Mets bring Nieuwenhuis back with waiver claim

NEW YORK -- Kirk Nieuwenhuis' time away from the Mets' organization wound up lasting 17 days.

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The Mets on Saturday claimed their former outfielder off waivers from the Angels, two and a half weeks after trading him to Los Angeles for cash. The Mets have not announced if they plan to activate Nieuwenhuis or attempt to pass him back through waivers for a Minor League assignment, though there appears to be no obvious place for him on the active roster.

Nieuwenhuis, 27, spent parts of four seasons in New York before landing in Anaheim late last month, on the heels of a 3-for-38 stretch with the Mets. He subsequently went 3-for-22 for the Angels, who designated him for assignment earlier this week.

Over his entire four-year career, Nieuwenhuis is a .226 hitter with 13 home runs in 616 plate appearances. Most of the at-bats he had been receiving with the Mets have recently gone to rookie Darrell Ceciliani, who entered Saturday's play batting .385 over his last nine games.

Worth noting

The Mets announced Saturday that they have sent Class A Savannah left-hander Brad Wieck to the Padres, thereby completing their March 30 trade for reliever Alex Torres. The original deal was Torres for right-hander Cory Mazzoni and a player to be named.