronx native delivering a very respectable .304/.335/.445 slash line in that rather brief amount of playing time.  Rivera underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2017, however, and continued to face elbow problems before the Mets eventually released him in 2019.

T.J. Rivera Signs With Long Island Ducks

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The Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League have signed infielder T.J. Rivera, the team announced.

This will be the second stint with the Ducks for Rivera, who spent 23 games with the club in 2019 and batted .270/.316/.427 with four home runs in 98 plate appearances. Of course, Rivera’s better known for what was a successful but short-lived major league tenure with the Mets. The former undrafted free agent appeared in 106 games with the Mets from 2016-17 and slashed an above-average .304/.335/.445 over 231 plate appearances, owing in part to an ability to avoid strikeouts at a solid clip.

Unfortunately, injury issues knocked Rivera’s career off course four years ago. Rivera underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017 and then suffered an elbow sprain the next season as he was trying to work his way back to New York. The 32-year-old has had runs with the Nationals and Phillies since the Mets released him in 2019, though he was unable to return to the majors with either Washington or Philadelphia.

Phillies Release T.J. Rivera

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Infielder T.J. Rivera was among the minor league players the Phillies released Friday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. It’s not yet known which other players the Phillies cut.

Rivera signed a minors pact with the Phillies back in December, at which point he was coming off a respectable offensive run with the division-rival Mets. The 31-year-old was a .304/.335/,445 hitter with a meager 14.2 percent strikeout rate in 344 plate appearances from 2016-17, though health problems have taken a sledgehammer to his career since then.

Rivera underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2017, and his Mets tenure came to a close when they released him in March 2019. He has since played with the Nationals’ Double-A affiliate, in the Puerto Rican and Dominican Winter Leagues, and with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League. If another major league team does take a chance on Rivera, he’ll surely have to work his way back via the minors, where he has performed well. Rivera is the owner of a .335/.375/.490 line in 663 trips to the plate in Triple-A ball.

Phillies Sign T.J. Rivera To Minor-League Deal

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The Phillies agreed to a minor-league deal last week with T.J. Rivera, as first reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). No other terms are known, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the former Mets’ infielder secured an invite to MLB spring training.

Rivera, now 31, hasn’t seen MLB action since a September 2017 Tommy John Surgery. Before that injury, he had done fairly well as a role player in Queens, slashing .304/.335/.445 (109 wRC+), while logging time at first, second, third and in left field. He’s never been one to draw many walks or hit for much power, but he perennially put the ball in play in the minors and ran a minuscule 14.2% strikeout rate over his 344 MLB plate appearances.

Rivera latched on with the Nationals on a minor-league deal last August, but an undisclosed injury limited him to fifteen games in AA. He’ll try to earn a spot as a right-handed utility option off Joe Girardi’s bench, much like Phil Gosselin, whom the Phillies also recently signed to a minor-league deal.

Nationals Sign T.J. Rivera To Minors Deal

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The Nationals have signed infielder T.J. Rivera to a minor league contract, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter link).  Rivera has been assigned to Washington’s Double-A affiliate.

A late bloomer who didn’t reach the majors until he was 27, Rivera hit .304/.335/.445 over 344 plate appearances for the Mets in 2016-17.  He hasn’t been back to the Show, however, since undergoing Tommy John surgery in September 2017, and was limited to only six minor league appearances in the Mets’ farm system in 2018 before being released in Spring Training.

Rivera then took time off to get fully healthy before inking a deal with the independent Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks in early July, and hit .273/.323/.440 over 93 PA for the Ducks.  He’ll now provide the Nationals with some versatility around the infield, as Rivera has a wealth of experience at second, third, and first base (plus some shortstop early in his career, and a handful of games as a corner outfielder).  Though his Double-A assignment doesn’t hint that a big league call-up is imminent, Rivera nonetheless provides some extra depth for a Nats club that just lost Howie Kendrick to the injured list earlier today.

