Now Pitching for the Mets, Perhaps

G-Fafif · November 4, 2019

Beltran demanded Brodie make moves, and here are a handful — because you don't ignore Carlos Beltran.

(Or this is standard hot stove fiddling.)

FLUSHING, N.Y., November 4, 2019 — The New York Mets today announced that they have extended a qualifying offer to RHP Zack Wheeler, selected the contract of LHP Blake Taylor from Syracuse (AAA) and claimed LHP Stephen Gonsalves off waivers from the Minnesota Twins.

Taylor, 24, was 2–3 with a 2.16 ERA (16 earned runs/66.2 innings) and 74 strikeouts in 40 combined games with St. Lucie (A), Binghamton (AA) and Syracuse (AAA) in 2019. Taylor was selected in the second round by Pittsburgh in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft. He was acquired on June 15, 2014 as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Ike Davis to the Pirates.

Gonsalves, 25, was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2013. He was 2–2 in seven games, four starts for Minnesota in 2018. The 6–5, 220-pounder was the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2016 after posting a 13–5 record with a 2.06 ERA, and 155 strikeouts in 24 starts. He went 12–3 with a 2.76 ERA with 120 strikeouts in 120.2 innings over 23 games, 22 starts for Rochester (AAA) and Chattanooga (AA) in 2018.

Edgy MD · November 4, 2019

Blake Taylor did too well in the Arizona Fall League, and pitched his way into Rule V vulnerability.

Frayed Knot · November 5, 2019

Blake Taylor from the Ike deal ... that name is a blast from the past. He was one of those totally-far-away-but-may-work-out-some-day type of guys that often get tossed onto the back end of trades.

Only 17 y/o when drafted and traded less than a year later (Apr of '14) while still just 18-1/2 y/o and with of all 21 Gulf Coast Lg innings under his belt.

He then proceeded to pitch a whopping total of 41 innings in 2014 then 12 more in '15 and all of 8 in '16 ... and it was right around this point where he fell off my radar so it's nice to hear from/about

him again.

But he's been decent since then at several levels -- first as a starter, more recently out of the pen -- and is still just 24 even though that trade seems like it was

about a decade ago and Ike's last ML AB was with the Yanx more than 3-1/2 seasons ago.

Edgy MD · November 5, 2019

Yeah, I think, more than being Rule V-eligible, he was in a position to become a minor league free agent if not added to the roster.

There have been a lot of Blakes and a lot of Taylors through the system in recent years, so it was easy to lose track of him.