Author Topic: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam  (Read 3905 times)

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Offline welch

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Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Topic Start: July 27, 2021, 09:21:15 PM »

Quote
The Mets are at risk of not signing their top Draft pick after Kumar Rocker’s physical showed an elbow issue, according to multiple sources briefed on the situation.

The Mets have not confirmed any details of Rocker's physical.

Rocker, the No. 10 overall pick in the Draft earlier this month, traveled to New York for his routine physical last week. Testing revealed an issue with Rocker’s elbow, though it remains to be seen if that will be enough to nix a deal. Rocker and the Mets had already agreed to terms on a $6 million pact, which was pending a clean physical.

Now, the Mets have three choices. They can either sign Rocker for $6 million anyway, try to renegotiate a lesser deal with Rocker and his representative, Scott Boras, or forfeit the selection and receive a compensatory pick next year at No. 11 overall.

https://www.mlb.com/news/kumar-rocker-mets-deal-affected-by-physical

If the forfeit the pick. So what happens to Rocker?

Online Slateman

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If the forfeit the pick. So what happens to Rocker?
He can re-enter next year's draft.

Offline Count Walewski

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He can re-enter next year's draft.

Him and what UCL? Who will pay for his TJ surgery if he does not sign?

Offline HalfSmokes

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Him and what UCL? Who will pay for his TJ surgery if he does not sign?

presumably his parents and their health insurer. TJ surgeries for high school pitchers aren't unheard of

Online imref

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presumably his parents and their health insurer. TJ surgeries for high school pitchers aren't unheard of

I'd assume he's well insured at this point.

Online Slateman

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presumably his parents and their health insurer. TJ surgeries for high school pitchers aren't unheard of
Also, whatever insurance he bought when he started his season at Vanderbilt

Also, if he tore his UCL, he did it at Vandy, and they would have to cover it

Offline hotshot

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #7: August 01, 2021, 04:15:21 PM »
If he doesn't sign in the next hour, Mets get 11th pick next year.

Offline welch

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #8: August 01, 2021, 07:42:51 PM »
Mets chose not top sign Rocker.

https://www.mlb.com/news/kumar-rocker-does-not-sign-with-mets

Quote
NEW YORK -- One of the most anticipated Mets’ Draft picks in years will not join the organization. Following a review of Kumar Rocker’s medical information, the club let Sunday’s deadline pass without signing its first-round Draft selection to a professional contract.

Multiple sources said that the Mets were unaware of Rocker’s arm issues until he traveled to New York in mid-July for his post-Draft physical. Although the two sides could have negotiated a lesser deal than the $6 million pact they agreed to around Draft time, Mets officials were concerned enough by Rocker’s medicals that they did not even make him an offer, according to a source, as they preferred having the No. 11 pick in next year’s Draft instead.

That selection will become their compensation for not signing Rocker, a Vanderbilt star whose stock dropped when his velocity dipped during his junior season. Although Rocker’s radar gun readings ticked back up by the end of the spring, he was unable to recapture the upper-90s heat that had initially made him a potential No. 1 overall pick.

“This is clearly not the outcome we had hoped for and wish Kumar nothing but success moving forward,” Mets general manager Zack Scott said in a statement. “We’re excited about the players we have signed and look forward to watching them develop and contribute to the organization in the years to come.”

Rocker could have avoided the situation by consenting to an MLB-sponsored program that shares the medical information of top Draft pitchers, but he risked falling precipitously on Draft boards if his MRIs revealed significant elbow or shoulder issues. As such, sources said that Rocker did not participate, which allowed the Mets to decline signing him without even making an offer. Per MLB rules, they would have needed to offer him a deal worth at least 40% of his $4.74 million slot value had he participated in the program. But they also might not have drafted him at all if he did, based on his medicals.

It turned out to be a complicated situation, from which the Mets extricated themselves prior to Sunday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Simply put, team officials believed Rocker’s injury issues were serious enough to value a future pick more than him -- this was not simply a matter of a player needing Tommy John surgery, like Mets second-rounder J.T. Ginn did in 2020. (The Mets selected Ginn despite that injury, and he is now their fifth-ranked prospect.)

It’s the same tack the Astros took after declining to sign No. 1 overall pick Brady Aiken in 2014. A year later, they selected Alex Bregman with their compensatory pick at No. 2 overall. Similarly, after declining to sign first-rounder Mark Appel in the 2012 Draft, the Pirates took Austin Meadows with their compensatory pick. Toronto’s decision not to sign Tyler Beede in the 2011 Draft led to them taking Marcus Stroman at No. 22 overall one year later.

The prospect of doing something similar next year excites team officials more than the idea of hoping Rocker can overcome his medical issues.

As for Rocker, he is eligible to enter the Draft again next year. Over his three seasons at Vanderbilt, Rocker went 28-10 with a 2.89 ERA in 39 starts and three relief appearances, including a 19-strikeout no-hitter in the 2019 NCAA Super Regional against Duke. In a statement, Rocker’s advisor, Scott Boras, claimed that Rocker “is healthy according to independent medical review by multiple prominent baseball orthopedic surgeons,” who found no significant difference between MRIs taken in 2018 and ‘21.

