By Jerry Del Priore
With a lack of pitching prospects at the top levels in the New York Mets’ minor league system, they’ve been looking to change that by promoting numerous hurlers throughout their system’s lower level this season. The latest call-up was Fireflies former closer Adonis Uceta, whom the Mets bump to the Advanced-A St. Lucie Thursday.
Adonis posted a 4-0 record with a 1.26 ERA and 11 saves in 11 opportunities in 43 frames in 29 contests with Colombia before the promotion.
The six-foot-one-inch Dominican native is currently 0-0 with 1.1 innings of scoreless baseball in one game with St. Lucie.
Other pitchers who’ve received call-ups from Fireflies to St. Lucie this year have been righties Jordan Humphreys and Merandy Gonzalez.
In addition, right-hander Keaton Aldridge was transferred to Columbia from short-season Single-A Brooklyn.
Plus, New York acquired pitching prospect Drew Smith from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for first baseman Lucas Duda, who will become a free agent at season’s end.
Smith, the Detroit Tigers’ third-round selection in the June 2015 amateur draft out of Dallas Baptist University, was acquired by Tampa Bay on April 28, 2017 as the player to be named later to complete an earlier deal that sent Mikie Mahtook to Detroit on January 18, 2017.
In 79 career minor league contests, all in relief, Smith is 5-4 with a 1.80 ERA with 13 saves and 140 strikeouts. The Rays promoted Smith, 23, to Double-A at the beginning of this month.
The Mets assigned him to the Double-A Rumble Ponies.
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