The Mets designated outfielder Nick Plummer for assignment and selected the contract of right-hander RJ Alvarez from Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. New York has also formally placed right-hander Carlos Carrasco on the 15-day injured list due to an oblique strain (as was previously reported), optioned righty Adonis Medina to Syracuse and recalled right-hander Stephen Nogosek from Syracuse. They’ll need to make an additional move tomorrow when they select top prospect Brett Baty to the 40-man roster for his MLB debut.
Plummer, 26, was a first-rounder by the Cardinals back in 2015 and reached minor league free agency following the 2021 season, never having been called up to the big leagues. The Mets inked Plummer to a Major League contract despite that lack of MLB experience, and they indeed gave him his big league debut earlier this season. Plummer excited Mets fans with homers in back-to-back games in late May, but he went hitless over his next 22 plate appearances before being sent back to Triple-A Syracuse.
Things haven’t gone particularly well for Plummer in Syracuse, either. Through 58 games and 246 plate appearances this season, he turned in a lowly .232/.317/.370 batting line — numbers that loosely align with his career .222/.358/.360 output in just over 2000 career plate appearances in the minors. He’ll hit waivers or be released within the next week, as the passing of the trade deadline means that players who are designated for assignment can no longer be traded to other clubs.
The 31-year-old Alvarez will be taking a Major League mound for the first time since way back in 2015 if Showalter calls him into tonight’s game. He’s had a nice year in Syracuse, pitching to a 3.38 ERA in 34 2/3 frames — albeit with an unsightly 13.4% walk rate in that time. This marks the second time Alvarez has been selected to the Major League roster in 2022, but he didn’t get into a game before being optioned back to Syracuse and eventually designated for assignment (and subsequently outrighted). He’s up as an extra arm, and the Mets will need another 40-man move for Baty tomorrow, so it could be yet another brief stay on the 40-man roster for the former Padres and A’s righty.
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