Splitting the Mets Return Package to Steven Matz

Splitting the Mets Return Package to Steven Matz

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Sean Reid-Foley, Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets were able to inject some life into their secondary league pitch depth on Wednesday night, by purchasing a trio of Toronto Blue Jays guns in exchange for Steven Matz.

Matz was not guaranteed to be a member of the opening day rotation in 2021, but neither could he be chosen for the minor leagues, as he has more than five years of service.

With the bullpen virtually defined after the signing of the Aaron Loup, the scenarios in which Matz stayed with the team during spring training were diminishing by the day.

Inside Sean Reid-Foley and Yennsy Diaz, the Mets picked up two right-handed players who joined the list of 40 players with usable options from the secondary league in 2021. They also acquired Josh Winckowski, another right-hander, who should reach the top minors this season.

We will examine each of the newest Mets individually.

Sean Reid-Foley

Not long ago, Reid-Foley was one of the top 100 contenders in baseball, reaching none. 75 on Baseball America’s list before the 2017 season.

Born in Guam while his father served in the Coast Guard, Reid-Foley signed for just over $ 1.1 million after the Blue Jays beat him in the second round of the 2014 draft.

He reached the championship at the age of 22 in 2018 and has been jumping between Toronto and Triple-A Buffalo ever since. Strictly a starter throughout his time in the minor categories, Reid-Foley left the bullpen in eight of his 21 major league matches.

As he climbed the smaller leagues, Reid-Foley was seen as a guy who could reach 96-97 mph with some consistency. This did not necessarily hold, even while he worked outside the bullpen, with his fastball hitting the 94 mph average in relief. With a medium movement profile too, you’re not looking for a positive fastball here

For a pitcher who is in his 90s, Reid-Foley has been incredibly wild in the major leagues, posting a 23% hike rate at 71.2 entries. His most recent extended run took place in Buffalo in 2019. In 89 entries there, he walked 6.6 batters for nine.

Reid-Foley’s main speed shot is a slider he has used a third of the time since 2019. He also played harder in 2020, averaging 85.9 mph after staying 83.7 in his first two seasons major league.

In a limited sample, the Reid-Foley slider was very effective, posting execution values ​​of -4.7 in 2018 and -4.2 in 2020 (at a pitch rate per 100). Simply put, when batters see a slider at the end of the dish presentation, they are seeing extremely bad results.

Reid-Foley does not have a very clear role in the future. The Mets are not preparing to have an interchangeable bullpen and at the moment it looks like Joey Lucchesi has an advantage in the fifth initial job. Any additional pitch depth on the 40-player list would only bury Reid-Foley.

Entering his last year of options in 2021, he will have to take advantage of every opportunity he receives to prove that he is worthy of a place in the squad in the future.

Josh Winckowski

None of these three pitchers is distinguished from the others, but Winckowski is in a slightly different class, as he is not in the 40-player squad and has only reached the High-A level.

At 6’4 ″, the 2016 draft pick works from an over-the-top launch point. Mostly a fastball pitcher, Fangraphs notes that he recently added a divider to his arsenal. They also noticed that their fastball hit 97 mph, although it looks more like a bullpen reading than a consistent occurrence in their starts.

Statistically, Winckowski generated solid results as a professional, but did not post the strikeout numbers you would see in dominant pitch prospects. He was not burned by hiking or home runs, however. In total, it seems like no. 4-5 start profile with a multi-entry relief function not off the table.

Winckowski was not selected in the Rule 5 Draft in December, which probably means that the teams were unsure about the state of their development after the lost season (he was not at the Blue Jays’ alternate training location). Although Double-A Binghamton is the next step in his natural progression, a strong showing in spring training could lead him to fight for a spot in the Syracuse squad.

Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

Yennsy Diaz

Díaz was another big amateur signing for the Blue Jays in 2014, bringing home a $ 1.6 million bonus. Like Reid-Foley, Díaz had little trouble climbing the minor league ladder and made his major league debut in 2019 at the age of 22.

Unfortunately for Díaz, that performance of seven strokes, four strokes and two runs out of the bullpen has been the extension of his time in the major league so far. He suffered a muscle strain in the dorsal muscle during last year’s spring training and did not return to the mountain until winter in the Dominican Republic.

Although almost all of his professional experience has emerged as a beginner, Díaz currently projects as a low-leverage reliever. Both Fangraphs and MLB Pipeline classify their mid-90s fastball as their only positive move.

His offspeed command (seen above; he launches a medium change as well) will be the difference between him being a taxpayer or a 40-man rejector (he has two options left and got an entire year of service while injured on the list in 2020).

The Mets did very well here. Matz had little or no commercial value, and if he ends up providing the Blue Jays with solid value, they will have to compete to keep their services on the open market next winter.

In return, New York received a trio of weapons that are far from flashy, but continue to deepen the organization’s pipeline.

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