Cesar Puello clears waivers, remains Mets property

Adam Rubin has confirmed that Cesar Puello, who was placed on waivers on Wednesday, has gone unclaimed and remains Mets property.

Puello, 24, was out of options, meaning the Mets had no way to send him to minor league camp without first putting him through the waiver process.

Puello was in camp with the Mets until Wednesday, but there was no room on the roster with the team expected to carry Eric Campbell as the final piece on the bench or go with eight relievers and just four bench players.

Now that Puello has cleared waivers, the Mets can outright him to Triple-A Las Vegas.

In 2013, Puello hit .326/.403/.537 with 16 home runs and 24 steals for Double-A Binghamton.

Puello was suspended for the end of the 2013 season due to his connection with Biogenesis/PED’s that dated back to 2012.

In 2014, with the organization apparently down on him, Puello didn’t start as often and hit .252/.355/.393 for Triple-A Las Vegas.

Thoughts:

On Tuesday, I wrote that the Mets should do everything they could to hang onto Puello.

The gist…

1. With Matt den Dekker now gone, the Mets don’t have a major league ready outfielder aside from Puello who would be able to step in if any of their outfielders (starters or otherwise) suffered an injury. Brandon Nimmo will likely not be ready until late in the season (if at all in 2015) and Michael Conforto appears ticketed for High-A St. Lucie.

2. Regardless of the roster construction, Puello – who has a plus arm, plus speed, and the potential to hit for both power and average – is worth keeping.

3. If the Mets do place Puello on waivers, there’s a decent chance a division rival will claim him.

At the moment, it appears that the Mets’ bench will consist of Anthony Recker (catcher), Ruben Tejada (infield), Kirk Nieuwenhuis (outfield), John Mayberry, Jr. (first base/outfield) and Eric Campbell (infield/outfield).

I fairly certain Puello would get claimed, especially due to the fact that both the Phillies and Braves are in dire need of outfield help.

I’m glad I was wrong about Puello getting claimed, since the Mets will now have him in Triple-A as much needed insurance.

With Brandon Nimmo opening the season with Double-A Binghamton and no legitimate outfield prospects with Las Vegas, Puello should be given an opportunity to start there regularly.