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Yennsy Diaz

Mets Outright Yennsy Diaz

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Mets right-hander Yennsy Diaz went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Syracuse, per the team’s transactions page. He’ll remain with the organization but will no longer occupy a place on the 40-man roster.

Diaz was one of three pitchers acquired from the Blue Jays in exchange for Steven Matz during the 2020-21 offseason, coming to the organization alongside righties Sean Reid-Foley and Josh Wincowski — the latter of whom has since been traded to the Red Sox as part of the three-team deal that netted outfielder Khalil Lee. The Mets designated the 25-year-old Diaz for assignment last week after acquiring righty Adonis Medina from the Pirates.

Diaz appeared in 20 games with the Mets last season, pitching to a 5.40 ERA with lackluster 18.8% strikeout and 10.7% walk rates. Diaz did average a robust 95.5 mph on his heater during that time, but his four-seamer also had bottom-of-the-scale spin rate and was hit hard by opposing batters. The 6’1″, 210-pound righty was also hit hard in a small sample of 17 Triple-A frames last year, but prior to 2021 he’d posted solid results as a starter up through the Double-A level in the Blue Jays’ system.

Baseball America regularly ranked him near the back end of Toronto’s top 30 prospects, praising his fastball velocity but noting that a lack of plus secondary pitch limits him. Diaz leaned on a changeup in the minors and in last year’s 20 big league frames, and he’ll now be able to work to refine that offering or perhaps experiment with some new offspeed options as he works back toward the Majors. He’s the second righty to clear waivers and stick around as depth in as many days; the Mets outrighted Jordan Yamamoto to Syracuse yesterday.

Mets Acquire Adonis Medina, Designate Yennsy Diaz For Assignment

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The Mets have announced that they’ve acquired right-hander Adonis Medina from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A. To make room on the 40-man roster, fellow right-hander Yennsy Diaz was designated for assignment.

Medina was signed by the Phillies as an international free agent back in 2014 and caught the eye of some prospect evaluators, being labeled the 84th best prospect in the game by Baseball America in 2018. However, he struggled against the competition in the upper minors and was designated for assignment on December 1st, when the Phils signed Johan Camargo. The lockout followed shortly after that, meaning Medina floated in DFA limbo for over three months.

After the lockout was done, he was claimed by Pittsburgh but only lasted a few weeks as a Pirate. Earlier today, the Bucs signed Jake Marisnick and sent Medina back out onto DFA limbo. Now a Met, Medina will head to Triple-A to serve as rotation depth for a club that already has concerns in that department. Jacob deGrom went on the IL today and isn’t expected back for over a month. Max Scherzer has a tight hamstring that prevented him from taking the ball on Opening Day, though it seems like he will avoid the injured list for now. Last year, Medina mostly pitched in Triple-A, making 17 starts for 67 2/3 innings of 5.05 ERA ball. His ground ball rate was good at 45.7%, but the 18.5% strikeout rate was lacking.

As for Diaz, he came to the Mets just over a year ago as part of the Steven Matz deal. He split his time almost evenly between Triple-A and the majors, not showing anything especially impressive in either setting. His 5.40 ERA in the big leagues was over a full run better than his 6.75 Triple-A mark. His walk rate was around 11% at each level. He did put up a 24.7% strikeout rate in Triple-A, but just 18.8% in the bigs. However, he could still garner interest from clubs, given that he’s just 25 years old and has an option year remaining, meaning he can be stashed in the minors as depth.

Mets Notes: Walker, Diaz, Lugo

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The Mets have activated Taijuan Walker from the injured list, optioning Yennsy Diaz to Triple-A to free up the roster spot, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). Walker missed the minimum amount of time with tightness in his side. Walked has excelled in eight starts this season with a 2.05 ERA/2.84 FIP across 44 innings.

Diaz has thrown two scoreless innings in two appearances. He came to the Mets this winter from the Blue Jays as part of the Steven Matz trade. While Diaz was mostly a starter with the Blue Jays, the Mets have thus far used him exclusively out of the pen both in the Majors and in Triple-A.

The Mets also plan to get another arm back soon in Seth Lugo. The Mets plan to activate Lugo when he’s eligible to return on Monday, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). Lugo has been a huge piece of the Mets’ pitching staff over the past five seasons, but arm surgery has kept him from the mound so far this season. Over 167 games (38 starts) since 2016, Lugo has pitched to a 3.45 ERA/3.59 FIP in 383 1/3 innings, notching 25 wins, 32 holds and 12 saves.

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.

Blue Jays Acquire Steven Matz

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9:15pm: The teams have announced the deal.

8:35pm: The Blue Jays and Mets are closing in on a swap that would send lefty Steven Matz to Toronto, per Jeff Passan of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Robert Murray of Fansided tweeted that a trade between the clubs was coming; Michael Mayer of Metsmerized had tweeted that a Matz move was in the works.

Three right-handed pitchers will head back to New York in the arrangement: Josh Winckowski, Sean Reid-Foley, and Yennsy Diaz. (Via Murray, on Twitter, and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca, also via Twitter.)

Matz, 29, is due $5.2MM after agreeing to avoid arbitration. He will qualify for free agency after the 2021 campaign. The Mets obviously determined they could better allocate that salary for other needs. Whether it’ll be part of a big payout to lure Trevor Bauer remains to be seen; there’s still no reason to believe anything is imminent on that front.

While he has at times featured as a high-quality big-league starter, Matz has had his share of difficulties of late. The Long Island native wraps up a six-year run with the Mets having thrown 579 2/3 innings of 4.35 ERA ball.

