The Mets have made their signing of right-hander Julio Teheran official on Friday, announcing the move. Fellow righty Michael Tonkin was designated for assignment as the corresponding move, with Anthony DiComo of MLB.com among those to relay the move.
Tonkin, 34, was signed by the Mets to a major league deal in December. That pact came with a modest guarantee of $1M, just a bit north of the $740K league minimum.
One week into the season, the Mets have already used their bullpen a lot, with Tonkin tossing four innings over three appearances. He allowed two earned runs on six hits and one walk, striking out three.
Just about everyone in the Mets bullpen was used in Thursday’s doubleheader and most of them can’t be optioned to the minors, giving them little flexibility back there.
They also needed a 40-man roster spot for Teheran, who was signed to bolster the rotation after the recent injuries to Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill. Those two factors have seemingly nudged Tonkin off the club and into the DFA gulf.
The Mets will now have one week to trade Tonkin or pass him through waivers. He’s coming off a solid bounce-back season in 2023 after a bit of a journey in the wilderness.
He pitched for the Twins from 2013 to 2017, then spent a few years traveling to pitch in Japan, Mexico, the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and various minor league clubs.
He resurfaced with Atlanta last year and tossed 80 innings over 45 relief appearances with a 4.28 earned run average. He struck out 23.1 percent of the batters faced in that time while giving out walks at a 7.1 percent clip.
If any club is interested in adding a well-traveled veteran to its bullpen, Tonkin should be available to them in the next few days.
If Tonkin were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment as a player with more than three years of major league service time.
However, he lacks the five years of service necessary to both elect free agency and retain his salary, so perhaps he would decide to report to Triple-A and keep that $1M flowing if that scenario comes to pass.
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