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Covey

Covey allowed only an unearned run over 7 1/3 innings for Triple-A Gwinnett, but he last pitched on May 6 and had been on the IL. The veteran right-hander was signed to a minor league deal by the Braves in February after an odd sequence of events saw the Mets give him a one-year deal extremely early in free agency, outright him prior to spring training and then had him declare for free agency after he cleared waivers. Covey last pitched in the majors in 2023 before dealing with shoulder problems last year.

Covey latched on with the Braves last month as a non-roster invitee and will presumably head to Triple-A Gwinnett as extra organizational relief depth, unless he opts-out of his contract. The 33-year-old journeyman made 29 appearances between the Dodgers and Phillies back in 2023. He missed last season due to a shoulder injury.

Covey was given an MLB deal from the Mets in October, but he elected free agency after being designated for assignment this winter. Covey will compete for a bullpen spot with Atlanta this spring.

Sort of an odd saga here. Covey, who has a 6.18 ERA in 46 starts and 54 relief appearances as a major leaguer, was an extremely early free agent signing, landing a one-year deal with the Mets on October 31. It was a surprise to see him get a major-league deal after he missed last season with a shoulder injury, less of a surprise to see him eventually crowded off the 40-man and now again a surprise to see him forgo his Mets deal and trek back into free agency. He will have a better shot of making a weaker team, though.

Covey will most likely elect free agency instead of accepting the outright minor-league assignment after passing through waivers unclaimed, but he could wind up sticking around with New York. The 33-year-old righty signed a one-year deal with the Mets back in late October after missing all of last season due to injury. He should be able to latch on somewhere this spring as extra relief depth if he opts to leave New York.

The Mets just signed Covey to a guaranteed one-year contract earlier this offseason, but he gets the boot from their 40-man roster to make room for Ryne Stanek who was officially signed on Thursday. Covey, 33, has shown enough at the big league level that there could be teams looking his way on waivers.

Despite Covey not pitching in the majors in 2024, he did have 17 appearances at Triple-A for the Phillies, posting a 1.35 ERA in those outings. The 33-year-old has leaned on a cutter/splitter pairing a bit more in 2023 which gives him a little bit of intrigue given what the Mets were able to get out of their free-agent signings from last year like Luis Severino and Sean Manaea.

The move keeps Covey off the 40-man roster. Covey has missed all of the 2024 season with a right shoulder strain, and will need to be added back to the 40-man in order to pitch for the Phillies before the season ends.

The procedural move opens up a spot on Philadelphia’s 40-man roster for the club to claim Freddy Tarnok off waivers from the Athletics. Covey has been out all season due to a right shoulder strain.

Covey was sidelined during spring camp when he suffered shoulder tightness. There’s no estimate on how long it will take the 32-year-old to get back on the mound.