The New York Mets announced that catcher Kevin Plawecki, infielder Eric Campbell and outfielders Eric Young Jr. and Kirk Nieuwenhuis will join the team on Tuesday from Triple-A Las Vegas when major league rosters expand.
Sandy Alderson also said on Friday that RHP Erik Goeddel will be activated from the DL on September 1st.
Goeddel pitched very well for the Mets to start the year with a 1.96 ERA and 1.043 WHIP in 23 innings before going down with elbow soreness in June. After struggling in the start of his rehab for St. Lucie (4 runs in 4.2) he has been good for Binghamton pitching four scoreless innings with five strikeouts. He has allowed three hits and a walk for the B’Mets while hitting 94 MPH on the gun in his last two outings.
Nieuwenhuis was hitting well in his 11 games since returning to the Mets batting .317/.404/.634 with four doubles, three homeruns, and ten RBI before going on the disabled list with a pinched nerve. Kirk has kept swinging the bat well hitting .342/.366/.526 since rejoining the Las Vegas 51’s on August 17th in his rehab assignment.
Plawecki was sent down on August 11th when the Mets decided Travis d’Arnaud was able to play everyday. He was hitting .228/.283/.296 for the Mets in 62 games but drew praise for his defense and the Mets were 31-27 when he started. He did also play one game at first base for the Las Vegas 51’s.
Dario Alvarez will also be back at some point, however Josh Smoker will likely not be promoted since the Mets do not want to put him on the 40-man roster yet.
Alvarez was called up last week for some bullpen depth and was sent back down on Monday without throwing a pitch. He has been dominant over his last 24.2 innings combined for Binghamton and Las Vegas allowing only one run while striking out 39 in that span. He has shut lefties down all year holding them to .118/.241/.176 slash line and could render Eric O’Flaherty useless.
Smoker has been a great story in the Minors Leagues for the Mets after signing in Spring Training and pitching very well in 37 games with three different affiliates. He is in Binghamton right now where he has pitched 17.2 innings striking out 23 with a 2.04 ERA and 1.132 WHIP.
Lefties have actually hit Smoker better this year with a .613 OPS compared to a .537 OPS by righties. This is partially due to the fact that Smoker’s best secondary pitch is his split change. He has been hitting 96/97 MPH with his fastball and been working on a slider to help him be more effective against lefties.
(Updated 8/30)
