The New York Mets have been busy during the 2020 offseason. They’ve made a ton of moves to bolster their minor league depth.
According to Baseball America, the New York Mets have been busy at work in the minor leagues. They’ve released four minor league players and signed two others.
The four players they released are Nelson Leon, Ronnie Taylor Jr., Zak Whalin, and Anderson Bohorquez. None of those players are ranked in the organization’s top 30 prospects.
Leon is a soon to be 25-year-old pitcher who made his full-season debut at the end of last season. In his short stint with the Columbia Fireflies, he pitched to a 9.49 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 4.4 BB/9.
Taylor Jr. is the 21-year-old pitcher. He has pitched for the Gulf Coast Mets each of the last three seasons. In the last two seasons, he pitched to a 3.68 ERA in 2018 and a 1.93 ERA in 2019. The issue with Taylor has been injuries. He pitched in just 36 innings combined the last two years. While the talent is there, it’s understandable why the Mets would move on from a player so prone to injury.
Whalin is a 24-year-old catcher. He went undrafted in the 2019 MLB Draft and signed with the Mets. He went hitless during his lone season with the Kingsport Mets.
Bohorquez is a 22-year-old utility player. He has played first base, second base, and all three outfield spots. He’s also failed to hit during any point in his tenure with the Mets. This past season he hit just .220/.264/.299 while playing for the Gulf Coast Mets.
Two players who the Mets signed were Francisco Rios and Ryan Cordell. Rios is a 24-year-old relief pitcher. He had been with the Toronto Blue Jays organization for the majority of his career. After struggling mightily in AAA, Rios was loaned to a club in the Mexican league. In Mexico, Rios pitched to a 3.94 ERA, 6.8 K/9, and 4.2 BB/9.
Cordell is a 27-year-old outfielder. He spent the majority of 2019 with the Chicago White Sox. He played in 97 games at all three outfield positions. Cordell was worth 7 OAA in 2019, which makes him the 15th best defensive outfielder in baseball. That’s on par with Cody Bellinger and Mookie Betts. However, Cordell hit just .221/.290/.355, he was worth -0.2 fWAR.
New York also added Chasen Shreve, Max Moroff, and Jarrett Parker on minor-league deals.
