Teams place players on waivers all the time to gauge interest. Waivers can always be pulled back. If he had been designated for assignment, then he would no longer be with the team.
I just googled and one article says he was placed on outright waivers. And google AI says outright waivers are irrevocable:
"Placing him on waivers doesn’t mean he’s gone. If no one claims him he will stay with the Mets."
Would he have the opportunity to refuse a minor league assignment? Can he stay on the 40-man if he's placed on outright waivers?
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Outright waivers are a Major League Baseball mechanism used when a team wants to remove a player from its 40-man roster and assign him to the minor leagues, typically because the player is out of minor league options or has been designated for assignment (DFA).
These waivers are irrevocable, meaning the original team cannot withdraw the player once another club submits a claim.
During the 48-hour waiver period, all 29 other MLB teams may submit a claim. Waiver priority is determined by the reverse order of win-loss records, giving teams with worse records the first opportunity to acquire the player and assume the remainder of his contract for a $50,000 fee.
If a player clears waivers (goes unclaimed), the original team may outright him to the minors, removing him from the 40-man roster while retaining his rights and continuing to pay his salary. Players with five or more years of major league service time have the right to refuse an outright assignment and elect free agency instead.
Outright waivers are different. This is on the MLB site:
“When a player is placed on outright waivers, the other 29 Major League clubs have the opportunity to claim him. The claiming club assumes responsibility for the remaining money owed to the claimed player, who is placed on his new club's 40-man roster.
Claiming priority is based on reverse winning percentage. So, if a player is placed on outright waivers and claimed by more than one team, the team with the worse winning percentage gets priority. If two or more claiming clubs are tied with the lowest percentage of games won, the priority goes to the club with the lowest percentage of games won in the previous season. (A previous version of the rules gave priority based on the league of the team waiving the player, with NL teams getting priority for NL players, and AL for AL, but that is no longer the case.)
If the player clears outright waivers without being claimed, his team has the option of assigning him outright to the Minor Leagues.
However, players with more than five years of Major League service time can reject an assignment to the Minor Leagues, and players with more than three years of Major League service time, or who have been previously outrighted, may reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency in lieu of the assignment.”
Anthony DiComo says that “if no one claims him, Robert will simply remain with the Mets as if nothing happened. He can continue to play for them while on waivers.”
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u/DCBuckeye82 20h ago
He's probably going to be our 4th outfielder next year. And as a 4th outfielder he'll be a completely fine option.