Notes: Hamilton DFA'd; Gsellman to 'pen?

NEW YORK -- A day after Billy Hamilton made his second significant baserunning mistake since joining the Mets, the team designated him for assignment in a move that could end his time with the organization.

The Mets now have seven days to trade Hamilton, release him or place him on outright waivers. Even if he were to clear waivers, he could reject an outright assignment and declare free agency based on his service time.

The Mets acquired Hamilton last month in a trade of 14th-ranked prospect Jordan Humphreys, whom they had DFA’d because of a roster crunch. At first the veteran outfielder filled an obvious hole on the roster, with regular backup center fielder Jake Marisnick on the injured list. But Marisnick returned last weekend, relegating Hamilton to a pinch-running role.

Making matters worse was the fact that he struggled in that role, despite his status as one of the fastest men in baseball. In an Aug. 14 game in Philadelphia, Hamilton made an ill-advised decision to try for third base on a bobbled ball in the eighth inning of a one-run game. The Phillies tagged him out, and the Mets lost, 6-5.

In a similar situation on Thursday against the Yankees, Hamilton pinch-ran and immediately induced a balk from Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman on a pickoff attempt. At second base, and with no outs, Hamilton then attempted to steal third with the heart of the Mets’ order due to bat, but he was thrown out in a game the Mets came back to win, 9-7. Manager Luis Rojas called Hamilton’s stolen-base attempt “overly aggressive.”

“Second time he’s been overly aggressive in a situation similar to that one,” Rojas said. “He knows that he was too aggressive. He felt that he got a good jump, but it wasn’t a good situation to run. So we had the conversation. It’s not good baseball.”

Overall, Hamilton hit .045 in 17 games for the Mets, mostly off the bench.

Back to the bullpen?

When the Mets decided last month to transition Robert Gsellman from bullpen work to the rotation, they told him he would start games for at least the rest of the regular season.

A little more than three weeks later, team officials are questioning that decision. The club is “not committing either way” to giving Gsellman another start, according to Rojas, after the right-hander allowed nine runs in 9 1/3 innings over his first four rotation turns. The fact that Gsellman is averaging fewer than three innings per start is taxing the bullpen, particularly at a time when Seth Lugo is also stretching out as a starter.

“Right now … we’re not committing either way with him,” Rojas said.

Should the Mets choose to move Gsellman back to the bullpen, they already have a ready-made replacement in rookie David Peterson, who delivered four shutout innings of relief on Wednesday in Baltimore. Peterson is just as capable -- if not more so -- of pitching deep into games at this point. As such, the team could flip roles for him and Gsellman, having the former start on Tuesday against the Orioles.

“Right now it’s a real challenge, because we need the length from our starters,” Rojas said. “The five guys that we have there now, that’s going to be a big key.”

The Mets, who have been guarded about their rotation decisions all season, do not figure to make their decision public until later this weekend.

Next man up

Veteran right-hander Erasmo Ramírez, a bubble candidate to make the Opening Day roster who instead spent the first six weeks of the season at the club’s alternate training site in Brooklyn, joined the Mets on Friday in place of Hamilton. Ramírez is still stretched out as a starting pitcher, and will serve as the “length guy” out of the bullpen, according to Rojas.

“He’s got the experience,” Rojas said. “Erasmo’s a great pitcher. He’ll attack the zone. He’s got a great pitch mix. And he is stretched out where he can give us that length.”

A Minor League signing over the winter, Ramírez spent most of last summer at Boston’s Triple-A Pawtucket affiliate, going 6-8 with a 4.74 ERA over 24 starts and three relief appearances.

From the trainer’s room

Steven Matz (left shoulder bursitis) and Dellin Betances (right lat discomfort) played catch off flat ground on Friday at Citi Field. The Mets had shut both down from throwing indefinitely after placing them on the IL on Sunday. The team has no timetable for either pitcher’s return.