According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks could still be possible landing spots for free agent catcher Matt Wieters and he says neither team should be counted out.
The market for Wieters has been relatively quiet given the fact that he entered the offseason as arguably the best healthy free agent catcher.
It will be interesting to see if the Mets do decide to jump into the Wieters sweepstakes the longer he stays on the open market.
Original Report – Dec 31
Jon Heyman of FanRagSports.com has stated in his latest article that two National League East teams are currently in on free agent catcher, Matt Wieters. The Mets are not one of those teams.
Wieters, 30, is the top free agent catcher left on the market and Heyman believes that both the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves are the two NL teams still considering adding his services.
Another report from beat reporters Chelsea Janes and Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post says that the Nationals continue to maintain a dialog with Scott Boras and if his price were to drop on Wieters, they would be very interested. Both writers add that “the Nats still have more than enough money to spend on Wieters.”
The Mets, whose catching situation is somewhat in distress due to uncertainties surrounding Travis d’Arnaud, Kevin Plawecki and Rene Rivera, could certainly use the veteran backstop.
General Manager, Sandy Alderson though has given a vote of confidence to his current crew of catchers entering the 2017 season. Wieters though is coming off an All-Star season, the fourth of his career, and batted .243/.302/.409 with 17 homers and 66 RBI this past season. The veteran catcher also put up a .711 OPS last season, a steady batter when healthy.
Heyman notes that the Mets are a logical fit for Wieters as well but are mainly focused on the relief market and attempting to find a trade partner for the albatross that has become known as Jay Bruce. Could this become a missed opportunity for the Metropolitans?
As time continues to tick by, Wieters’ price tag on the open market is reportedly shrinking as it has for many position players that have recently signed or are still out there. The former O’s catcher could end up being a good free agent bargain for the team that eventually signs him.
