Nick Evans Headed to Buffalo

According to Sandy Alderson, Nick Evans has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to AAA Buffalo.

Why not move him to the 25-man roster in the event Jason Bay is put on the DL? Simple: now that Evans has cleared waivers, it’s easier to leave him down in Buffalo until he’s needed for a more extended stay. Though no one knows for sure, the hope is that Bay won’t need to be out more than two weeks — and once he returns, if Evans were on the roster he’d need to go through waivers again before being returned to the minors. However, Lucas Duda — who has options remaining — can ride the Flushing-Buffalo shuttle all year long, so he’ll be the one to make the team if/when Bay goes on the disabled list.

In other news, Luis Hernandez and Pat Misch also cleared waivers; no word yet on whether they will accept demotions. Like Evans, they have the option to refuse the assignment and become free agents. Both are in tough spots; Hernandez’s best shot at getting back in the bigs is if Brad Emaus and Dan Murphy both fail miserably at 2B, or if Jose Reyes gets hurt. Misch is seen as a long man and spot starter, and likely will have to wait to see if one of the Mets’ starters breaks down before getting a shot.