The Rays are dealing righty reliever Tyler Zuber to the Mets for minor league reliever Paul Gervase, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (X link). Reliever Ty Adcock was designated for assignment by the Mets to clear a spot for Zuber, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Zuber, 29, was signed by the Rays to a minor league deal back in May out of the Atlantic League. After striking out a third of the batters he faced at Triple-A over 21 2/3 innings, the Rays selected his contract nine days ago. When Zuber took the hill against DJ LeMahieu and the Yankees earlier this month, it marked nearly three years between big league appearances. Today, he’s been shipped to New York as the Rays make room for Hunter Bigge, acquired in the Isaac Paredes deal with the Cubs. It appears Zuber may fall just shy of three years of Major League service (and arbitration eligibility) if he stays up with the Mets for the rest of their season and remains on their 40-man roster.
Zuber joins a Mets bullpen that also welcomed Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek in trades this month. The Mets designated lefty Jake Diekman for assignment yesterday, calling up Matt Gage. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns also supplemented the club’s rotation today, adding Paul Blackburn in a trade with the A’s.
Gervase, a 6’10” 24-year-old righty, was drafted by the Mets out of Louisiana State in the 12th round in 2022. He’s punched out 38% of batters faced at Double-A this year, but also walked 14%. In his last 13 appearances, he’s whiffed over 41% of batters. It’s been an interesting journey thus far for Gervase, who you can read more about in this New York Post article by Mark W. Sanchez last October.
Adcock, 27, was drafted by the Mariners in the eighth round back in 2019. He made his big league debut last year, but was designated for assignment in April of this year. The Tigers claimed him on waivers, and lost him to the Mets about a month later in another claim. Adcock made only three appearances for the Mets, most recently allowing six runs in 1 1/3 innings on July 5th at Pittsburgh. Adcock, who averaged 96.5 miles per hour in his brief big league stint this year, has a 5.24 ERA across three different Triple-A teams this year.