Robles clears waivers, outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas

Pitcher Hansel Robles has cleared waivers, and he will be outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to the Mets. Robles was removed from the 40 man roster, and his spot will likely be taken by Chris Young, who was signed to a one year deal yesterday. 

Robles, 22, had a 3.55 ERA in 18 games (17 starts) between the GCL Mets and Single-A St. Lucie last season. He also participated in the Arizona Fall League, where he had a 4.00 ERA in six starts. 

Robles has been known as a mid-tiered pitching prospect for quite some time now. His best season was in 2012 where he had a 1.11 ERA in 12 starts for the Brooklyn Cyclones. The Mets could have afforded to lose him if he was claimed because of their abundance of young pitching, but now that Robles is staying, expect him to start the 2014 season in Double-A Binghamton. 

I feel like it is too early to give up on him, and the Mets are just sneaking him through waivers so they can fill in Young's roster spot. Logically, it would make more sense to cut Jordany Valdespin, who probably doesn't have a future with this team at all. However, the Mets may try to trade Valdespin, so letting him go on waivers wouldn't be too smart. 

Mets sign OF Chris Young

The Mets have signed outfielder Chris Young to a one year, $7.25 million deal. The deal will be officially announced next week after Young takes his physical, meaning that a roster move will be announced sometime next week as well.

Young, 30, hit .200 with 12 homers in 107 games for the Athletics last year. He is a career .235 hitter with 144 home runs in 8 seasons with the Diamondbacks and Athletics. In 2007 (his rookie season) he slugged 32 homers, but hit just .237 with a .295 OBP.  

He made $8.5 million last season. 

Young's role on this team is unclear at this point, but based on his high salary he will likely break camp one of the team's corner outfielders. He has more experience at center field, so the Mets may shift Juan Lagares to right to allow Young to feel more comfortable. 

Either way, Young's career 22.9 K % isn't very promising. Young has been fairly consistent throughout his career, but not in a good way. He has power and speed, but the strikeouts and the inability to work the count have been his biggest problems. 

It is nice to see that the Mets have brought someone on board, however. Young isn't going to change the direction of the franchise, and certainly won't be worth the $7.25 million that he will earn, but he can still present a moderate upgrade over last year's cycle of outfielders.

What I don't understand is, if the Mets are willing to give someone like Young $7.25 million, why did they pass up on Marlon Byrd, who will only make a tiny bit more than him. Byrd has proven that he could do it in New York, and even showed interest in coming back to Queens. 

All in all, the Mets gave up quite a chunk of money to bring Young in. Hopefully he is more than a platoon hitter, but his splits don't seem too promising. In his career, he has a .262/.363/.474 slash line against lefties, but a .225/.295/.415 slash line against righties. 

Met add four to 40-man roster

The Mets have added four pitchers to the 40 man roster to protect them from the upcoming Rule V draft. Those players are: Steven Matz, Jeff Walters, Jacob deGrom, and Erik Goeddel. The roster is now at 40 players. 

The rules go as follows: if a player is left off of the 40 man roster, he is unprotected in the draft, meaning that he can be selected by an opposing team. If he is selected, he must remain with the team that claims him for all of the following season, or he can be offered back to his original team. 

Matz, a former 2nd round pick, was hampered by injuries early on in his minor league career. This went on to delay his development, but at age 22, he still has time to turn it around. He started 21 games for Single-A Savannah in 2013, posting a 2.62 ERA while putting up a solid 10.2 K/9 ratio. 

Walters, 26, has been with the Mets since 2010 when he was selected in the 7th round of the amateur draft. He had by far his best season in 2013. With the Binghamton Mets, he had a 2.09 ERA in 53 relief appearances, and notched 38 saves. He also had 2.6 BB/9 and 9.6 K/9. 

As a 25 year old, Jacob deGrom is considered a lower-grade prospect. However, it was expected that the Mets would add him to the roster. The hard-throwing righty had a 4.52 ERA in 14 Triple-A starts in 2013. 

Erik Goeddel is a name that many are surprised to see. The former 24th round pick had a 4.37 ERA in 25 Double-A starts last season. He also managed to strike out 125 batters in 134.0 innings pitched, which translates to a relatively good 8.4 K/9 ratio.

Mets sign Miguel Socolovich to a minors deal

The Mets have signed pitcher Miguel Socolovich to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. 

Socolovich, 27, made 11 appearances in Japan last season, posting a 0.79 ERA with a 0.882 WHIP. In 2012, he played in 12 games for the Cubs and Orioles where he had a 6.06 ERA in 16 1/3 innings. The right-hander was originally signed out of Venezuela as an 18 year old back in 2004. He has a combined 3.79 ERA in 7 career minor league seasons. 

This is just another bullpen depth signing. First it was Joel Carreno, now it is Socolovich. Expect quite a bit of these moves throughout the off-season as Alderson is looking to find any diamond in the rough that is out there. Socolovich isn't a bad player to bring in since he has a history of success at the highest minor league levels. For example, in 2012, he had a 1.90 ERA in 28 relief appearances for the Orioles' Triple-A team. Worst comes to worst he is "filler" in the minor leagues, specifically Triple-A Las Vegas.  

Mets sign Brandon Allen

The Mets have signed first baseman/left fielder Brandon Allen to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. 

Allen, 27, spent the entire 2013 season at Triple-A in the Padres organization, where he hit .267 with 17 home runs and 76 RBI. He is primarily a first baseman, but has seen time in left field too. His last Major League appearance was in 2012 with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he hit .154 in 7 games. 

Not too long ago Allen was being brought up through the White Sox and Diamondback organizations, and thought of a player with a fair amount of upside. He has a good amount of raw power, evident by his solid minor league numbers, and  really hasn't played too much in the Majors, so it would be unfair to judge this signing right now.

Allen's power is intriguing, and since he is young he probably still has some of that pop to his bat still with him. However, I basically just see this as a depth signing. Perhaps this is foreshadowing a trade of Ike Davis, but the Mets do in-fact already have a logjam at first base. I don't really have a problem with depth signings, so to me this is a nice pickup by Alderson and Co.