It probably won’t come to fruition because there’s a good chance the Atlanta Braves find a trade partner. They’re not in the market to help out the New York Mets in any way right now. Trades between these organizations can happen. A year after each won the same amount of games and the rivalry is as bloodthirsty as ever, lending a helping hand just isn’t sensible for either ball club.
The Braves managed to finally awaken from their long offseason slumber on Thursday by signing Jurickson Profar to a three-year deal. In order to do so, they cleared a roster spot belonging to Connor Gillispie.
Gillispie was an early free agent signing by the Braves this offseason signed to a David Stearns specialty: the split contract. He’d make one salary at the MLB level and another as a minor leaguer. Because the 27-year-old does have two minor league options remaining, he’s someone to bury on the Triple-A pitching staff and viewed as a depth piece. So why him and not somebody else?
Connor Gillispie fits the modus operandi of what the Mets seem to value
Gillispie appears moldable and at this point of his career, a candidate that could benefit from a different set of advice. He began his professional career in 2019 with the Baltimore Orioles pitching exclusively in relief. Upon the return of minor league baseball in 2021, he was a starter occasionally, too. This isn’t anything unique. Minor league usage of pitchers and position players is more of a mad science project than an actual indication of what they’ll look like in the majors.
It was last year when Gillispie finally got his taste of major league ball. Limited to 8 innings with the Cleveland Guardians, he appeared in 3 games and had a 2.25 ERA. Walks were a bit of an issue but that hasn’t been the case in his minor league career. Down on the farm, he’s averaging 3.5 walks per 9 which isn’t an extreme. Strikeouts have come at a rate of 9.1 per 9.
Slow to move through the minor league system, Gillispie didn’t hit the proverbial Triple-A wall we’ve seen many highly-coveted Mets pitching prospects do. His walk rate ticked up to 3.8 per 9 but his strikeouts increased along with it to 9.5 per 9. The big killer for him last season was serving up 1.7 home runs per 9.
A rather tame pitch selection in which he relied mostly on his fastball in his limited time at the major leagues last year (and he’s not a particularly hard-thrower), it’s easy to see how teams could be swayed away from him. He’s at a crossroads of his career where he has reached the major league level but has yet to establish himself as a guy anyone seems willing to commit a roster spot to. He’s far more intriguing, in my opinion, than Dylan Covey whom the Mets signed to a split contract early in the offseason. This is partially due to being several years younger as well as the fact that he has minor league options left. In a heartbeat, I’d swap the more established Covey for the mystery of what Gillispie might be able to offer.
