New York Mets Sign Neil Ramirez
The New York Mets have signed Ramirez after he cleared waivers from rejecting an outright assignment by the Toronto Blue Jays. Ken Rosenthal offered the news via his twitter account this morning.
Source: #Mets signing RHP Neil Ramirez to major-league deal.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 16, 2017
The hard throwing righty gathered 18 strike outs in just 10.1 innings pitched with just four walks. His struggle appears to be preventing runs. Ramirez has allowed 10 runs on 15 hits which leaves him with an ERA of 8.71. Even though the Blue Jays recently waived him, Ramirez did not pitch for them this season. He previously appeared with the San Francisco Giants. His WHIP of 1.839, while not great, is certainly not terrible. Citi Field may help Ramirez turn his season around after he suffered some bad luck with the Giants. The BABIP he allowed of .464 accounts for part of his issues, which shows his defense was not making plays behind him. 29.1% of batters that reach against him are stranded, and 12% of his strikeouts come from a swinging third strike.
Mets manager Terry Collins will hope that a change of scenery and Pitching Coach Dan Warten can help reshape Ramirez. Ramirez showed excellent stuff in 2014 and 2015 with the Chicago Cubs. He put up a 1.87 ERA in 69 games over those two years, allowing just 12 runs on 41 hits. His strikeout-to-walk ratio dropped to 2.96 compared to a 4.50 that he currently possesses.
Roster move necessary
In signing Ramirez, the Mets add a player to a pitching staff hampered by injuries this year. Prior to Ramirez joining the squad, the Mets will have to make room, as he cannot be outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas. Ramirez’s stat line is better than current relief pitcher Rafael Montero. Montero currently owns an ERA of 9.00 over 13.0 innings pitched, and his WHIP is an astronomical 2.769. Sandy Alderson may look to designate Montero for assignment to add a slightly better arm to the bullpen.
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