Jorge Lopez Agrees to One-Year, $2 Million Contract with New York Mets

Jorge Lopez has Mets an offer he can’t refuse…

The 30-year-oldPuerto Rican professional baseball pitcher has agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the New York Mets.

Jorge LopezLopez’s hiring adds another reliever to a team that has spent the past week bolstering its organization depth.

Lopez struggled with three teams this year after a career-best 2022 in which he looked the part of a front-line reliever.

With a velocity bump from his move from the rotation to the bullpen, Lopez rode a 98 mph fastball and heavy curveball to a 2.54 ERA. The regression he showed after his midseason trade from the Baltimore Orioles to Minnesota Twins continued into 2023, when the Twins traded him to the Miami Marlins and he later went back to the Orioles without similar success.

Lopez nevertheless remained strong, and the Mets are hopeful he can return to form after posting a 5.95 ERA in 59 innings in 2023 with the three teams. New York, under new president of baseball operations David Stearns, in the past week claimed a pair of catchers (Cooper Hummel, Tyler Heineman) off waivers, signed two pitchers (Kyle Crick, Andre Scrubb) and an infielder (Jose Iglesias) to minor league deals, added another reliever (Michael Tonkin) on a split major league deal, and guaranteed $13 million to starter Luis Severino in hopes of a return to past excellence.

The Mets’ pitching depth going into the winter after a deeply disappointing 75-87 season called for significant additions, and Stearns is attempting to do what he did in Milwaukee, where often-overlooked relievers thrived and turned the Brewers’ bullpen into a weapon.

Lopez rejoins Mets closer Edwin Diaz, his teammate on Team Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, during which Diaz ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee celebrating a victory over the Dominican Republic. Diaz’s return deepens a bullpen with left-hander Brooks Raley the only other pitcher whose role is clearly defined.

Milwaukee Brewers Acquire Rowdy Tellez from Toronto Blue Jays

Rowdy Tellez is movin’ to the Badger State.

The 26-year-old half-Mexican American professional baseball player and first baseman has been acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday in exchange for right-handed pitchers Trevor Richards and Bowden Francis.

Rowdy Tellez 

Tellez, who bats left-handed, is hitting .209 with four home runs and eight RBIs in 50 games for the Blue Jays at the major league level this season.

Tellez is currently in Triple-A and is hitting .298 with four home runs and 11 RBIs in Trenton.

His best season came in 2019 when he set career highs with 21 home runs and 54 RBIs. For his career, he has a .241 batting average, 37 home runs and 99 RBIs in 219 games.

Tellez was expected to be in uniform for Wednesday’s series finale against the New York Mets.

“This is a player who has consistently put the bat on the ball and he’s consistently hit the ball hard — those are two pretty good attributes for major league hitters,” Brewers general manager David Stearns said. “He has a long track record of success in the minor leagues. He got off to a little bit of a slow start this year at the major league level. We think the underlying ingredients are pretty sound. We think he should be able to perform at the major league level. He’s going to get a shot.”

The first-place Brewers acquired the 28-year-old Richards, along with Willy Adames, in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in May. He is 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA in 15 appearances with Milwaukee since the trade.

Francis, 25, is 7-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 11 starts at two levels in the Brewers’ minor league system this season.

The Brewers needed some help at first base with Daniel Vogelbach on the injured list due to a strained left hamstring. Vogelbach isn’t expected to return until August.

Keston Hiura, who opened the season as the Brewers’ starting first baseman, is batting .161 and already has been sent to the minors twice this season. Hiura showed signs of progress during the Brewers’ recent 11-game winning streak, but he has gone 0-for-7 with six strikeouts over his last two games.

Stearns said the search for a Vogelbach replacement was complicated by the calendar. Teams are preparing for the amateur draft, which starts Sunday, while trying to figure out if they are contenders ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.

“We explored a number of different options, a number of different players,” Stearns said. “We’re certainly pleased we were able to find a match.”

Richards will help out in the bullpen for the Blue Jays, who entered Tuesday four games out of the AL’s second wild-card spot.

“You can pitch him in some big spots,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He got out of some jams for us. He did a really nice job.”