To open up a roster spot for a third catcher to back up Brian Schneider in Carlos Ruiz's absence, following Ruiz's head injury last night. I don't get this at all. First, I'm surprised to hear that Mathieson has no options left. Second, while I can understand that we need another catcher, are you telling me there was no other way to accomplish this than by putting a legitimate prospect on waivers? Mathieson is sure to be claimed by some team, isn't he? Did we just waste him for no reason whatsoever? UPDATE 3:25 p.m.: According to Eric Seidman on Twitter, "[B]ecause he has options left, Mathieson goes on optional waivers which are revocable. The team can call him back." So why isn't it just an "option" then? Is there a difference between an "option" and an "optional waiver"? In any event, perhaps this was a false alarm. UPDATE 4:00 p.m.: Matt Gelb explains further on the Inquirer's blog that although Mathieson has options left, he cannot be optioned without first going through "optional waivers," which are required before optioning a player who is more than three years removed from his major league debut. But optional waivers are revocable, so if another team claims Mathieson before he clears, the Phillies will just pull him back. Link to Gelb's blog post in the comments.