Nick Evans cleared waivers and accepted his assignment

After being removed from the 40-man roster last Friday, Nick Evans has cleared waivers and accepted his outright assignment to Buffalo. Evans has the right to become a free agent at the end of the season if he is not back on the 40-man roster, although he would have been eligible for that anyway due to minor league service time (Rule 55).

Evans' decision to accept the assignment makes sense on a number of levels. He knows the Mets' system well, and is at least familiar, if not comfortable, with things in Buffalo. He knows that Scott Hairston is a free agent at the end of the season, so there is a potential opening he could fill on the Major League bench next spring. And, perhaps most importantly, he knows that he makes significantly more money playing in AAA for the Mets than he would elsewhere.

If Evans had refused this outright assignment and sought employment in another system, he would have been looking at a minor league minimum salary of around $67,000. Perhaps he could have done a little better, perhaps not. But with the Mets, he will make quite a bit more, with a minimum in the neighborhood of $110,000-$115,000 in the minors. Article VI (D) of the current CBA stipulates that a player under reserve to the club cannot be paid a minimum minor league salary below 60% of his total compensation from the prior year. Going back to the first time his contract was renewed, prior to the 2009 season, his minor league minimum salary would have been roughly $130,000, give or take. Prior to 2010 the minimum would have been slightly higher, closer to $135,000 (assuming he had been paid the minimum in the prior year). And then this year, it would have been in that $110,000-$115,000 range, again assuming that all along the Mets had offered him the minimum contract at both the Major and minor league levels.

All of that aside, though, his bat should at least help out a Bisons team that has won just just 3 of their past 14 games.

Lucas Duda called up; Nick Evans DFA'd

Lucas Duda

Duda was on optional assignment with AAA Buffalo at the time of the call-up, so he was already on the 40-man roster. He has spent (approximately) 58 days on optional assignment in 2011, so the option year will officially count as his first. This call-up, as well as any subsequent 2011 options and call-ups, will have no effect on the number of options he has remaining.

Nick Evans

Evans is out of options, so to clear the spot for Duda on the 25-man active roster, he was designated for assignment (DFA'd). In addition to removing him from the active roster, the DFA also removes him from the 40-man roster. The Mets now have 10 days to trade him, release him, or send him outright to the minors. If they wish to outright him, he will first need to clear waivers. Additionally, since a player can only be outrighted once in his career without his consent, Evans will have the right to refuse the assignment. If he exercises that right, he will immediately become a free agent and will forfeit the remainder of his contract. If he accepts the assignment, he will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season (unless he is back on the 40-man roster at that time).

Regardless of what happens with Evans, this move reduces the Mets' 40-man roster count from 40 to 39. The open spot will not be filled until the Mets choose to either reinstate a player from the 60-day DL or call up a player who is not currently on the 40-man roster.