Minor MLB Transactions: 7/6/19

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The latest in minor moves from around the game…

  • The Reds have released Zach Duke, per Mark Sheldon of mlb.com. Duke, now 36, has long been an effective reliever from the left side, but was viciously knocked around in 30 appearances for the club this season, posting identical 6.94 K and BB/9 marks in 23 IP. The lefty’s assortment of offspeed offerings has been death on same-side hitters for nearly a decade and a half now, but even southpaws crushed him this year, posting an eye-popping .250/.385/.500 slash through the season’s first half. He’s a decent bet to catch on elsewhere, given his track record, but the leash won’t be nearly as long this time around.
  • Former Mets infielder T.J. Rivera has signed with the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, tweets Jon Heyman of MLB Network, who notes that the 30-year-old took much of the early season off to “fully recover” from his 2017 Tommy John Surgery. Rivera posted consecutive above-league-average offensive marks in limited time for the 2016 and ’17 Mets, though the club never seemed keen on giving him a full-time gig. A strong Indy showing should land him a spot in affiliated ball, though it may be too late this season for him to make a mark.

Mets Release Infielder T.J. Rivera

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The Mets released infielder T.J. Rivera, per Newsday’s Tim Healey (via Twitter). Rivera was attempting to work his way back from Tommy John surgery in September of 2017, but was struggling to get back to full strength. He played parts of two seasons with the Mets after making his debut in 2016.

Rivera, 30, hasn’t played in the big leagues since July of 2017 when he was placed on the injured list with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. He came back in July of last season for a 6 game rehab stint, collecting three singles and a double in twenty-two at-bats in the minor leagues, but he did not see any game action after that. His release comes after a setback in his elbow recovery, through GM Brodie Van Wagenen also points to the infield depth both at the major and minor league levels as cause for his release, per the New York Post’s Mike Puma (via Twitter).

Across his two seasons with the Mets, Rivera hit .304/.335/.445 in 344 plate appearances. He split his time fairly evenly between second, third and first base, though he also handled a few innings in left. His release doesn’t come as a total surprise, as Van Wagenen is correct in that the Mets are fairly flush with this type of player. Still, with Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier both getting banged up this spring, and there being at least a modicum of uncertainty around J.D. Davis’ ability to produce consistently at third, it’s a shame to see Rivera unable to get healthy enough to compete for at-bats. As is, Adeiny Hechavarria and Jeff McNeil are both capable of backing up multiple infield positions, while Dilson Herrera, Gavin Cecchini, Arismendy Alcantara, Luis Guillorme and a few others are all competing to crack the Opening Day roster.

Mets Notes: Wheeler, Alonso, Smith, Rivera

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Zack Wheeler tells SNY’s John Harper that the Mets have yet to approach him about a contract extension, adding that while’s he’s open to talks and hopes to remain with the team, any contract “would have to be right on my end” given his proximity to free agency. Harper’s piece has extensive quotes from Wheeler, who sounds earnest in his desire to stay with the Mets but not necessarily at a discounted rate with free agency on the horizon next winter. Wheeler says his representatives have pointed out to him that he’ll be among the market’s youngest starters alongside Gerrit Cole next season, which bodes well for him. Of course, it should be noted that Alex Wood is younger than both and that the market is currently set to feature some big fish who are slightly older (e.g. Madison Bumgarner, Chris Sale) and substantially older but nonetheless elite (e.g. Justin Verlander).

All that said, if Wheeler can come within a stone’s throw of his utterly dominant finish to the season — 2.06 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 8.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 0.45 HR/9, 44.8 percent grounder rate over his final 100 2/3 innings — he should indeed be poised for a strong payday. And, as Harper points out, the Mets’ farm is hardly teeming with high-end prospects to replace him.

