According to Matt Ehalt of The Record, left-handed relief pitcher Fernando Abad is not a member of the New York Mets despite earlier reports.
The Mets sent out a press release confirming the signing, but Abad is not in the system and is not on a roster at any level of the minor leagues.
Had Abad’s signing became official, he would have earned a $1.25MM salary if he made the Mets, and would have had a chance at another $650K in incentives.
Original report – March 25
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, is reporting that the Mets have signed left-handed reliever Fernando Abad to a minor league deal.
Abad, 32, was released just four days ago after appearing in three spring training contests with the Philadelphia Phillies. In that time, he allowed five earned runs on two homers and three walks in 1.2 innings.
Abad has worked primarily as a one-out arm between the Red Sox, Twins, and Athletics the past four seasons, sporting a 3.09 ERA while averaging 8.0 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 in that time.
His 3.30 ERA, 7.6 K/9, and 2.9 BB/9 in 48 games in 2017 were complemented well by a sterling ability to retire lefties, as Abad limited them to a .636 OPS.
What’s more, in 32.1 combined innings dating back to 2014, Abad owns a 1.12 ERA against the National League.
Abad’s repertoire includes a fastball that sits in the low-90’s as well as a mid-70’s curveball and high-70’s changeup that he often mixed in together in 2017 (25.1% usage and 22.5% respectively, per FanGraphs.)
With the Mets set to carry just one left-handed reliever on their Opening Day roster in Jerry Blevins, and the immediate alternative in Vegas in the form of Matt Purke and his 18 big league innings, the signing of a durable, dependable arm like Abad for depth is one that could have its benefits down the road.
