According to Kristie Ackert of New York Daily News, the New York Mets are still unsure if they will tender catcher Rene Rivera a contract for the 2017 season.
Rivera, 33, is arbitration eligible this offseason and is estimated to make $2.2 million for the 2017 season. One team source that Ackert talked to said they haven’t decided yet whether they would tender Rivera and another team source doubted they would spend $2.2 million on a backup catcher.
The defensive minded Rivera hit .222/.291/.341 with four doubles, six home runs and 26 in 65 games with the Mets after signing a minor league deal in April. However, in 42 plate appearances against lefties he hit .314/.429/.514 for the Mets in 2016.
The veteran presence of Rivera was key behind the plate as he was worth 0.8 dWAR according to Baseball-Reference and threw out 30% of would-be base stealers. He caught even more down the stretch because of the struggles from Travis d’Arnaud and his working relationship with the pitching staff.
Mets catchers as a whole in 2016 produced a 0.5 fWAR, which was tied for 25th with the Minnesota Twins among major league teams.
The deadline to non-tender Rivera is December 2.
