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Tommy Hunter

Mets To Select Tommy Hunter

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The Mets will soon be adding veteran reliever Tommy Hunter to their roster, according to Michael Mayer of Metsmerized. A specific date of his promotion hasn’t been specified yet.

The 35-year-old Hunter is a veteran who, once he gets into a game, will have pitched in each MLB season since 2008. He was largely a starter in his first few seasons but transitioned to bullpen duties full-time for the 2013 season. From that year to the present, he’s logged 402 MLB innings with a 3.18 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, 5.3% walk rate and 45.9% ground ball rate.

He was with the Mets last year, but pitched just eight innings before going on the injured list due to a back issue. He was later traded to the Rays for financial reasons but never made it back to the field, having undergone back surgery. After eventually returning to health, he held a showcase for teams in April and then returned to the Mets’ organization on a minor league deal.

Pitching for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets this year, Hunter has thrown 13 2/3 innings over eight appearances. His 4.61 ERA maybe doesn’t excite, though the peripherals paint a rosier picture. His 23% strikeout rate and 1.6% walk rate are being undercut somewhat by a .318 BABIP and 56.3% strand rate.

Hunter isn’t currently on the club’s 40-man roster, meaning a corresponding move will be necessary when his contract is selected.

Mets, Tommy Hunter Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mets are in agreement with reliever Tommy Hunter on a minor league contract, report Ken Rosenthal and Britt Ghiroli of the Athletic (Twitter link). The Athletic adds that the righty will report to the team’s complex in Port St. Lucie this week and is hoping to build into MLB game shape by June.

Ghiroli reported this morning that Hunter recently conducted a showcase in front of scouts. It didn’t take long for him to find a home after demonstrating his current form, as he’ll return to the place where he began the 2021 season. The 6’3″ hurler signed a minor league deal with New York last February, then pitched his way onto the MLB roster by the first week of May. Hunter worked eight scoreless innings across four appearances, punching out six while issuing three walks and allowing four hits.

Unfortunately, Hunter landed on the injured list just two weeks after the Mets called him up. He was nebulously diagnosed with lower back pain, but he was transferred to the 60-day IL not long thereafter. New York traded Hunter to the Rays to offset some money in the teams’ July Rich Hill deal, but he remained on Tampa Bay’s IL all season. The veteran qualified for free agency, and his stay on the open market was quiet until today.

According to Ghiroli, Hunter underwent back surgery at some point last year. He’s now progressed to throwing, and he’ll take the next month-plus to accumulate pitches and build stamina in hopes of making a midseason return to the bullpen. If healthy, the 14-year MLB veteran should have a good shot at landing a middle innings role for skipper Buck Showalter. Since moving from the rotation to the ’pen with Showalter’s Orioles in 2013, Hunter has tossed 402 innings of 3.18 ERA ball, holding opposing hitters to a .238/.285/.370 slash line. Hunter’s velocity has fallen from its 97 MPH peak into the 92-94 range of late, but he has excellent control and has generally induced ground-balls at a better than average clip.

Staying healthy has been an issue for Hunter, who spent some time on the IL in each season between 2016-21 (although his 2020 stint was COVID-related, not due to a physical injury). On a non-roster deal, there’s little risk for the Mets in gauging Hunter’s form over the next few weeks to determine whether to add him back to the big league bullpen.

Tommy Hunter Works Out For Teams

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Veteran reliever Tommy Hunter didn’t pitch after May 18 last season, spending the remainder of the 2021 campaign on the injured list — first with the Mets and then with the Rays, who acquired him as a financial counterweight in the trade that sent Rich Hill from Tampa Bay to New York.

Neither the Mets nor the Rays announced a formal diagnosis for Hunter beyond the Mets’ original indication that he was dealing with a lower back injury. As it turns out, Hunter missed the remainder of last season after undergoing back surgery, Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic reports (Twitter links). Furthermore, Ghiroli adds that Hunter is now healthy and recent held a bullpen session attended by scouts from upwards of a dozen teams, reaching the mid-90s with his heater during that showcase.

Hunter, 35, appeared in just four games with the Mets last season but was sharp in that brief time, logging eight shutout innings with a 6-to-3 K/BB ratio and an above-average 47.8% ground-ball rate. Solid work out of the ’pen is nothing new for Hunter, who since moving to the bullpen on a full-time basis in 2013, has compiled 402 innings of 3.18 ERA ball with a 20.7% strikeout rate, an outstanding 5.3% walk rate and a solid 45.9% grounder rate. He’s seen that strikeout rate jump in recent years (23.2% from 2017-21) without significantly increasing his walk rate (5.3%).

