New York Mets designate former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher for assignment

He pitched an inning and a third for the Mets on Sunday, allowing three earned runs on five hits without striking anyone out.

He now has 162 1/3 innings of major league work under his belt. He has occasionally shown glimpses of being an effective ground ball guy. 55% of the balls in play he's allowed have been pounded into the ground and his 7.8% walk rate is also decent but he has only struck out 17.8% of batters faced.

He has a 4.88 ERA overall, which isn't terrible, but his best work is a few years old now. He has a 6.68 ERA dating back to the start of the 2023 season, in 68 2/3 innings.

He is now out of options, which has limited his ability to cling to a roster spot. But he's cheap, as the Blue Jays are on the hook for the majority of his $900K salary since they released him earlier this year.

Other clubs can sign him and only pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for the time spent on the roster.

In his career, Pop has gotten many chances thanks to his intriguing velocity. He averages 96 miles per hour on his sinker, though that has led to more ground balls than strikeouts.

In 161 career innings split between the Marlins, Blue Jays and Mariners, he has a 4.75 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 55.2% ground ball rate.

He also got a brief stint with the Mariners before joining the Mets. He has the right to reject outright assignments and will likely end up back on the open market in the coming days.