Sean Reid-Foley, Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
The Mets were able to give some life to their smaller depth of field late Wednesday night by acquiring a trio of Toronto Blue Jays weapons in exchange for Steven Matz.
Matz was no guarantee of being a member of the opening day rotation in 2021, but also could not be elected to the minor leagues as he has more than five years of service.
With the bullpen virtually set after the signing of Aaron Loup, the scenarios in which Matz stayed with the team during spring training became less by the day.
In Sean Reid-Foley and Yennsy Diaz, the Mets picked up two depth judges in 2021 who joined the 40-man list of usable league options. Josh Winckowski, another right-hand man, who should reach the higher minors this season.
Let’s look at each of the latest Mets individually.
Sean Reid-Foley
It was not so long ago that Reid-Foley was one of the top 100 prospects in baseball, with a highlight of no. 75 on Baseball America’s list ahead of the 2017 season.
Reid-Foley was born in Guam while his father served in the Coast Guard, and signed for just over $ 1.1 million after the Blue Jays took him in the second round of the draft in 2014.
He reached the major as a 22-year-old in 2018 and has since jumped between Toronto and Triple-A Buffalo. Reid-Foley was an appetizer during his time in the minor year, and came out of the bull in eight of his 21 major league appearances.
Reid-Foley was explored as a man who could possibly pass 96-97 km / h with a degree of stability. It did not necessarily hold up, even when working from the bullpen, with its fast ball illuminating only 94 km / h. With an average movement profile, you just do not look at a fast ball here
For a pitcher sitting in the low 90s, Reid-Foley was incredibly wild in the major leagues and scored a running percentage of 23 percent in 71.2 overs. His most recent long run is in 2019 in Buffalo. In 89 overs, he ran 6.6 batsmen per nine.
Reid-Foley’s primary speed level is a slider he has used a third of the time since 2019. He also threw it harder in 2020, averaging 85.9 km / h after sitting at 83.7 over his first two major league seasons.
In a limited sample, the Reid-Foley slider was very effective and posted the run values of -4.7 in 2018 and -4.2 in 2020 (at a per 100 pitch speed). Simply put, when batsmen see a slider at the end of their board appearance, they see extremely poor results.
Reid-Foley has no crystal clear role going forward. The Mets are not having an interchangeable bullpen, and at the moment it seems like it Joey Lucchesi took the lead on the fifth appetizer. Reid-Foley will only be buried if an extra pick depth is included in the 40-man list.
In the last option year in 2021, he will have to take advantage of whatever opportunities he gets to be worthy of himself in the future.
Josh Winckowski
Neither of these three pitchers distinguishes them from the others, but Winckowski is in a different class as he is not in his 40s and has only reached the High-A level.
The draft choice of 2016 stands at 6’4 ″ and works from an extraordinary release point. Fangraphs is primarily a fast pitcher with a fast ball and suggests he recently added a splitter to his arsenal. They also note that his fast ball has reached 97 km / h, although it is more of a bullpen than a constant appearance in his start.
Statistically, Winckowski performed well as a pro, but he did not publish the result numbers you would see due to dominant pitching prospects. However, he was not burned by hiking or walking home. In total, it looks like a no. 4-5 starter profile with multi-turn lighting does not roll off the table.
Winckowski was not selected in the Rule 5 draft in December, which probably means teams were unsure of the development he had after the lost season (he was not at the Blue Jays’ alternative training ground). Although Double-A Binghamton would be the next step in his natural progress, a strong performance in spring training could place him in a Triple-A Syracuse position.
Josh Winckowski paints the corner in last night’s Lugnuts game. He scored 7 overs, 3 hits, 2 runs, 3 BBs and 7 Ks. He threw 90 stands, of which 59 were strikes. pic.twitter.com/3IjIPDrP9A
– Ryan Di Francesco (@RyanDifrancesco) 15 June 2019
Credit: Douglas DeFelice USA TODAY Sports
Yennsy Diaz
Díaz was another big amateur signing by the Blue Jays in 2014, bringing home a $ 1.6 million bonus. Unlike Reid-Foley, Díaz had little trouble climbing the smaller league ladder and made his debut in the major leagues in 22 as a 22-year-old.
Unfortunately for Díaz, the performance of seven tackles, four runs and two runs from the bullpen so far has been the extent of his most important league time. He suffered a strained muscle in his spring training last year and only returned to the hill in the Dominican Republic.
Yennsy Diaz bends baseball. pic.twitter.com/Mc3FNhnKCU
– Ryan Di Francesco (@RyanDifrancesco) 7 July 2019
Although almost all of his professional experience is a starter, Díaz is currently projecting as a relief from low leverage. Both Fangraphs and MLB Pipeline rated his fast ball in the mid-90s as his only plus.
His commando which is not fast (seen below; he also gives an average change) will be the difference between being a contributor or a quick discount of 40 men (he has two options left and has a full length of service picked up while on the injured (list in 2020).
The Mets did pretty well here. Matz had little or no trading value, and if the Blue Jays finally have good value, they will have to compete to keep his services on the open market next winter.
In return, New York received a trio of weapons that are far from flashy, but still deepen the pipeline of the organization.
