New York Mets manager Mickey Callaway confirmed to the team’s media corps on Thursday what Mets fans everywhere — you, me, Chrissy Teigen — had all been thinking since he was re-signed by the team last week; Devin Mesoraco is back with the Mets for one reason — to catch Jacob deGrom.

As per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, Mesoraco notes “familiarity” as an alluring component in the eight-year MLB veteran deciding to come back to the Mets on a one-year, $1.75 million deal.

“That’s a big reason why I wanted to come back […]. I think some people here know what I can bring to the table,” Mesoraco said. “I don’t have to learn a new pitching staff […]. We can build on the things we were doing last year.”

And what he was doing last year is nothing to scoff at. After being traded to the Mets last May in the deal that sent Matt Harvey to the Cincinnati Reds, the 30-year-old became deGrom’s de facto personal catcher. For 21 of the eventual National League Cy Young Award winner’s 32 starts last season, Mesoraco was behind the plate.

During those starts (140.2 innings, which dwarfs the 76.1 combined innings he spent throwing to Travis d’Arnaud, Jose Lobaton, and Kevin Plawecki), deGrom pitched to a 1.60 earned-run average with 168 strikeouts, 30 walks, and a .193/.243/.285 slash line against.

Late last September, with deGrom closing out the book on his MLB-leading 1.71 ERA, 1.99 FIP, and 8.8 fWAR campaign, Mickey Callaway gave his take on the evident connection and comfortability between batterymates, as per Anthony Reiber of Newsday.

“When it comes down to it, it’s probably because [deGrom] has pitched better to him than anyone else in his career. I’m sure he knows that Devin’s very, very prepared,” Callaway told Newsday. “I think Jacob likes the fact that they’re on the same page a lot […] It’s kind of a good team.”

Mesoraco echoed those sentiments on Thursday but stopped short of taking any credit for deGrom’s excellence, again to DiComo.

“I feel like that’s a lot of a catcher’s job, is to help the pitchers out. Jake had his best year. Whether that was a very small portion of me or none of me, I don’t know,” he said. “But I’m happy that Jake was successful. I’m happy that Zack Wheeler was successful. I’m happy that [Steven Matz] had a good year. That definitely means a lot to me.”

With Wilson Ramos now in the mix on a two-year, $19 million deal and sure to get the bulk of the starts behind the plate, d’Arnaud still here after being tendered a $3.5 million contract earlier in the offseason, and Mesoraco virtually ensured a roster spot as deGrom’s guy, something’s got to give.

How this all shakes out over the next six weeks should be extremely interesting.