Unfortunately for Hunter, injuries are also nothing new for him. There’s little doubt that he’s a talented late-inning arm, but Hunter has dealt with back, forearm (twice), hamstring and calf strains dating back to 2017, and he missed a good portion of the 2016 season following sports hernia surgery as well. Since Opening Day 2016, he’s averaged just 32 innings per season (34 if you exclude the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, which skews the number a bit even though Hunter was healthy for it).

Hunter has pitched for seven big league teams and carries a career 3.21 ERA out of the bullpen. Given the lengthy layoff from pitching, he might require a minor league tune-up before he’s able to jump back onto a big league roster, but bullpen-hungry teams will surely be interested in taking a low-cost look at a pitcher with his track record if he’s indeed healthy now.

Mets Claim Nick Tropeano Off Waivers From Giants

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The Mets announced they’ve claimed right-hander Nick Tropeano off waivers from the Giants. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Reliever Tommy Hunter was transferred from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to open 40-man roster space. The Giants designated Tropeano for assignment last week.

This marks the second time in nine months the Mets have snagged Tropeano off the waiver wire. New York claimed him from the Pirates after the conclusion of last season. Ultimately, they decided not to carry him over the winter, non-tendering him a little more than a month later. Tropeano then signed a minor league deal with the Giants and was selected to the major league roster on May 21.

The 30-year-old wound up appearing in four games with San Francisco, tossing six innings of relief. He only allowed one earned run in that time, but Tropeano also managed just a pair of strikeouts. While he didn’t punch many batters in his limited work in San Francisco, he flashed some bat-missing ability with Pittsburgh last season. Tropeano struck out a strong 28.8% of opposing hitters in 15 2/3 innings with the Pirates, allowing just a pair of runs in that time. He generated swings and misses on a strong 14.9% of his offerings in 2020, and that bat-missing ability and recent run of strong run prevention clearly holds some appeal to the Mets front office.

While Tropeano has only worked in relief at the major league level the past two seasons, he could serve as either rotation or bullpen depth for New York. He was a decent back-of-the-rotation arm for the Astros and Angels earlier in his career, and he’d started all three of his appearances with the Giants Triple-A affiliate this season (albeit without ever working into the sixth inning).

By claiming Tropeano, the Mets assume the remaining balance of his $1.1MM contract. He remains under team control via arbitration through 2022, so he could be a multi-year piece for New York if he performs well enough for the club to tender him a contract. Tropeano is in his final minor league option year, so he can be shuttled back and forth between Queens and Syracuse for the rest of this season if he sticks on the 40-man roster.

Hunter was placed on the IL on May 19 with the rather nebulous diagnosis of lower back pain. It’s not precisely clear when the team expects him to return this season, but he’ll now be out of action until at least late July. He has made four scoreless appearances in 2021.

Mets Place Pete Alonso On IL, Select Brandon Drury, Designate Daniel Zamora

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In a flurry of roster moves, the Mets announced that first baseman Pete Alonso has been placed on the injured list with a sprained right hand. Right-hander Tommy Hunter is also headed to the 10-day IL due to a lower back injury. To replace that pair on the active roster, the Mets recalled right-hander Yennsy Diaz from Triple-A Syracuse and selected the contract of veteran infielder/outfielder Brandon Drury. Left-hander Daniel Zamora was designated for assignment in order to open a spot for Drury on the 40-man roster.

The 26-year-old Alonso said that his injury troubles began when he was hit by a pitch back on May 5 (Twitter link via Tim Healey of Newsday). He was hitting .281/.369/.517 at the conclusion of that day’s doubleheader, but in the 11 games since that time he’s mustered only a .132/.261/.237 slash while clearly playing through some discomfort. The Mets have yet to provide an expected timeline for his return.

Normally, Dominic Smith would step in as the primary first baseman in the event of any Alonso injury, but he’s currently been thrust into everyday duties in left field thanks to a slew of injuries elsewhere on the roster. Alonso joins Michael Conforto (strained hamstring), Brandon Nimmo (bone bruise), J.D. Davis (sprained finger), Jeff McNeil (strained hamstring), Albert Almora (shoulder contusion), Kevin Pillar (facial fractures), Luis Guillorme (strained oblique) and Jose Martinez (torn meniscus) on the injured list — and that’s just the list of position players on the shelf for the Mets. They’re also currently without Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker, Carlos Carrasco, Noah Syndergaard, Dellin Betances and Seth Lugo.

It’s still possible that Smith will take the bulk of the work at first base, as Drury has experience in the outfield corners in addition to considerable time spent bouncing around the infield. Regardless, the Mets’ current lineup looks nothing like the front office envisioned when putting this team together. They’ve already picked up Cameron Maybin and called up former Giants farmhand Johneshwy Fargas to help cover ground in the outfield. Jose Peraza and Jonathan Villar are being counted on as starters in the infield at the moment as well.

