The New York Mets made some intriguing organizational roster moves ahead of their series against the New York Yankees.
New York is coming off a thrilling 15-14 win over the Miami Marlins to end its series on Wednesday. The Mets have an off day before beginning a three-game road series against the Yankees over the weekend.
New York is 68-78 and no longer in dead last in the NL East.
New York Mets Demote Pitcher
Before the Mets kick off their series against the Yankees, New York made a surprising roster move.
The Mets announced that pitcher Dan Hammer was transferred to the development list from the Syracuse Mets of Triple-A on Sept. 9. The news was seen on the MiLB transactions log.
The development list is something in minor league baseball that allows teams to temporarily remove a healthy player from the active game roster to focus on training, mechanical adjustments, or workload management without using an injured list spot. So, it’s sort of a demotion without actually getting sent down.
Hammer is in his seventh pro season and has been pitching well in Triple-A, so the move to the development list is a surprise. In Triple-A this season, he’s 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA in 32 games, including 2 starts.
The right-hander was originally selected in the 19th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. The Mets signed him as a free agent this offseason and promoted him to the MLB roster on July 9 before he was DFA’d just a day later. He didn’t pitch in a game, which would have been his MLB debut.
New York Right Now
The Mets swept the Miami Marlins after a thrilling 15-14 win on Wednesday.
“We got the two-point conversion and the touchdowns for the win,’’ Mets interim manager Andy Green said postgame. “That’s as crazy a game as you will see. Love the resilience. You give up an eight-run lead then you add six more on to the lead — and they keep coming back. It was one of those days where it was tough to get anyone out. Our guys had to be gritty and determined to get that win.”
Although New York won’t be making the playoffs, the Mets have been playing much better, which Green is pleased about.
“Every game this series, we hopped out to a lead,” Green said. “We put pressure on them immediately. To their credit, they came back on us every single time. To see our guys respond is indicative of the type of hitters and players we have. You could call out anyone’s name up-and-down the lineup. There were huge at-bats tonight.”
New York is 68-78.
Mets Demote Impact Reliever in Surprise Move Ahead of Yankees Series