The Mets announced they’ve designated right-hander Cooper Criswell for assignment. They needed to clear a spot on the 40-man roster after tonight’s two-for-two trade because Jett Williams had not been on the roster.
Criswell has been a DFA casualty following a big trade twice this offseason. The Red Sox squeezed him out after the Jhostynxon Garcia/Johan Oviedo deal. The Mets grabbed him off waivers a day later but will now need to trade or waive him themselves. Criswell and the Red Sox had worked out an $800K contract early in the offseason.
While the righty locked in a fully guaranteed salary a little above the MLB minimum, that also pointed to a likely offseason DFA. It has become increasingly common for teams to work out slightly above minimum deals with players whom they’re considering dropping from the 40-man roster. The salary could serve as a minor deterrent for another team to place a waiver claim.
Perhaps more importantly, it gives the player incentive to accept a minor league assignment if they clear. The 29-year-old Criswell was outrighted by the Rays during the 2022 season. That gives him the right to decline future outrights in his career. It’s less likely that he’d walk away from guaranteed money, so the Mets could stash him in Triple-A if no other team places a claim.
Criswell had a decent season in a swing role in 2024. He logged a career-high 99 1/3 innings with a 4.08 earned run average. He doesn’t have huge velocity or swing-and-miss potential, but he threw strikes and got a decent number of ground-balls. He didn’t get nearly as much big league work last season. Criswell logged 17 2/3 frames with a 3.57 ERA over seven appearances. He spent the rest of the season at Triple-A Worcester, pitching to a 3.70 ERA with an above-average 24.5% strikeout rate across 65 2/3 frames.