[ad_1]
The Marlins traded right-hander Jordan yamamoto to the Mets in exchange for a minor league infielder Federico polanco, the Mets announced on Monday. To open up a spot on the 40-man roster, the Mets have appointed an infielder Robel garcia for assignment. Yamamoto was nominated for an assignment last week when Miami signed a reliever Anthony bass to a two-year contract.
Yamamoto, 24, joined the Marlins as one of four players acquired in the lopsided deal that sent Christian Yelich in Milwaukee. Yamamoto showed promise on his debut in 15 starts in 2019, scoring a 4.46 ERA in his first 78 2/3 MLB frames while knocking out a quarter of the hitters he faced. While that strikeout rate is above the league average, he has also walked over 11% of the hitters he’s faced.
Despite these promising beginnings, Yamamoto’s 2020 season has been a total disaster. In 11 1/3 innings, he was beaten by 23 earned runs on 27 hits – including eight amazing homers – and seven goals. Obviously, giving up close to one home per run is not conducive to success, but it should be noted that there may well have been physical reasons for his struggles. Yamamoto’s 2019 season ended with a placement in IL due to forearm fatigue, and his 89.8 mph average fastball in 2020 was down nearly two miles per hour.
Yamamoto may ignore the Mets’ immediate rotation plans, but he will be a nice optional depth piece behind top starters Jacob deGrom, Carlos Carrasco, Marcus Stroman and David Peterson. At present, Yamamoto and colleagues acquisition of trade Joey lucchesi could be the favorites for fifth place in the rotation now with Steven matz now a Blue Jay, but the Mets could still add another veteran starting pitcher to their opening day squad.
In exchange for Yamamoto, the Marlins will get Polanco, 19, a versatile, left-handed infielder who has yet to make it past the Dominican Summer League. (He likely would have done so in 2020 if it hadn’t been for a minor league season.) Polanco signed as an amateur outside the Dominican Republic in 2017 and recently appeared with the DSL affiliate of the Put in 2019, striking. 299 / .383 / .418 in 231 plate appearances. FanGraphs ‘Eric Longenhagen ranked him among the Mets’ top 30 prospects earlier this year, noting that he lacked power projection and had a contact-oriented attacking profile.
Garcia, 27, made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2019 after a very unusual journey to The Show. The former Indian farmer ran out of affiliate ball from 2014 to 2018 before the Cubs saw him play for a pro team in Italy. They brought him in a minor league pact, and Garcia showed the power of the lightweight tower at Triple-A in 2019 – 21 home runs in 296 home plate appearances – before being called up.
The Cubs gave Garcia 80 home plate appearances in 2019, and he responded with a lukewarm .208 average and .275 baseline percentage, but he still beat .500 thanks to five homers, two doubles and two triples in no time. Garcia also managed 35 of those 80 appearances on the set, so while the raw power he possesses is evident, there is obvious work to be done on his approach to the set. He still has a minor league option left, so a team that needs a right-handed depth of field could roll the dice on his considerable raw power. The Mets have a week to trade him, try to pass exemptions or release him.
[ad_2]
Source link