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MMN Round-Up: De La Cruz Completes McCann Deal, Managers Named

By John Sheridan

January 14, 2023 No comments

Connor Grey, Photo by Richard Nelson

The New York Mets have announced they have obtained Luis De La Cruz from the Baltimore Orioles to complete the James McCann trade. McCann was originally traded to the Orioles on December 21, 2022 with the Mets retaining $19 of the $24 million remaining on McCann’s deal.

De La Cruz, 20, received a $130,000 bonus from the Orioles during the 2019 international free agency period, and he has spent the past two seasons playing in the Dominican Summer League. In his career, he has played 60 games hitting .252/.405/.316 with seven doubles, one homer, and 19 RBI.

https://twitter.com/Jacob_Resnick/status/1614042703687462913?s=20&t=1IIE1cY9gD65TN0L4R7cmg

After spending the first two seasons of his professional career in the Dominican Republic, we can expect De La Cruz to make his stateside debut in 2022.

Michael Mayer of MMN reports the Mets have re-signed Connor Grey to a minor league deal. The Mets initially signed Grey as a minor league free agent heading into the 2021 season. Grey had been released by the Arizona Diamondbacks after the 2019 season, and he did not pitch in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Grey made made 26 appearances for Triple-A Syracuse in 2022. He was 5-6 with a 6.38 ERA, 1.668 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, and a 7.6 K/9. Grey was called up to the majors on August 22. He was in the bullpen for the Yankee Stadium portion of the Subway Series, but he would not appear in a game. He would be designated for assignment and optioned to Syracuse where he finished the 2022 season.

Michael Mayer also reports the Mets have announced their full season affiliate minor league managers for the 2023 season, which are as follows:

International free agency is set to begin on January 15. At the moment, the Mets are expected to sign three players amongst the top 50 international free agents. News on all the international free agent signings can be found on MMN’s Mets 2023 International Free Agency Tracker.