“Kumar requires no medical attention,” Boras continued, “and will continue to pitch in the regular course as he prepares to begin his professional career.”


Offline bluestreak

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #9: August 02, 2021, 12:19:52 PM »
Also, whatever insurance he bought when he started his season at Vanderbilt

Also, if he tore his UCL, he did it at Vandy, and they would have to cover it

Can he go back to Vanderbilt. I think he can.

Online imref

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #10: August 02, 2021, 12:38:14 PM »
Amazing how well all those compensation picks worked out.

Online Slateman

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #11: August 02, 2021, 12:39:31 PM »
Can he go back to Vanderbilt. I think he can.
He can, but he is opting not too. I dont blame him either. Vandy is a great program, but Tim Corbin uses Rocker and Leiter way too much. Especially since they didnt pitch much in 2020.

This seems really weird. The Mets took underslot guys in the rest of the draft. They recently drafted a pitcher who they knew needed TJS. They drafted Rocker (and the rest of their draft) with the expectation of overpaying slot for Rocker and they clearly arent afraid of TJS.

And they have balked at Rocker as soon as they got the medicals.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #12: August 02, 2021, 12:46:09 PM »
Sucks for the player, there really should be a way for them to become a free agent if the team won’t offer slot

Offline Natsinpwc

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #13: August 02, 2021, 12:47:20 PM »
Can he go back to Vanderbilt. I think he can.
I thought by signing for Boras he cannot?

Offline varoadking

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #14: August 02, 2021, 12:49:44 PM »
Sucks for the player, there really should be a way for them to become a free agent if the team won’t offer slot

That makes too much sense...

Online imref

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #15: August 02, 2021, 01:14:26 PM »
Sucks for the player, there really should be a way for them to become a free agent if the team won’t offer slot
Wouldn’t that reward Rocker for not participating in the league medical program?  Had he done so this wouldn’t have happened.

Offline Natsinpwc

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #16: August 02, 2021, 01:19:42 PM »
He’s not going back to Vandy. Not sure if that is his choice or not. Unclear what his professional options are. Independent league? NPB or KBO?

https://vanderbilthustler.com/41351/featured/breaking-kumar-rocker-doesnt-sign-with-mets-will-still-forgo-his-collegiate-eligibility/

Offline Natsinpwc

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #17: August 02, 2021, 01:20:43 PM »
Wouldn’t that reward Rocker for not participating in the league medical program?  Had he done so this wouldn’t have happened.
Boras talked about independent medical professionals examining him. Who hired them? Would have to be Boras which means they are not independent. 

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #18: August 02, 2021, 01:32:28 PM »
Wouldn’t that reward Rocker for not participating in the league medical program?  Had he done so this wouldn’t have happened.

It would mean that a team couldn’t low ball a player knowing they have no other option. It’s the Mets, so I’d say Karma with their pitching staff, but a little late for that.

Online imref

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #19: August 02, 2021, 01:34:06 PM »
It would mean that a team couldn’t low ball a player knowing they have no other option. It’s the Mets, so I’d say Karma with their pitching staff, but a little late for that.

Mets are getting ripped in the local NY media for this.

Offline Natsinpwc

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #20: August 02, 2021, 01:53:39 PM »
Mets are getting ripped in the local NY media for this.
He’s going to be a bust. They dodged a bullet.

Offline UMDNats

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #21: August 02, 2021, 02:20:12 PM »
He’s going to be a bust. They dodged a bullet.

The Mets took out a billboard for Rocker after they drafted him and now are not signing him, it's a total joke. This franchise has billions of dollars. The absolute worst case scenario offering Rocker slot or slightly above (their draft plan clearly was to offer more than slot) is a busted first round pick. The upside is a good pitcher. It's peanuts. $6-8 million is one year of a turd FA. Should have just done it. Maybe he gets TJ surgery immediately. He wasn't pitching in the majors until '22 anyways.

Offline Natsinpwc

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #22: August 02, 2021, 02:40:41 PM »
The Mets took out a billboard for Rocker after they drafted him and now are not signing him, it's a total joke. This franchise has billions of dollars. The absolute worst case scenario offering Rocker slot or slightly above (their draft plan clearly was to offer more than slot) is a busted first round pick. The upside is a good pitcher. It's peanuts. $6-8 million is one year of a turd FA. Should have just done it. Maybe he gets TJ surgery immediately. He wasn't pitching in the majors until '22 anyways.
They get an 11th pick next year to make up for it. Several teams seemed scared off of him.  It was not just money.  Better to cut your losses when you can.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #23: August 02, 2021, 04:20:19 PM »
they have no problem keeping around injured pitchers, they screwed over a kid by drafting and then not signing him. Hopefully their vaunted rotation has to watch them lose in the post season from the IL

Offline Natsinpwc

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Re: Mets find elbow "issue" in Kumar Rocker exam
« Reply #24: August 02, 2021, 06:38:16 PM »
they have no problem keeping around injured pitchers, they screwed over a kid by drafting and then not signing him. Hopefully their vaunted rotation has to watch them lose in the post season from the IL
They keep injured pitchers around because they are under contract. Why should they sign a guy if their doctors think he is damaged goods?  Yo make everyone feel nice?