While Matz made thirty starts apiece in 2018 and 2019, arm issues were a recurring problem. He spent time on the injured list in 2020 and ended the campaign with a brutal 9.68 ERA in just 30 2/3 frames of action.

That unfortunate short-season effort came with a few bright spots. Though Matz surrendered a ton of hard contact, he also managed a career-best 25.4% strikeout percentage while delivering his sinker at an average of 94.5 mph.

Clearly, the Jays believe Matz still possesses the necessary physical tools to deliver a good number of useful innings. He’ll likely have a chance to battle for a rotation spot in camp, though the team could also plan to use him in a swingman or even pure relief capacity.

The Mets will get some reward for deciding to tender Matz a contract. None of the three arms acquired come with high-grade prospect billing, but each will have a chance to contribute in the near term.

Both Reid-Foley and Diaz have debuted in the majors, meaning they also occupy 40-man roster spots (albeit with options remaining). The former threw 71 2/3 innings of 4.40 ERA ball over three seasons with the Jays, carrying a suboptimal 76:48 cumulative K/BB ratio. Diaz has just one appearance to his name, but turned in a solid showing at the Double-A level in 2019.

As for Winckowski, he’s still due for further seasoning. The 22-year-old reached the High-A level in 2019. Over 127 1/3 total frames that year, he turned in a sturdy 2.69 ERA. Winckowski will (again) be eligible for the Rule 5 draft after the 2021 campaign.

Blue Jays Select Joe Panik

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The Blue Jays have selected the contract of veteran infielder Joe Panik, as first indicated on the league transactions log at MLB.com. Right-hander Yennsy Diaz was placed on the 60-day injured list in a corresponding roster move. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith tweets that the move is indeed official, adding that Panik had an opt-out clause in his contract, which necessitated the transaction. It’s also likely that with the league instructing teams to send non-40-man players home (if they’re safely able to do so), the Jays wanted to act quickly to ensure that Panik is able to remain with the group.

The 29-year-old Panik was the Giants’ first-round pick back in 2011 and ascended to the role of everyday second baseman in San Francisco by 2014. He held that role late into the 2019 season, but the Giants, amid a rebuild phase and hoping to evaluate a younger wave of long-term pieces, designated Panik for assignment in early August and released him shortly thereafter. He quickly signed on with the Mets and finished out the year in a part-time role there.

This past season marked a second consecutive rough year at the plate for Panik, who slashed a combined .249/.311/.334 in 883 plate appearance from 2018-19. That’s a far cry from the quality .282/.345/.408 (105 OPS+) that Panik posted from 2014-17 — a stretch wherein he made the 2015 All-Star Game and won a Gold Glove in 2016. Injuries have surely played a part in his downturn. Since 2015, a stress fracture in his back, multiple bouts of concussion symptoms, thumb surgery and a groin strain have all sent Panik to the injured list. He avoided the IL in 2019, although the litany of injuries certainly could have had a lingering effect on his play.

Prior to the league’s coronavirus shutdown, though, Panik looked quite comfortable in camp with the Jays. It’s only 10 games and 26 plate appearances, but Panik went 8-for-21 with a pair of homers, a triple and more walks (four) than strikeouts (three). It’s difficult to glean too much from that limited showing, but the Blue Jays were impressed enough to add Panik to the roster, thus locking in a $2.85MM base salary for the veteran infielder.

A bench role may be likelier for Panik than a starting role, as Cavan Biggio’s youth and his .364 on-base percentage in 100 big league games last season will probably get him the nod in that regard. Biggio hit .234/.364/.429 with 16 home runs, 17 doubles, a pair of triples and 14 steals in 430 plate appearances as a rookie, and the Blue Jays will surely want to give him a large role to see if he can solidify himself as the primary second baseman for years to come. But Panik is plenty capable of playing both up-the-middle positions — he was drafted as a shortstop but moved to second base due to Brandon Crawford’s presence in San Francisco — and could conceivably be asked to be a backup option at third base as well.

As for the 23-year-old Diaz, it’s not yet clear what his actual injury is. The Jays haven’t made a formal announcement of the roster move yet, however, so details will surely emerge when they publicly acknowledge the transaction. Diaz ranks 26th among Jays farmhands at FanGraphs and 29th at MLB.com. He spent the 2019 season with their Double-A club, pitching to a 3.74 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 0.75 HR/9 and a 40 percent ground-ball rate before appearing in a single big league game last September.

Blue Jays Select Ryan Dull

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The Blue Jays have selected the contract of right-hander Ryan Dull and recalled right-hander Yennsy Diaz for the final few games of the season, tweets Shi Davidi of Sportsnet. Dull and Diaz will give the Blue Jays some extra arms to serve as reinforcements for a bullpen that has thrown 27 innings across the past three games thanks to a 15-inning marathon Monday and a series of openers being utilized. In order to make room for Dull on the 40-man roster, the Jays put Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on the 60-day injured list. Gurriel underwent an appendectomy this week and wasn’t expected to return before Sunday’s season finale.

This marks the latest roster move for Dull in a roller coaster couple of months. The veteran righty has bounced from Oakland to San Francisco to New York to Toronto on waivers since the beginning of August and finally cleared waivers within the past week after he was designated by the Jays. Dull didn’t appear in the big leagues with Toronto before being designated for assignment and sent outright off the 40-man roster. He’ll now have a chance to suit up as a Blue Jay and log a few extra days of big league service to close out the year, though he’ll quite likely be removed from the 40-man roster once again when the season concludes.

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