Royals Sign Phil Humber
In a fairly under-the-radar move, the Royals have signed former Met Philip Humber to a minor-league deal.
Since leaving the Mets in the Johan Santana trade, Humber has been underwhelming — both in AAA and in brief stints at the Major League level.
Personally I’m a bit sad that Humber hasn’t been able to “put it together”. I’ve liked him ever since we played together at Rice (oh wait, that was PAUL Janish).
Seriously though, I thought Humber had a good mechanics, a nice repertoire of pitches (including a plus curveball), and solid command, but might not have the right personality for New York. The more laid-back Minnesota seemed to be a perfect fit for the quiet Texan. But he’s been very hittable for the past two years while toiling for the Rochester Red Wings, allowing 280 hits and 36 homeruns in 256 innings. His curve remains big-league caliber, but he tends to spot the fastball too high in the zone. It’s surprising that he hasn’t been able to get more sink on the fastball.
Though it’s been a tough go for Humber, his career isn’t yet over. He’ll turn 27 next week, and there’s still time for him to “figure it out”. Maybe it’ll happen in Kansas City.
Where They Are Now: Yusmeiro Petit
Remember Yusmeiro Petit? About 4-5 years ago, he was ranked as highly as #2 among the Mets prospects by Baseball America, who were impressed by his ability to throw 4 pitches over the plate. As a 21-year-old, Petit whipped through AA, posting a 9-3 record and 2.92 ERA for the Binghamton Mets — striking out 130 batters in 118 innings, walking only 18, and holding opposing hitters to a .209 AVG. He was a sure-fire back-end starter at worst, and some believed he’d eventually develop into a #2 or #3. Read more
Ezequiel Carrera Wins Batting Crown
Where They Are Now: Ezequiel Carrera
This afternoon I received an email from the Southern League announcing that Ezequiel Carrera of the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx had won the batting crown.
I’m thinking … “hey, that name sounds familiar!”. Of course it does — Carrera was one of the two dozen players traded by the Mets for Sean Green last winter.
The speedy centerfielder finished the year with a .337 AVG, and also led the league in on-base percentage with a .441 clip. The 22-year-old Venezuelan native also stole 27 bases.
Of course, the Mets are set in centerfield through 2011 with Carlos Beltran, so if the Mets held on to Carrera he wouldn’t have a shot to make the club until he was at least 24 years old. And even then, there’s a good chance Jose Reyes will still be around to man the leadoff spot.
Further, anything can happen between now and then. Carrera’s batting crown is for the Southern League, which is AA ball. Some players can make the jump from there to the bigs but Carrera will likely have to prove himself for at least another year — either by repeating AA or in AAA next season. And truth be told, Carrera is a slap hitter with speed and a good glove — along the lines of a Luis Castillo. In other words, not a potential superstar. Still, thought you’d be interested to see how a former property of the New York Mets performed this year.
Where They Are Now: Casey Fossum
Casey Fossum pitching for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
Anywho, as you may also remember, Fossum was DFA’d to make room for Ken Takahashi. We assumed he’d simply report back to Buffalo and return to orange and blue when needed.
Instead, Fossum elected free agency, and is now in pinstripes. The Yankee kind. The Yanks signed him and sent him to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take the injured Ian Kennedy’s place on the roster.
Last night, Fossum started against the Norfolk Tides and, on a limited pitch count, tossed 3 2/3 “sharp” innings, helping the AAA Yankees to a 5-1 win.
Also, as mentioned earlier this morning, Jason Vargas picked up the win for the Mariners in a 15-inning affair last night. Vargas threw 2 1/3, striking out 4. And in other news, Darren O’Day — who is developing his own “Six Degrees of Separation” — threw another perfect inning in relief for the Rangers last night, striking out two. He’s now appeared in 6 games, pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, and struck out 4. Who says the American League has better hitters?
Where They Are Now: Jason Vargas
One of the forgotten pieces of the J.J. Putz deal — Jason Vargas — has gotten off to a strong start in the hitter-friendly PCL.
It’s easy to forget Vargas was part of the deal … most people forgot he was still in the Mets’ organization, after suffering several injuries that knocked him out of action over the past few years. And he was one of, what, 19 players sent to Seattle? OK, maybe it wasn’t 19, but it sure felt like it.
Vargas just threw six scoreless innings , striking out 8, for the Tacoma Rainiers in a 14-0 rout over the Salt Lake Bees. (BTW, another player from that trade, Mike Carp, went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI in the same game).
