It’s been a big week for minor league moves all around baseball, thanks to the September roster expansion. Starting on September 1st, MLB teams’ 25-man active rosters expanded to include all 40 players on the major league roster. For some teams, it’s a chance to give new talent a try; for likely playoff teams like the Mets, it’s an important chance to get some reinforcements. Here’s how the Mets minor league affiliates are ranking towards the end of their seasons.
Signings and Roster Moves
8/30: The Mets called up 2B Wilfredo Tovar from Triple-A Las Vegas.
– The Mets activated LHP Addison Reed (who was acquired by trade last week from Arizona).
– RHP Logan Verrett was sent back down to Las Vegas.
9/1: MLB teams’ active rosters expand from 25 to all 40 players on the major league squad.
– The Mets activated LF Kirk Nieuwenhuis from the 15-day disabled list.
– The Mets selected the contract of LF Eric Young Jr. from Triple-A Las Vegas.
– The Mets recalled 3B Eric Campbell from Triple-A Las Vegas.
– The Mets recalled C Kevin Plawecki from Triple-A Las Vegas.
– The Mets activated RHP Bobby Parnell from the 15-day disabled list.
– The Mets activated LHP Steven Matz from the 15-day disabled list.
– The Mets activated RHP Erik Goeddel from the 60-day disabled list.
– The Mets sent RHP Vic Black outright back down to Triple-A Las Vegas.
9/4: The Mets recalled LHP Dario Alvarez from Triple-A Las Vegas.
9/5: 1B Lucas Duda headed to Double-A Binghamton to begin a rehab assignment
9/7: The Mets activated 1B Lucas Duda from the 15-day disabled list.
Around the Minors
The Las Vegas 51s are dealing with a lot of changes thanks to the September call-ups. They’re 3-4 in September after wrapping up their regular season, and their mediocrity cost them. El Paso clinched the Pacific Coast League’s Pacific Southern Division, so their loss to Tacoma marks the last game the 51’s play this year. Several of their players, however, may get a taste of postseason ball with the big league Mets.
Double-A Binghamton is also 4-3 in September, but they’ve had better results from it: they clinched a playoff spot in their 16-4 romp over the Reading Fightin Phils on the 2nd. Reading won the division, however. The B-Mets will get another crack at them in the playoffs, which start on Wednesday.
St. Lucie is 3-4 this month, and Brooklyn is 2-6. Both have wrapped up their seasons, and neither will make the playoffs. Savannah is 3-4 and will start the playoffs on Wednesday.
End of Regular Season Standings
Las Vegas 51s – 77-67
Binghamton Mets –77-64
St. Lucie Mets – 33-35
Brooklyn Cyclones – 33-43
Savannah Sand Gnats – 45-22
Other News
The Mets spent this week under the cloud of an innings controversy that suddenly surrounded Matt Harvey. Harvey’s agent, Scott Boras, told the media that Harvey had a 180-inning limit as he recovered from Tommy John surgery. Since Harvey is already up well over 160 pitches, this limit would effectively shut him down for the playoffs. The Mets said they’d heard nothing about such a limit.
Harvey put the record straight in a piece for the Player’s Tribune, in which he wrote that he would limit innings for the rest of the season and would pitch in the postseason. That implies that Harvey would pitch fewer than the four starts the Mets had planned. That, in turn, could mean more starts for pitchers that started this year in the minors – the Mets could use a spot starter or could ask Steven Matz to be a part of a five-man rotation for a while, instead of the six-man one the Mets had planned.
