Mets cut ties with former Blue Jays right hander

That is the hard edge of this move. Edwards had only just reached the big league club, and now the former Blue Jays right-hander is back in limbo after a DFA.

The Mets made the call as part of a wider roster shuffle. New York designated Edwards for assignment, recalled Austin Warren, and also adjusted the position-player side after Luis Robert Jr. landed on the injured list.

For Edwards, the timing is rough because he actually gave them useful innings. In 2 appearances with the Mets, he covered 6.0 innings and helped keep a taxed bullpen from getting stretched even thinner.

That is why this one stands out. This was not a case of a reliever getting hammered and losing the room. This was a roster squeeze, plain and simple.

The trouble is that roster squeezes still come with consequences. Edwards threw 50 pitches over 2.2 innings in Wednesday's loss to Washington, which made him the obvious arm to swap out for someone fresher.

That is a brutal outcome for a veteran trying to stick. Edwards signed a minor league deal with New York in December, opened the year at Triple-A Syracuse, then earned his way back onto the major league roster last week.

There was at least some reason to think he could hang around. He struck out 11 over those 6.0 innings with the Mets, and that kind of swing-and-miss work usually buys a reliever another look.

Instead, the Mets chose flexibility. Warren gives them a fresh bullpen arm, and that matters for a club still trying to stabilize a shaky early stretch.

For Blue Jays fans, Edwards is still an easy name to remember because his Toronto stop was brief and strange, part of a career that has turned into a steady grind from club to club.

That is what makes this move feel bigger than a routine wire transaction. Edwards did what the Mets asked, gave them length, missed bats, and still wound up as the roster casualty.

Now the Mets wait on the DFA process, and Edwards waits again for the next opening. For a veteran reliever, that is the job sometimes, even when the last outing was good enough to deserve better.