Mets Designate Jared Oliva For Assignment

The Mets designated outfielder Jared Oliva for assignment Thursday morning, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to reliever Dan Hammer, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Syracuse (as was reported last night). Righty Tobias Myers has been optioned to Syracuse to open an active roster spot.

Oliva, 30, was picked up off waivers from the Giants last month. The Mets optioned him to Syracuse upon claiming him. He’s yet to appear in a major league game with them and will now head back to DFA limbo.

Oliva took seven plate appearances with the Giants early this season before hitting the injured list — his first big league work since a 2020-21 stint with the Pirates. He’s batted .175/.212/.206 in a tiny sample of 66 big league plate appearances. Oliva is a plus runner and versatile outfielder defender who swiped 57 bags in only 95 games with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate last year. He also has a minor league option year remaining beyond the current season.

In 77 Triple-A plate appearances this season, Oliva has just a .232/.289/.290 batting line. He posted a solid .252/.335/.413 slash with the Brewers’ Nashville club last year. Clubs in need of a left-handed bat with speed and a glove that can handle all three outfield spots could look to Oliva as a depth option, but there’s a decent chance he’ll clear waivers, too. He’d have the right to reject an outright assignment if he indeed goes unclaimed.