NEW YORK _ The Mets continued their jettison of veteran players on expiring deals as Rene Rivera was awarded to the Cubs on a waiver claim. The Mets could have pulled Rivera back or worked a trade, but are instead letting him go with no compensation.
The Cubs will pick up the remainder of Rivera's salary equaling roughly $421,000, and the Mets have called up Kevin Plawecki and Tommy Milone. The team also cleared a roster spot early Saturday when it traded Curtis Granderson to the Dodgers.
The Mets have been active in August as they have now moved four players who were set to be free agents at the end of the year. Jay Bruce was sent to Cleveland, Neil Walker landed with Milwaukee, Granderson was shipped to the Dodgers and Rivera is now with the Cubs. The Mets have not received much in compensation.
Rivera was a solid backup catcher for the Mets and worked as Noah Syndergaard's personal catcher due to his strong arm and ability to control the running game. The Mets acquired him last year and tendered him a deal in the offseason. He hit .230 with eight homers and 23 RBIs in 54 games this year, and had a .650 OPS in his two seasons.
The catcher threw out 30 of 94 (31.9 percent) of base stealers.
Plawecki may be the biggest beneficiary of Rivera's departure because he will fill the backup catcher role for the rest of the season.
The youngster has struggled with the Mets despite having a reputation as a player whose bat would play in the majors. Plawecki is hitting .125 in 24 at-bats this year, and he has a .560 OPS spanning 389 career at-bats.
Milone has been reinstated from the disabled list after being sidelined since late May with a sprained left knee. He was 0-2 with a 10.50 ERA in three starts with the Mets after being claimed. He can serve as either a starter or a relief pitcher.
