New York Mets News: Carlos Torres Clears Waivers

New York Mets News: Carlos Torres has elected to become a free agent after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers, declining to join the Mets minor league team.

When you have as active of an offseason as the New York Mets did, there will undoubtedly be casualties. With the additions they made in the middle infield with Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker, the outfield with Alejandro De Aza and retaining Yoenis Cespedes, and pitching staff with Bartolo Colon and Antonio Bastardo, moves had to be made on the 40-man roster. Add in the minor league players that needed to be added to avoid the Rule 5 draft, and the Mets were going to ruin someone’s day.

That player’s day who was ruined was right-handed pitcher Carlos Torres. With Bastardo being signed, the Mets needed to make some room on the roster, and Torres was the casualty that was removed from the 40-man roster. He will now be moving on from the organization, as Torres has elected to become a free agent after clearing waivers.

More from Empire Writes Back

Torres was designated for assignment 10 days ago, losing his roster spot when the Mets brought Bastardo aboard. He was on waivers a week later, as there was some teams interested in acquiring him for a trade but nothing was able to come together. He was then put on waivers, where no team bit once again so he elected to become a free agent.

The decision was an easy one for Torres, as the assignment to Triple-A Las Vegas for the Mets made little sense for him financially. Torres and the Mets agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.05 million to avoid arbitration earlier in the offseason, and had he accepted the assignment to the minor leagues he would have been making significantly less; he would have had to remain on the major league opening day roster to earn the $1.05 million, something that was far from guaranteed as the Mets already felt he was expendable by designating him for assignment.

Torres should not spend much time on the open market though, as he is a solid piece for a pitching staff. He has shown the ability to start and come out of the bullpen, something not everyone can handle. In 2013 Torres was a swing man for the Mets, making 33 appearances and starting nine times. In 2014 he logged 73 appearances with only one start, throwing 97 innings with a 3.06 ERA.

That inning total may have had a negative impact on Torres for the 2015 season, as he was nowhere near as effective. He appeared in 59 games, logging 57 1/3 innings, but with an ERA of 4.68. Relief pitchers are the most volatile players in baseball based on year-to-year performance so that may be a blip on the radar for Torres, who logged a 3.06 and 3.44 ERA in 2014 and 2014 for the Mets.

Whoever does sign Torres will be getting a solid innings eater out of the bullpen that can start in a pinch as well. There is no known interest by MLB teams, but ESPN New York Mets writer Adam Rubin is reporting that teams from Asia have expressed interst in the 34-year old Torres.

Home/New York Mets