The Mets announced today that they have outrighted Kirk Nieuwenhuis to Triple-A Las Vegas, thereby removing him from the 40-man roster (Twitter link). The transaction comes just days after the team had re-claimed the 27-year-old off waivers from the Angels, suggesting that the Mets value Nieuwenhuis as organizational depth but prefer not to spend a 40-man roster spot on him at this time.
ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin noted at the time the Mets re-claimed Nieuwenhuis that he suspected they’d try to get him through waivers because of a need to open roster spots for the injured Dillon Gee, Daniel Murphy and David Wright in the near future.