Said catcher Jeff Clement:
“He has four solid pitches that he can throw for strikes and he mixes it up very well”
Though he didn’t perform well as a New York Met, it could be partially due to being less than 100% in his two starts in the orange and blue. Now, it appears he’s finally healthy (great timing) and beginning to live up to the expectations set as a rookie for the Marlins in 2005. In four games started this year, the 26-year-old Vargas has pitched 21 2/3 innings, struck out 22, walked 8, allowed 15 hits, and has a 2.49 ERA.
Sure would be nice to have a lefty starter with those kind of numbers waiting in AAA about now, wouldn’t it? Oh well, at least the eighth inning is locked down — you have to give up something to get something.
Where They Are Now: Darren O’Day
He’d been gone only hours, but Darren O’Day already appeared in a game for the Texas Rangers, facing Kevin Millar in the 11th inning last night against the Blue Jays.
O’Day was so new they didn’t have a uniform for him, so he wore Kason Gabbard’s jersey. Yes, O’Day went into the game with the name “Gabbard” stitched across his back.
“I got off the plane in the eighth inning and had to go through customs and all that jazz,” O’Day said. “The traveling secretary was texting me back and forth. We originally planned to go to the hotel and he said ‘Go to the field, we might need you.’ I got here, got on a uniform and went out there.”
O’Day shook hands and introduced himself to his new teammates in the bullpen, immediately prior to warming up.
Unfortunately for Darren, Millar ripped a game-winning single off of him to deliver a victory for the Jays.
“Gabbard I thought was a left-handed pitcher and he came in throwing sinkerballs, side-armed right-handed, so I was a little confused at first,” Millar joked.
Where They Are Now: Philip Humber
A little over a year ago, former #1 pick and Rice alum Philip Humber was one of the crown jewels of the Mets’ farm system and a key component in the trade that brought Johan Santana to the Mets. Today, he finds himself on the junk pile.
Humber, who barely made the Minnesota Twins out of spring training, was DFA’d the other day to make room for fireballer Juan Morillo.
… many Twins fans have simply assumed that Humber is a good prospect because he was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2004 draft after a brilliant college career and once received a ton of hype coming up through the Mets system. However, his stuff hasn’t been the same since undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery in July of 2005 and little in Humber’s post-surgery performance suggests that he’s capable of becoming more than a fifth starter or long reliever.
Humber certainly still has some value and keeping him around to soak up low-leverage relief innings and perhaps make a spot start or two would have been just fine, but the payoff is minimal given that he’s already 26 years old and the Twins develop pitchers in such a way that they will rarely be lacking in back-of-the-rotation starters or long relievers.
Personally, I’m a big fan of Humber, and hope he can one day make it back to the bigs.
Actually, Scott, I Had Forgotten
Where They Are Now: Scott Schoeneweis
This is a new category of posts, not to be confused with “Where Are They Now”. In this section, we’ll cover the news of former Mets who are still playing baseball, but not in Queens.
To kick off the new feature, we spotlight Scott Schoeneweis, who is now hurling in Arizona. And from the below quotes from MLB.com (hat tip to Walnutz), he’s hurling more than baseballs.
Despite what appear to be solid numbers last year — Schoeneweis put up a 3.32 ERA in 73 games and gave up 55 hits in 56 2/3 innings — he knows he’ll be most remembered for one thing.
“I gave up a homer to [Florida Marlins utilityman] Wes Helms in a 2-2 tie on the last game of the season, and we went on to lose the game,” Schoeneweis says. “It was a solo homer. It wasn’t like I had a four-run lead and gave up a grand slam.
“And I had pitched pretty well in four or five outings earlier that week. But that’s not what gets remembered. What gets remembered is that I blew it and the bullpen blew it, but the fact of the matter is that the team lost.
“Guys didn’t get hits in key situations. Other mistakes were made. I mean, did we as a bullpen contribute to what happened? Of course. But was it all our fault? No.”
Funny, Scott, but I actually HADN’T remembered that you were the one who gave up the homer to Wes Helms in that fateful final game. It must’ve gotten lost in my memory with all the other big hits you gave up in your two years with the Mets.
No, the thing I remember you for most is the idiocy of Omar Minaya to let Chad Bradford leave for Baltimore because three years was too long a deal for an effective middle reliever, yet it wasn’t too long to wrap up a rundown LOOGY. I also remember:
- the Mets “physical” that you passed to gain that ridiculous contract, despite suffering from a bad leg
- your innate ability to clear the bases / allow inherited runners to score
- the fastball that fell to 88 MPH from 94 MPH
- the irony of your fastball’s demise coinciding with MLB’s toughened PEDs testing
- the 15 homeruns you allowed in 115 innings in 2007-2008
- your perfectly tailored uniform, and nicely manicured hands
No worries, Scott, we’ve forgotten that one homer from game 162 of 2008. You are and will be most remembered for the fleecing you pulled on Minaya, and the consistent disappointment you delivered to Mets fans.
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