Mets catching prospect Kevin Plawecki could become a valuable chip for the Mets at the trade deadline, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, especially if Travis d’Arnaud thrives this season.
One primary suitor could be the Arizona Diamondbacks whose GM Dave Stewart continues to seek a catcher according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
Stewart has thus far balked at the high asking prices for a backstop in trade talks, but will wait it out to see if the market changes as the new season evolves.
“Without really giving up something that’s going to cost us a player that we don’t want to give away, we don’t have a whole lot of motion yet,” Stewart said.
“We feel that offensively we’re going to be decent enough that we can give away some offense at a position or maybe even a position or two,” Stewart said. “If (the right deal) comes our way, it comes our way. But I’m not going to give away a player that we hold in high regard to get a catcher.”
Plawecki is well liked in the organization and Paul DePodesta is known to love the 2012 supplemental first rounder the Mets received as compensation for losing Jose Reyes. He’s also garnered quite a reputation with pitchers who like his game-calling and framing, and his teammates for his leadership skills.
He has excelled at every level in the minors offensively and will certainly begin 2015 in Triple-A with d’Arnaud entrenched for now.
But Sandy Alderson told MMO he would have no problem carrying both on the roster at some point this season, calling it a good problem to have.
Here’s a recent MMO Fan Shot written by Bill Tourjee who says:
“Even a good catching prospect like Plawecki is not going to bring a Starlin Castro or Addison Russell to Citi Field unless a Syndergaard or a Montero disappear along with him. That’s a huge gamble for the Mets when they don’t know whether their prized new shortstop can thrive in a pressure cooker like the Big Apple. Too many players perform best with the type of laid back fan base and press corps you’ll find in most other baseball cities.”
“Given their depth at the position at every minor league level, the Mets are capable of bringing up a new promising shortstop prospect every year for the next four years. In the meantime, they could very well lay claim to the best catching tandem in the majors – IF they don’t trade Kevin Plawecki.”
I don’t see the Mets moving Plawecki unless they are 100 percent certain that d’Arnaud can handle the everyday rigors behind the plate while providing steady offense. Twice this offseason, Terry Collins has alluded to his three concussions already in his young career.
In an exclusive interview with MMO’s John Bernhardt this offseason, Sandy Alderson elaborated:
“Right now we’re fortunate that we have two who are essentially major league ready — I think Plawecki is close — of such high quality. At the same time, as they sort of both converge on the major leagues, it’s a question of whether both can be accommodated. I think there are circumstances under which that’s possible.”
“For example, sharing the catching duties and then one of them playing first base a little bit or playing in the outfield. Or, during inter-league games one of them DHing against left-handed pitching. I think there are ways to do it. The question is really whether that’s the best use of those two resources. And it may be, because beyond those two there’s a little bit of a drop-off at least in the catching we have in the system.”
