Reese Kaplan -- MLB Rules and Schedules for Waivers and Rosters

Today it’s important to learn a few definitions in detail in order to understand the Mets’ recent decision to place outfielder Luis Robert, Jr. on outright waivers on Saturday, August 29th:

• Outright waivers are a transaction mechanism in Major League Baseball used to remove a player from a team’s 40-man roster and assign them to the minor leagues.  This process is primarily utilized when a player is out of minor league options, meaning they can no longer be demoted to the minors without first being exposed to other clubs.
• When a team places a player on outright waivers, all 29 other MLB teams have the opportunity to submit a claim. If a team claims the player, they assume responsibility for the remainder of the player’s contract and add him to their own 40-man roster. The claiming priority is determined by reverse order of winning percentage, with ties broken by the previous season's record.
• If no team claims the player within the waiver window (typically 47 hours during the season), the player is said to have cleared waivers.  The original team may then outright the player to the minor leagues, removing him from the 40-man roster while retaining his rights under his existing contract. Players with more than five years of major league service time have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

The second part of this move concerns the timing of the waiver option being made. It is especially important to playoff bound teams seeking to strengthen their rosters who want to reinforce their October-bound selection of players who would help them not only in September but in the post season as well:

• Starting September 1, all clubs are required to expand their active roster to 28 players, adding a maximum of 14 pitchers.  Only players who were on the team’s 40-man roster as of August 31 are eligible for these September call-ups; any player acquired via trade or signed as a free agent after August 31 is ineligible for the remainder of the regular season and the postseason. 

So now let’s get back to the front office decision which is an attempt to correct one of many off season decisions that did not work out as expected. We won’t reiterate them all right here but everyone acknowledges that the 2026 season is bad enough that many feel that Carlos Mendoza is not the only notable Mets employee who should be unemployed.

The hope here is that a team in desperate need of a professional outfielder like the New York Yankees might pull the pre-September 1st trigger during the 48 hour window to help buttress their roster while key players like Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton continue to heal on the IL.  It is an interesting no-risk decision by David Stearns to try to get someone else to take on not only the player but his 2027 option or buyout while absorbing the remainder of his full 2026 salary.

If no one is willing to roll the dice big time on the toolsy Robert, then the Mets retain his services.  No harm, no foul.  They still could cut him loose at year’s end and would absorb the additional $2 million buy out for next season.  Now they are merely hoping (much as the Cincinnati Reds did with notable players Eugenio Suarez and TJ Friedl).

It was a nice headline and gave Mets journalists something to talk about, but don’t expect much to happen.