The Mets announced on Monday that they had added seven players to their 60-player pool: right-handed Matt Blackham, Jordan Humphreys is Franklyn Kilome; mancini Stephen Gonsalves is Thomas Szapucki; infielder Jake Hager; and catcher David Rodriguez. They filled 58 of the 60 points in their swimming pool. Michael Mayer of MetsMerized reported for the first time that Blackham, Humphreys and Gonsalves would be added (Twitter link).
Of today’s new additions, Szapucki is the most popular among the team’s potential customers, ranking seventh on both FanGraphs and MLB.com. A fifth round pick in 2015, Szapucki returned from Tommy John’s intervention to record 61 2/3 innings of 2.63 ERA ball with 10.5 K / 9 versus 3.8 BB / 9 across three minor league levels in 2019. The 24-year-old has passed out with four innings in Double-A, and although he has not been seen as a candidate to access the Majors for a long time this season, he will at least get some reps of development in the absence of a conventional league season minor.
Kilome, also 24, came from the Phillies in the business he sent Asdrubal Cabrera in Philadelphia in 2017. He comes in ninth place on the FanGraphs list and 12th on MLB.com in the wake of a 2019 season that Tommy John lost due to his intervention. This procedure came back in October 2018, so Kilome should have largely come back fast and ready to resume after throwing 140 innings at double A that year. Kilome recorded an ERA 4.18 with 8.0 K / 9 versus 3.9 BB / 9. Kilome improved considerably after being launched on the Mets; in 38 innings with his new club his K / 9 went from 7.3 to 10.0 and his BB / 9 went from 4.5 to 2.4.
Among other additions, 26-year-old Gonsalves may be the most recognizable name. The former round four selection has long been one of the best prospects in the Twins organization and has broken several Top 100s while climbing among the minors, regularly drawing praise as a high-probability back-end starter. He has never seen much in Minnesota, though (24 2/3 innings), and has been limited by arm problems in recent years.
Humphreys, 24, is another healing arm since Tommy John’s intervention. He had a great 2017 season before the surgery and will aim to return to the team’s bullpen mix after throwing only 13 2/3 frames last year. Blackham posted net numbers last year, but turned 27 in January and has only 15 2/3 frames above the double A to his credit. Hager and Rodriguez were the league’s smallest pickups this winter with limited offensive results in the minors. Hager is a former first round pick (Rays, 2011) that can play across the board, while Rodriguez brings additional capture depth and a 39% theft rate to life on the table.
