Francisco Alvarez, Photo by Dan Fritz
The New York Mets have claimed Yoan López off waivers from the Miami Marlins. With the Mets 40 man roster being full, the team opted to move LHP Joey Lucchesi to the 60 day IL to create a spot for López on the roster.
López, 29, made 13 appearances for the Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He was 0-0 with a 6.57 ERA, 1.946 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9, and a 9.5 K/9. He also made 35 appearances in Triple-A between the Atlanta Braves and Diamondbacks organizations. In those appearances, he was 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA, 1.290 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9, and a 10.1 K/9.
As per Baseball Savant, López fastball averages 95.7 MPH. However, the pitch has a low spin. While he has a solid whiff rate, he has had issues locating his pitches which is part of the reason why he has been hit hard in his career.
Despite having made 113 Major League appearances over the past four seasons, López still has two options remaining. As a result, we should see him being the season with Triple-A Syracuse. However, there is a chance he makes the Opening Day roster if Major League Baseball does indeed ratify 28 players on the roster for the first month of the season.
With the Mets opting to move Lucchesi to the 60 day IL to make room for López, the team is going to need to make another move to make room for Chasen Shreve on the Opening Day roster.
In other news, after Francisco Alvarez was reassigned to minor league camp, Buck Showalter called Alvarez an offensive force. He was also impressed with Alvarez’s strong arm behind the plate and the energy he brings to the game. However, Showalter did note Alvarez still needed to work on his defense.
Buck Showalter says that Francisco Álvarez is an offensive force, has a strong arm, and a good energy.
Notes that Álvarez does still have work to do defensively.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) March 29, 2022
Last night, the Mets trounced the Marlins 10-0 in their Spring Training game. While the Mets starters were the driving force, the Mets minor leaguers did contribute to the rout.
Eric Orze pitched a scoreless one-third of an inning. Sean Reid-Foley threw a scoreless inning allowing one hit while striking out two. Notably, Reid Foley is out of options and would have to be put through waivers to be send down to Triple-A.
