While the big-league Mets were facing tough teams like the Nationals and Dodgers this week, their minor league compatriots were locked in heated battles of their own. And one of those minor leaguers – top hitting prospect Michael Conforto – is finally on his way to the majors. Here’s what happened this week in the Mets minor leagues.
Signings and Roster Moves
– 7/20: The Mets sent C Johnny Monell down to Triple-A Las Vegas and brought up C Anthony Recker.
– 7/21: The Mets signed 3B Jonathan Gálvez to a minor league contract.
– 7/23: C Travis d’Arnaud headed to St. Lucie for a rehab assignment.
– 7/24: The Mets called OF Michael Conforto up from Double-A Binghamton. Michael Cuddyer was sent to the disabled list (retroactive to July 22) to make room.
Around the Minors
The Binghamton Mets are on a tear, having gone 6-2 since the Eastern League All-Star Game. The Binghamton squad will be the ones getting this week’s new signing, 3B Jonathan Gálvez. The team will be losing their biggest name, though, as Conforto is headed up to the big leagues.
C Anthony Recker also left the Las Vegas squad this week, thanks to his hitting, which reappeared while he was down there. If he can keep it up in the big leagues, he’ll be able to enjoy some starts on Kevin Plawecki’s off days – though with Travis d’Arnaud’s return finally in sight, Recker’s days at the major league level may be numbered.
The Las Vegas 51s are 4-4 since their own all-star break. They split a four-game series with Fresno this week. Former big leaguer Dillon Gee had a mediocre outing on Sunday, giving up 4 earned runs in 6.1 innings pitched in Albuquerque. The Mets lost that game to the home side thanks to a pair of errors, including a fielding error by 2B Dilson Herrera, who has seen time at the major league level this year. On Tuesday’s game against Fresno, 2B Brooks Conrad nearly hit for the cycle, but took a second double instead of a single. He went 4-4 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run.
Other News
Far and away the biggest news this week broke on Friday: the Mets are finally bringing Michael Conforto up to the big leagues. Well, “finally” may reflect how Mets fans feel about the call-up, but it’s unfair to Conforto. The Mets’ top hitting prospect moved through the minor league ranks extremely fast. Conforto was drafted just last year out of Oregon State University. Conforto played with the Cyclones after his signing, started this year with St. Lucie, was promoted to Binghamton, and skipped Triple-A Las Vegas entirely. Now we’ll see if he can help the big-league Mets, who are in desperate need of offense.
The Conforto promotion is exciting, if a bit unexpected. GM Sandy Alderson had seemed reluctant to promote the young hitter ahead of schedule. Of course, Alderson also seemed unwilling to overpay for offense in a trade, so perhaps this move ended up being the lesser of two evils.
News also broke this week that David Wright is returning to New York to begin baseball activities. Fans can be cautiously optimistic that he’ll soon be seen in a minor league uniform on a rehab stint – though that could still be a few weeks away.