That mountain of injuries will combine to cost Zamora his 40-man roster spot. The 28-year-old lefty hasn’t appeared in the Majors since 2019, but he’s logged a 4.o8 ERA with a 24-to-8 K/BB ratio in 17 2/3 innings out of the bullpen for the Mets in the past. Zamora sported a fine minor league track record prior to 2021, but he’s been absolutely shelled in Syracuse so far, surrendering 15 runs on 10 hits and 10 walks with seven punchouts in just 6 2/3 innings. The Mets will have a week to trade him or try to pass him through outright waivers. His monumental struggles in Triple-A this year might make it hard for another club to feel comfortable claiming him.

Mets Select Tommy Hunter, Transfer Carlos Carrasco To 60-Day IL

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The Mets announced Thursday that they’ve selected right-hander Tommy Hunter’s contract from Triple-A Syracuse and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by moving Carlos Carrasco from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Righty Jordan Yamamoto was optioned to Syracuse to open a spot on the 26-man roster.

Carrasco has yet to pitch for the Mets this season due to a hamstring strain. His move to the 60-day IL means he’ll need to spend a total of 60 days there — not 60 days starting today. Factoring in the month-plus he’s already spent on the IL, this is largely a procedural move, as he’s yet to even formally embark on a minor league rehab assignment. He’ll now be required to be shelved through most of this month, but assuming he’d need multiple rehab starts, he wouldn’t have been available until mid-month at the absolute earliest.

The 34-year-old Hunter opened the year in Syracuse after inking a minor league pact with the Mets. He’s no stranger to the NL East, having spent the past three seasons with the Phillies organization and pitching to a combined 3.64 ERA in 94 innings of work.

Hunter had a rocky run as a starter early in his career, but since moving to the bullpen on a full-time basis back in 2013, he’s been a consistently solid reliever. In 394 innings out of the bullpen since that time, he’s logged a 3.24 ERA while striking out 20.7 percent of opponents against a tiny 5.2 percent walk rate. He’ll give the Mets yet another experienced arm to add to a late-inning mix that includes veterans Edwin Diaz, Trevor May, Miguel Castro, Aaron Loup and Jeurys Familia.

Mets Re-Sign Tommy Hunter

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MARCH 30: The Mets have re-signed Hunter to another minor-league deal, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post (Twitter link).

MARCH 25: The Mets announced Thursday that veteran reliever Tommy Hunter has been released. Newsday’s Tim Healey tweets that the right-hander had an opt-out clause in his contract today. Hunter will head back to the open market in search of a spot with a club that has a clearer path to the big leagues.

Hunter, 34, has been a rock-solid reliever for the past eight seasons but has battled injuries in recent years with the Phillies. A hamstring strain limited his time with the Phils in 2018, and a forearm strain wiped out nearly his entire 2019 season. He returned to the Phils on a low-cost, one-year deal last winter and performed fairly well, logging a 4.01 ERA and 3.57 SIERA with strong strikeout and walk percentages (24.5 and 5.9, respectively).

Dating back to the 2013 season, Hunter carries a 3.24 ERA/3.40 SIERA in 394 innings of bullpen work. He’s had excellent control throughout his career, but Hunter’s once-pedestrian strikeout rates have ticked upward in recent seasons. After punching out just 19 percent of his opponents from 2013-16, he’s fanned batters at a 23.5 percent clip from 2017-20.

Hunter’s sinker, which averaged 96.3 mph as recently as 2017 with the Rays, clocked in at a much more timid average of 92.7 mph with the Phillies this past season, so there’s perhaps some moderate cause for concern. But he still proved effective with that reduced velocity, perhaps in part due to a big jump in his curveball usage. His swinging-strike rate (10 percent) and opponents’ chase rate (34.8 percent) were both within striking distance of the levels he’d set in previous seasons as well, so it doesn’t seem as though the lost life on his sinker was a substantial detriment.

Hunter has pitched in five games this spring, allowing three runs on four hits and four walks with three punchouts through five innings of work. It’s not the most impressive body of work, but it is of course a rather small sample. The more important note for clubs seeking some veteran bullpen depth will be that Hunter has been getting in regular work this spring and should be largely built up for Opening Day readiness.

Mets Sign Mike Montgomery, Tommy Hunter To Minor League Contracts

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The Mets have signed Mike Montgomery and Tommy Hunter to minor-league contracts (via Tim Healey of Newsday). Both pitchers will receive invitations to major league spring training.

Montgomery has pitched in the big leagues in each of the past six seasons. Best known for recording the final out of the 2016 World Series as a member of the Cubs, he has settled in as a decent swing option in recent years. Since the start of 2017, the left-hander has pitched to a 4.03 ERA across 351 innings. He doesn’t miss many bats, managing just a 17.3% strikeout rate in that time. Montgomery has a decent track record of throwing strikes, though, and has induced ground balls at a strong 53.1% clip over the past four years.

