Bryce Montes de Oca, Photo by Rick Nelson
Monday has been a busy day in Queens.
In the early afternoon, news broke that the Mets planned to hire Carlos Mendoza as its next manager. Then, it was reported Adam Ottavino would decline his player option—and likely not play with the Mets again.
The Mets kept cooking, though, as waiver went through, claiming infielder Zack Short from the Detroit Tigers.
The 28-year-old Scott is known as a solid defender, but his bat leaves a lot to be desired. He has .174/.266/.308/.575 career slash line—including just a .631 OPS in ample playing time with the Tigers last year.
In 2023 alone, he played second, third, shortstop, right field, center field, and he pitched six separate times! (He pitched at Sacred Heart University. He called pitching in a blowout is the most nervous he’s been in a baseball game.) If he plays in New York, it will be a bit of a homecoming, as he’s from Kingston, New York.
A 17th-round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs in 2016, Short worked his way through the Cubs’ system before being traded to Detroit for Cameron Maybin. If he logs a hit beyond 12 feet, he’ll have seen more success as a Met than Maybin did.
Montes de Oca Clears Waivers
A couple of days ago, the Mets placed a handful of 40-man roster guys on waivers.
Two of those were relievers Bryce Montes de Oca (who’s recovering from Tommy John) and Peyton Battenfield. They both cleared waivers and were sent to Triple-A.
Four others also cleared waivers but elected free agency. Those were:
- RHP John Curtiss
- RHP Denyi Reyes
- RHP Elieser Hernandez
- OF Tim Locastro
After these moves, the Mets’ 40-man roster sits at 33 (including all 60-day injured list players who once again count toward the 40-man count) at the start of free agency.
