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September 28, 2009 Latest Mets News Joe Janish

Chris Carter DFA’d

According to MLBTradeRumors (hat tip to NY Baseball Digest), the Red Sox have DFA’d Chris Carter — presumably the other “player to be named later” in the Billy Wagner trade.

I’m not sure what exactly this means, mainly because I don’t own (nor can I find online) an official guide to MLB rules regarding waivers, the “end” of the season, “designated for assignment”, and players to be named later.

What I do know is that once a player is “designated for assignment”, his team has ten days to trade, release, or waive him. I *think* Carter would have to clear waivers before being traded to the Mets — otherwise this move would’ve been made weeks ago. I’m also not sure how the “ten days” figures in, considering that the regular season ends before then. I *think* that the ten days can include the postseason — and run right through the World Series and perhaps a few days after the last game of the WS.

I’m going to take a wild stab and guess that Carter will now be subjected to irrevocable waivers — meaning if he’s claimed, the Bosox can’t pull him back. But since they’re irrevocable, I don’t believe the claiming team has to give up anything in return — so the “trade” part of the DFA doesn’t apply.

Further, if no teams claim Carter before the Mets get their chance, does that mean the deal is complete when/if the Mets do claim him?

If you can find an official link explaining what can happen here, or if you are a licensed MLB agent, please comment below.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. murph September 29, 2009 at 12:25 am
    I think at this stage of the season nobody in the AL would bother claiming him (thus blocking the deal with the Mets), but back in late August, that was a real possibility.
  2. isuzudude September 29, 2009 at 10:15 am
    Again, I say if it weren’t for the dirty, underhanded tactics of that other team that plays in New York, we wouldn’t be needing to worry about this fiasco now. But I guess the Yankees were justified in blocking the trade; afterall, the lack of an extra 40-man roster spot really put the Red Sox into a tailspin! What a stroke of genius!
  3. joejanish September 29, 2009 at 1:19 pm
    ‘dude – winning organizations leave no stones unturned, leave nothing to chance, and habitually pay attention to the little things.

    While it’s true the block of Carter wasn’t a groundbreaking move, it did affect the Red Sox’ roster management for a few days. And as a Mets fan you know that something little that affects one day out of the season could possibly mean the difference between making and not making the playoffs.

    Rather than calling the Bronx Bombers “dirty”, why not watch and learn? It would be nice to see the Mets be as detail-oriented when fighting their division rivals. Had they done so in 2007 and 2008 we might have seen them playing deep into October of those years.