Here’s more from Queens (er… from Port St. Lucie)…

  • Newsday’s David Lennon previews the Mets’ upcoming decision with first base prospect Pete Alonso (who has evidently dropped the “r” from his first name in favor of a monosyllabic moniker). The young slugger looked largely ready for a big league promotion last September, and his representatives were among the numerous agents throughout the league who decried what indeed looked to be another case of service time manipulation when Alonso did not receive an MLB call-up. With Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier ailing, though, Alonso’s bat could be all the more necessary. Meanwhile, new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen and manager Mickey Callaway have indicated that a player’s destination at the end of camp will be based on merit and nothing more. If Alonso has a strong spring effort, he’d put that to the test. The Mets would only need to send him down for just over two weeks to buy an extra year of team control, though the NL East figures to be ferociously competitive in ’19, so there’s every reason for all four presumptive contenders to put forth their best rosters right off the bat come Opening Day.
  • Dominic Smith chatted with Kyle Glaser of Baseball America on Tuesday and discussed changes to his offseason diet and workout programs as well as the extensive work he’s done in terms of watching video and making mechanical alterations to his swing. Once heralded as the Mets’ first baseman of the future, Smith has been leapfrogged for the time being by Alonso, though at just 23 years of age, he spoke confidently about the room for growth his youth still provides. Smith also discussed the “mixed emotions” of watching the Mets add pieces throughout the winter, explaining that the increased competition adds a level of excitement and energy to camp that hasn’t been there the past few seasons. Even after a down season in 2018, Smith is a career .300/.361/.460 hitter in 875 Triple-A plate appearances.
  • Infielder T.J. Rivera, who missed the entire 2018 season following 2017 Tommy John surgery, is “having trouble getting over the hump” in his rehab from that procedure, Callaway told reporters (Twitter link via Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). The now-30-year-old Rivera is still experiencing discomfort in his elbow and doesn’t appear close to seeing action in a Grapefruit League contest, DiComo notes. While Rivera hasn’t been considered a likely factor in the team’s Opening Day infield mix anyway, the fact that he’s still not ready for game action is of more note with veterans Jed Lowrie and Todd Frazier sidelined by respective knee and oblique issues. The Mets still have depth with Jeff McNeil, Amed Rosario, Robinson Cano, Alonso Smith and J.D. Davis as options around the infield, to say nothing of non-roster invitee Adeiny Hechavarria.

Injury Notes: Wainwright, Buehler, Stripling, Urias, Rivera

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After pitching in his sixth minor league rehab outing on Saturday, Adam Wainwright could be back in the Cardinals rotation sometime this week, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.  The former ace has been limited to just four starts and 18 innings in 2018 due to three separate DL stints, the latter two for right elbow inflammation.  During this rehab stint, however, Wainwright has seemingly gotten on track, tossing 17 shutout innings over his six appearances.  While the longtime Cardinal can add some experience to a young St. Louis rotation, it has been some time since Wainwright has exhibited his old front-of-the-rotation form, as injuries and ineffectiveness have plagued the veteran over the last four seasons.

Here are some more injury updates from around the big leagues…

  • Walker Buehler will receive a precautionary x-ray on his left foot following today’s start, the Dodgers told reporters (including J.P. Hoonstra of the Southern California News Group).  It isn’t clear how or when Buehler suffered the apparent injury, though he did see some extra action on the basepaths after hitting two singles today.  The rookie right-hander has been outstanding in his first extended stint in the majors, posting a 2.92 ERA, 9.89 K/9, 2.41 BB/9, and a 48.5% grounder rate over 104 2/3 innings, including today’s quality start against the Diamondbacks.  It isn’t known how serious this injury could be, though losing Buehler would obviously be a blow to the Dodgers as they push for another NL West title.
  • The Dodgers should be getting another arm soon in Ross Stripling, who told the L.A. Times’ Bill Shaikin (Twitter link) and other media that he is targeting next weekend for his return from the disabled list.  Stripling has been sidelined since mid-August due to a sore back, and has been preparing for multiple roles, as he said the Dodgers want him to be capable of either starting or working as a multi-inning reliever.  Despite an outstanding first half as a starter that earned him an All-Star berth, Stripling had been moved to the bullpen just prior to his injury, as the Dodgers had a glut of rotation options and a need for help in their struggling relief corps.
  • The news isn’t as good for Julio Urias, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick and other reporters that “I don’t know when [Urias is] going to pitch again” this season.  Urias underwent anterior capsule surgery in June 2017 and hasn’t been back to the majors since, though Roberts and the team had hoped that he could potentially make a September return as a reliever.  In Urias’ most recent minor league rehab outing, however, he was removed after reaching his pitch count after just three batters faced.  “We said from the beginning that when he’s right physically and performance-wise, then he’ll come [back to the majors].  If either of those things doesn’t happen, then it doesn’t make sense for us or him,” Roberts said.
  • The Mets have shut down infielder T.J. Rivera for the season, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports.  Rivera underwent Tommy John surgery in September 2017, and only played in six minor league rehab games in July before suffering a setback in the form of a right elbow sprain.  Over 106 games and 344 PA for the Mets in 2016-17, Rivera hit .304/.335/.445 with eight homers while seeing significant time as a fill-in at first, second, and third base.  As DiComo notes, however, Rivera could face a tough path back to the big league roster in the spring, as other utility infield options have passed him on the depth chart.
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