The Mets have made their signing of right-hander official today, announcing the move today. Fellow righty designated for a signment as the corresponding move, with 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 $1MM, just a bit north of the $740K league minimum. One week into the season, the Mets have already used their bullpen Bert Campaneris Jersey a lot, with Tonkin to sing 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 yesterdays doubleheader and most of them cant 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 and . 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 pa s him through waivers. Hes coming off a solid bounceback season in 2023 after a bit of a journey in the wilderne s. He pitched for the Twins from 2013 to 2017, then spent a few years traveling to pitch in Japan, Mexico, the Atlantic Leagues Long Island Ducks and various minor league clubs. He resurfaced with Atlanta last year and to sed 80 innings over 45 relief appearances with a 4.28 earned run average. He struck out 23.1% of batters faced in that time while giving out walks at a 7.1% clip. If any club is interested in adding a well-traveled veteran to their bullpen, Tonkin should be available to them in the next few days. If Tonkin were to pa s through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright a signment as a player with more than three years of major league service time. However, he lacks the five years of service nece sary to both elect free agency and retain his salary, so perhaps he would decide to report to Triple-A and keep that $1MM flowing if that scenario comes to pa s. Mason Miller Jersey