The 31-year-old Montgomery entered 2020 as a member of the Royals’ rotation, but he went down with a lat strain just two innings into his first start. That knocked him out for much of the shortened season; he returned for a pair of relief appearances at the end of September before being outrighted off Kansas City’s roster.

Montgomery could compete for a spot at the back of the rotation or for a multi-inning relief role. That flexibility could prove beneficial for a New York team that’ll be without Seth Lugo to open the season due to the latter’s upcoming surgery to repair a bone spur in his elbow. At the moment, Joey Lucchesi looks the favorite to start the year in the final rotation spot behind Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson.

Hunter, on the other hand, is a pure reliever. The 34-year-old pitched in 24 games for the Phillies last season, working to a 4.01 ERA/3.57 SIERA across 24.2 innings. Decent showing notwithstanding, Hunter’s 91.7 MPH average fastball was down rather significantly from the mid-90’s velocity he showed at his 2013-16 peak. That drop-off, coupled with Hunter’s slightly below-average strikeout (24.5%) and swinging strike (10%) rates, likely contributed to his inability to find a guaranteed deal this winter. Nevertheless, it’s easy to envision the generally reliable veteran earning a roster spot with a decent showing in spring training.

Phillies Designate Robert Stock For Assignment, Set Opening Day Roster

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The Phillies set their Opening Day roster this morning, announcing within their press release that righty Robert Stock was designated for assignment. The club has selected the contracts of veteran infielder Neil Walker and right-handers Trevor Kelley and Ramon Rosso. The Phils also reinstated Scott Kingery, Hector Neris, Tommy Hunter and lefty Austin Davis from the injured list. The Phils’ initial roster only includes 29 players, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki notes, but it seems they could yet add veteran infielder Phil Gosselin to the mix. They’ll first need to make another 40-man move to clear space on the roster, however, which is likely the reason he has not yet been included.

Stock, 30, averages nearly 98 mph on his heater and posted a 4.11 ERA with 9.5 K/9, 3.8 BB/9 and a 50 percent ground-ball rate in 50 1/3 innings with the Padres between 2018-19. That’s a solid-enough resume, but he’s still bounced from St. Louis, to Houston, to Pittsburgh, to Cincinnati, to San Diego and Philadelphia since being a 2009 second-round pick and has only these past two seasons of MLB work on his resume.

Injuries have played their role, but Stock also has struggled to locate the ball throughout his time in the minor leagues (career 5.5 BB/9). He has a pair of minor league options remaining and was claimed by the Phils the last time he hit waivers, so perhaps another club will speculate on his powerful right arm.

It was already known that the veteran Walker would make the club’s Opening Day roster. The former Pirates stalwart has long been a steady producer and has recently added more positions to his repertoire, appearing at third base, first base and in the outfield corners. The switch-hitter batted .261/.344/.395 in 381 plate appearances with the Marlins last year and won a spot on the Phillies over veterans Logan Forsythe and Josh Harrison, among others.

Rosso, 24, has a strong minor league track record as a starter but seems likelier to operate out of the bullpen early in the season. It’ll be his MLB debut whenever he gets into a game. Kelley appeared in the big leagues with th Red Sox last year and was a waiver claim by the Phils, who later outrighted him off the 40-man but kept him in the organization. He pitched his way back into the mix this summer and will get his first MLB look with the Phils in the near future.

Latest On Phillies & COVID-19

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1:07pm: Liriano has decided to report to camp, Robert Murray tweets.

12:24pm: The Phillies were hit with several coronavirus cases relating to their Florida facility late last month. GM Matt Klentak updated the team’s situation today in comments to reporters including Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer (links to Twitter).

It runs out that outfielder Adam Haseley never had any real COVID-19 concerns. He had been away from camp, but not due to a positive test or contact with a suspected infection. Rather, it turns out that a lab error held up the 24-year-old.

That’s good news for Haseley, who’s now ready to roll. It’s a bit of a gut-check to hear of a mistake in the handling of testing, though at least the error was made in the direction of caution.

Of the four Phillies players that had been placed on the coronavirus IL, at least two — Scott Kingery and Tommy Hunter — are said to have tested positive for coronavirus. Former top overall draft pick Mikie Mahtook also registered a COVID-19 infection, which will obviously also take him out of commission while he recovers.

It’s clear there’s an even greater need for the Phils to clamp down and exercise care than most other clubs. In addition to those players, there are three coaches that have tested positive: bench coach Rob Thomson, catching coach Greg Brodzkinski, and bullpen coach Jim Gott.

Thankfully, there’s no indication to this point that any of the affected individuals is suffering significant symptoms. But the concern is obvious. Indeed, veteran lefty Francisco Liriano — who’s with the org on a minor-league deal — is said to be considering whether or not to opt out of the season.

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