Mets designate Kirk Nieuwenhuis for assignment

In order to make room on the 25-man roster for Darrell Ceciliani, the Mets have designated Kirk Nieuwenhuis for assignment, the team announced on Tuesday.

Nieuwenhuis, who is out of options, was hitting .079/.125/.132 (3-for-38), will have to pass through waivers in order to be sent to the minors.

In 112 at bats last season for the Mets, Nieuwenhuis hit .259/.346/.482.

Thoughts:

The solid offensive performance of Nieuwenhuis last season, the fact that he hit well during Spring Training, and the trade of Matt den Dekker resulted in him being given a spot on the bench on Opening Day.

While it’s unfortunate that it’s come to this for Kirk and the Mets, it had reached the point where having him on the roster was no longer tenable.

To go along with his 3-for-38 start to the season, Nieuwenhuis had struck out 17 times, and was not hitting into much hard luck — his line drive rate was down significantly, and he was hitting tons of balls in the air.

Nieuwenhuis is only 27 years old, is inexpensive, and is a good defender, so it won’t be surprising if a team claims him in the next few days.

If Nieuwenhuis does clear waivers, he’ll almost certainly be sent to Triple-A Las Vegas.

As far as Ceciliani is concerned, he’s viewed as a plus defender in both center field and the corners, and should come in handy as a bat off the bench and whenever the Mets need a late-inning defensive replacement for either Curtis Granderson or Michael Cuddyer.