Cubs sign yet another Mets player cut from the roster this year
J.D. Davis grabbed most of the free agent news on Wednesday. After getting released by the New York Yankees, the former New York Mets third baseman/left fielder found himself making his way over to the rival Baltimore Orioles. Hey, good for you J.D.! See you again soon if you’re still around when you visit the Mets.
Flying much further under everyone’s radar was the addition of Adrian Houser to the Chicago Cubs organization on a minor league deal. A pre-trade deadline DFA by the Mets to clear some space, Houser’s failure as a starter had him moving to the bullpen about midway through his tenure. His time pitching well out of the bullpen came to an end when he was no longer even a good mop-up guy.
Whilst looking to improve the bullpen, Houser’s performance gave them no other choice but to release him. He allowed at least one earned run in each of his five July appearances. In all but his last one there was a home run, too.
How about those other ex-Mets the Cubs added?
Tomas Nido is on the IL but previous to hitting it wasn’t doing much hitting at all. Just a .128/.143/.234 slash line in 50 plate appearances suggests Nido will be a free agent and signing a minor league deal this winter.
Jorge Lopez, on the other hand, is throwing everything but gloves well. He has allowed one run in his first 16.2 innings in relief for Chicago. The miniscule 0.54 ERA coms with average walk numbers and below average strikeout totals for a reliever. The Mets are undoubtedly in a better place now without him despite how good he was early on. An implosion always felt imminent.
Down on the farm, yet to see major league action this year, we find Trayce Thompson. He hit .228/.300/.500 for a Mets Triple-A squad that seemed to have little interest in adding him to the major league roster at all this year hence his choice to opt out. Since joining the Cubs in Triple-A over in Iowa, he has hit .269/.338/.537. The Cubs are playing for nothing but a miracle to happen. His chance at seeing the majors this year probably requires an injury.
While we’re here, we mine as well see how Pete Crow-Armstrong has done. Not good, Bob. After 237 chances he is batting .205/.249/.329 with 3 home runs and 23 RBI. A stud at stealing bases with 22 in as many attempts, the holes in Crow-Armstrong’s game are obvious. An excellent defender and quick on his feet, this might be a case of a high-ranking prospect being a quality nine-hole hitter. Good thing for the Cubs he’s only 22. What are the odds he ends up traded to the Braves in four years?
